DiscoverDrinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson
Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson

Drinks Adventures - Wine, beer, whisky, gin & more with James Atkinson

Author: Wine, Beer & Whisky Network Australia

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Wine lover? Craft beer fan? Drink whisky, bourbon, cognac or rum? Or maybe it's gin or vodka or mezcal you're into? Based in Australia, but globally minded, Drinks Adventures covers all these drinks and more: Japanese sake, cider, tequila, champagne, cocktails... we could go on!
Listen in as award-winning drinks writer James Atkinson interviews the world's biggest names in craft brewing, winemaking, distilling and mixology, along with sommeliers, mixologists, sake samurais, masters of wine and certified cicerones.
229 Episodes
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The Australian Distillers Association is the peak body for the 700 craft distillers that are now spread across the country, up from just 40 a decade ago. I work pretty closely with the ADA and its chief executive Paul McLeay in my day job as media & communications manager of Spirits & Cocktails Australia. In this bonus episode, Paul and I catch up for a quick chat about the ADA Conference coming up in Brisbane on April 28 to 30, 2024, which is the association’s 20th anniversary year. I know quite a few of you are in the distilling industry, so Paul and I will hope to see you there. Since we were already sitting down for a chat, I took the opportunity to ask Paul about the latest global accolades for Australian distillers at the World Whiskies Awards, and how his members are coping in the challenging economic environment. Register for the ADA Conference here.
Last year I reported on the worrying spate of insolvencies in the drinks industry, particularly among craft brewers. And things have gotten even worse so far in 2024. Dave Padden of Sydney’s Akasha Brewing was pretty open with us last year on the show about the difficulties his business was confronting. Sadly, Akasha last week became the latest brewery to enter voluntary administration. In this episode I’m joined by Dale Meddings, joint CEO of Bintani, Australia’s leading supplier of ingredients to the brewing and distilling industries, and a long-term sponsor of the podcast. Coming up, Dale shares with us the impact this brewing industry turmoil has been having on his business, and we get a health check on the emerging craft spirits sector. Dale reveals what are some of the hottest ingredients currently on the market that will shape the drinks of the future. And you’ll hear why, in spite of everything that’s going on, he is still optimistic about the future of independent brewing in Australia. Where to here for local beer? (Crafty Pint article)
Back in early 2023 we met Jeremy Blanks and Greg Jackson of Tarac, the largest distiller of grape spirit in Australia, which is diversifying into the contract production of whisky. Twelve months on, Jeremy and Greg return to the show having recently had their first trial whiskies come of age. I’ve had a chance to taste these whiskies that have been column distilled from malted barley, and was really impressed with them. Don’t take my word for it though, if you’re a distiller and heading to the Australian Distillers Association Conference in Brisbane at the end of April, you can try these whiskies for yourself at the trade show. See you there! In this special episode of Drinks Adventures – produced in partnership with Tarac – Greg and Jeremy update us on all the developments in their whisky program since we last spoke. The company’s first commercial batch of whisky will reach maturity in August 2024. And based on the level of interest from distillers thus far, this milestone should mean we start to see some more blended whiskies coming on to the market in Australia. Does Australian whisky have the appropriate regulations to accommodate these products? That’s something Jeremy, Greg and I explore a bit later on in today’s conversation. Click here for more information on Tarac's Australian single malt whisky offering.
