Wine with Meg + Mel

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We follow the trail of wine and war across the 20th century and it gets stranger, darker, and more human than most wine trivia ever admits.

We talk through why the French state treated wine as a cultural and strategic necessity in World War I, including the famous daily ration that grows over time. From there, we look at what war does to vineyards in practical terms: destroyed vines, shortages of copper and sulphur for sprays, labour gaps filled by women and children, and the early push for growers to band together to keep supply moving. It’s wine history, but it’s also logistics, morale, and survival.

World War II shifts the lens to occupation and control. We unpack what happens when Champagne, Bordeaux, and Alsace sit under Nazi rule: chateaux commandeered, Champagne diverted, and producers quietly fighting back by hiding the good stock and sending decoy piquette instead. Along the way we connect the long shadow of wartime supply to later oversupply and subsidies, then bring it home to Australian wine culture, from fortified wine habits to irrigated soldier settlement regions and the Yarra Valley’s stop-start story. We even explain the surprisingly wartime origin story behind the Aussie word “plonk”, plus a teaser-worthy detour into modern wine fraud and the Rudy Kurniawan scandal.

If you enjoy wine storytelling with real history underneath it, subscribe, share this with a wine mate, and leave us a review. What’s the most surprising wine fact you’ve heard lately?
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Wine people love a good crisis chat, but what happens when the story gets so grim that customers start believing wine itself is the problem? We’re tackling that head-on, with a glass in hand and a focus on what actually moves the Australian wine industry forward.

We start with a bright spot: the Len Evans Tutorial scholars and why this intense, blind-tasting program is considered one of Australia’s most prestigious wine education pathways. From judging workshops to museum wines, it’s a reminder that training, consistency, and clear communication are still the backbone of great wine judging and great wine careers.

Then we get into the big mood shift. We unpack the recent pushback against industry doom-scrolling, including Dan Sims’ argument for less wallowing and more customer focus, plus the reality that wine is facing global structural change, generational shifts, and fierce competition from other drinks. That opens the door to fresh thinking, like wine cocktails and new occasions that help people discover Australian wine without the snobbery.

We also cover Coravin’s first aged wine clinic in Sydney, what it means to assess an old bottle through the cork, and the uncomfortable possibility of being told your treasured wine is corked. Add new directors on the Wine Australia board, plus how Australian wine shows are evolving beyond the old boys’ club into more diverse panels and stronger mentoring for new judges, and you’ve got a full snapshot of where wine is heading. To finish, we share the fun stuff: KFC’s wine bar pop-up in London and a stack of upcoming wine events worth planning around.

If you enjoyed this Wine News catch-up, subscribe, share it with a wine mate, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.
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Your DMs run the show this time, and the questions swing wildly between deeply practical wine advice and the kind of chaos you only get when you put three opinionated people in front of microphones. We start with the story so many of you asked for: Meg’s time in Chile, including what it’s like moving countries on a one-way ticket, learning Spanish in the cellar, and working outside the big-city wine scene. It turns into a bigger chat about wine careers, humility, and why “making a plan” isn’t the only way to build a life in wine. 

Then we get personal and answer how we met, why we clicked, and how Mine With Meg And Mel started during COVID as a no-BS wine education podcast for everyday drinkers. Austin jumps in with the behind-the-scenes origin story too, including how he went from listener to essential part of the team. 

After that, it’s rapid-fire wine nerd gold: does bottle size matter (half bottle vs magnum ageing), what reduction really is, and quick definitions that demystify Baumé and Brix. We also give travel wine tips for the Greek islands, Croatia and Montenegro with one simple rule that works almost everywhere: drink local and try the indigenous varieties. To finish, we get blunt about recycling, wine bottles and the container deposit scheme, then land on the crowd favourite: why sabrage looks so impressive when it’s done properly. 

Keep the questions coming! We are always checking all of our socials and we love to hear from you!
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We build a fast, practical way to remember German Riesling by region, then test it with a blind Spätlese flight that forces us to use Mel's... interesting study technique. Along the way we unpack Prädikat ripeness levels, GG and VDP labelling, and the tasting cues that separate Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe and Rheinhessen. 
If you want to taste along with us check out the list below and message us your thoughts!
Wine 1: Donnhoff Riesling Oberhauser Brucke Spatlese, 2023 - https://princewinestore.com.au/donnhoff-riesling-oberhauser-brucke-spatlese-2023.html
Wine 2: Keller RR Riesling, 2024 - https://www.nicks.com.au/products/2024-keller-rr-riesling
Wine 3: Markus Molitor Bernkasteler Badstuber Spatlese, 2023 - https://princewinestore.com.au/markus-molitor-bernkasteler-badstrube-spatlese-2023.html
Wine 4: Georg Breuer Ber Rottland Riesling, 2020 - https://www.nicks.com.au/products/2020-georg-breuer-berg-rottland-riesling
As we said, play along at home and write in! We'd love to hear you thoughts on Wine, Riesling, Germany's golden eagle and everything else!

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The Australian vintage just shrank, but the story is not as simple as “less wine equals higher prices”. We unpack Wine Australia’s national vintage report, why production is down across regions, and what it suggests about oversupply, water constraints, and the long, messy shift from bulk wine to premium Australian wine. If you work in wine, run a cellar door, or simply care about what ends up in your glass, these numbers explain a lot about where the market is heading.

Then we zoom in on Tasmania, where bad conditions around flowering and fruit set can trigger the “chicken and hen” effect, leaving uneven bunches and lower yields. The upside is the classic quality question: if fewer berries make it through, do the survivors become more concentrated and exciting? We talk through why vintage 2026 in Tasmania could be a sleeper hit, even if the business reality is tougher for producers who cannot just charge double.

From there, it’s over to Europe’s heat. With veraison and ripening now happening under hotter, drier conditions, French PDOs are increasingly allowing irrigation to save crops, and the quality risks look familiar: high sugar, higher alcohol, and flavours and tannins that may not be fully ripe. Finally, we get practical about consumer trends in Australia. Gen Z and Millennials are drinking on premise and they are more willing to pay $18+ per glass, which changes how wineries should think about value, experience, and sales tactics.

If this helped you see the wine industry more clearly, subscribe, share it with a wine mate, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.
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