We’re joined again this episode by Andrew Caillard MW, one of Australia’s leading authorities on wine. Andrew was last on the show in November 2020 discussing the debut of two Australian wines on the prestigious international wine marketplace, La Place de Bordeaux. This time Andrew joins us to discuss his magnum opus, The Australian Ark, the most extensive history of the Australian wine industry ever written. First up, Andrew and I discuss the challenges involved with getting a book of this scale and ambition off the ground. We then explore just a handful of the individuals and events that have shaped the wine industry as told by Andrew in The Australian Ark, such as: Who was the real father of Australian wine – it’s not James Busby as I previously thought; How colonial wine evolved from a cottage industry into a booming export industry spearheaded by the Emu brand of Australian burgundy in the late 1800s; and The Australian Wine Canon – Andrew’s list of the most influential Australian wines of all time, starting with the Rosehill Red Wine produced in Parramatta in 1792. Trigger warning: This episode which includes some pretty confronting discussion about the displacement of First Nations people that sadly occurred as part of this story, and which Andrew doesn’t shy away from in his book. I'd like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced – the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation – and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
Satya Sharma is the new CEO of Australia’s pioneering whisky company, Lark Distilling. Sash – as he prefers to be called – has only been on deck since May 2023. But already, he has put his stamp on the Lark business. The frenzy of special releases has been dialled back in favour of a clearly defined core range. Export deals have been announced for several markets in South East Asia. 700ml bottles are on the cards, and as you just heard, the business has committed to greater transparency about the provenance of whiskies that carry the Lark name. Sash joined Lark following ten years with William Grant & Sons, most recently in Singapore, where he played an integral role establishing export markets for its iconic brands including Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. We’ll explore that career background and Sash’s vision for Lark coming up in this extended interview that gets the Drinks Adventures podcast underway for 2024. If you haven’t already, make sure you listen to the special episode I did for the 30th anniversary of Lark Distillery in 2022. I’ve linked to it from the show notes. First up this episode, I asked Bill Lark his thoughts on the new leadership, which signals the beginnings of another chapter for the business he founded back in 1992.
Victorian winery Seppelt today is probably best known for its exquisite table wines. I’m talking about St Peters Shiraz from its home region of the Grampians, and chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir from the esteemed Drumborg Vineyard in the cooler climes of Henty. Perhaps lesser known to some of us is Seppelt’s rich heritage in sparkling wines. In 2022, the company highlighted that pedigree with two new cuvees named in honour of Charles Pierlot, the Frenchman who in 1890 made Australia’s first traditional method sparkling wines at Seppelt’s Great Western winery. Pierlot also pioneered one of Australia’s most unique wine styles, sparkling shiraz. Seppelt Show Sparkling remains the benchmark for this style today. And Seppelt winemaker Clare Dry argues it deserves to be consumed more broadly than the traditional occasion of Christmas time. In this special episode of Drinks Adventures, produced in partnership with Seppelt, I started by asking Clare about the story behind this unique wine. Later in this interview, you’ll find out a little bit more about how sparkling shiraz is made, and we’ll explore the new vintage, 2012 Show Sparkling, released this year. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Dr Tim Jones is undoubtedly one of Australia’s top cider makers. After starting his drinks production career making industrial cider in Cascade Brewery, Tim joined Willie Smith’s as head cider maker in 2014. He stayed in that role until 2020 and during that period of almost six years, Willie Smith’s won a stack of trophies for its ciders showcasing the complexity offered by heirloom English and French cider apple varieties. Tim’s new venture is Wild Mother Tasmania, a vinegar company that like Willie Smiths is based in the Huon Valley, Tasmania. Wild Mother is dedicated to minimal intervention, unfiltered and unpasteurised vinegars from apples and cherries, some of which have been aged in casks that have previously held bourbon, port and Tasmanian whisky. And more relevantly to this podcast, there are also some liqueurs and apple brandies in the pipeline that you’ll hear about, right after Tim explains how he first became interested in exploring the world of craft vinegar. Click here to open episode in your podcast player
Five years ago when I started this podcast I never thought I’d see small craft brewers making products like hard seltzers, low carb and non-alcoholic beers, or “cervezas” that to me look very much like the macro lagers they originally railed against. But these are interesting and challenging times in the drinks industry. All producers are currently grappling with a plethora of economic headwinds and the need to cater for increasingly health conscious consumers. Chris Moschos, who is innovation director at Lion, is better placed than most to speak about these trends. Prior to joining Lion – Australia’s second biggest brewer – in February 2022, Chris worked for almost 14 years at spirits company Diageo Australia. In this interview, Chris and I speak about a couple of Lion’s big bets in 2023. James Squire Stride, the first low carb beer released by the pioneering craft beer brand in its 25-year history. And Kirin Hyoketsu, a premix vodka lemon sour that’s been phenomenally successful in Japan, where it’s been available since 2001. This is a special episode of the Drinks Adventures podcast, produced in partnership with Lion. And given Chris’s job title, I started this interview by asking what the word ‘innovation’ means to him. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Darwin Distilling Co is a Northern Territory distillery founded by our guest this episode of the podcast, hospitality entrepreneur Rebecca Bullen. Originally from Victoria, Bec was lured to Darwin by the opportunity to open the city’s first wine bar, Stone House, which launched in 2016 and is still going strong today. She subsequently opened the gin bar and restaurant Charlie’s of Darwin in January 2020, with the distillery as its centrepiece. Carefully avoiding encounters with snakes and crocodiles, Bec forages local botanicals to create a uniquely Territorian range of gins and vodkas, with cane spirits also in the pipeline. I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I’ve never been Darwin, or the NT for that matter, so started by asking Bec about the appeal of living and working in this unique city. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the whisky industry, Dr Rachel Barrie was the first female Scotch whisky Master Blender inducted into Whisky Magazine’s illustrious ‘Hall of Fame’. Also known as the 'First Lady of Scotch', Rachel studied chemistry before landing a job as research scientist at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute. She then moved into production at The Glenmorangie Company, becoming Master Blender in 2003. During that time Rachel also managed the stocks for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, before moving to Morrison Bowmore Distillers with Bowmore, Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch, and subsequently working with Laphroaig and Ardmore.  Since 2017, Rachel has been Master Blender for Brown Forman’s Single Malt portfolio, comprising Glendronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh – distilleries we previously explored on this podcast with global brand ambassador Stewart Buchanan in 2022. I’m excited to share this fascinating interview with Rachel that I recorded when she was in Sydney recently. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Established in 1884, the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards annually attracts around 2,500 entries from over 400 wineries from across the country. The Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy is the pinnacle of the competition. It’s awarded to the best one or two year old red wine as blind tasted by the judges. Last year, the winner was the 2021 Old Legend Grenache from Hentley Farm in the Barossa Valley. It was another milestone in the ascendancy of Australian grenache, which is something I’ve discussed recently on the podcast with both with Max Allen and Jane Lopes. Hentley Farm chief winemaker Andrew Quin joins us this episode with the trophy presentation for the 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards coming up this Friday November 3. Wolf Blass once said the Jimmy Watson was worth a million dollars to the winning producer, so I started by asking Andrew about the significance of last year’s prize to Hentley Farm. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Renowned wine writer Huon Hooke previously appeared on the Drinks Adventures podcast way back in Season One, in an episode exploring Australians’ love affair with champagne. He’s finally back for this full-length chat about The Real Review Wine Classification, which launched in 2022 aiming to highlight the greatest wines of Australia and New Zealand that have an outstanding track record of a decade or longer. Huon and I discuss the fresh approach he’s taken to classifying wine versus other established frameworks; and how this helps bring emerging producers to the fore, as well as wine styles and regions that might be less fashionable, but are nevertheless extremely high quality. Case in point, the wineries of Langhorne Creek in South Australia; Bleasdale, Lake Breeze and Bremerton. The latter of those three wineries slipped Huon’s mind during our conversation, and he contacted me afterwards to see if this omission could be addressed. The Real Review was launched in 2016 to provide unbiased, independent reviews on wine. I started by asking Huon whether the classification has always been on the founders’ agenda. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Two Doctors is a whiskey company founded, as the name suggests, by Two Doctors; surgeon Jerry Schwartz and Professor John Rasko AO, a clinical hematologist, pathologist and scientist. Professor Rasko is with us this episode to discuss his epic side hustle, which utilises the brewing equipment at Sydney Brewery’s production facility in the Hunter Valley, NSW. The brewery and distillery are based at Rydges Resort Hunter Valley, one of several hotels owned by Jerry’s other business, Schwartz Family Company, which is the largest privately owned hotel group in Australia. Jerry’s backing has empowered Two Doctors to take an uncompromising approach to whisky production focused on premium single barrel releases aged for a minimum of six years, mostly in barrels supplied by local Hunter Valley wineries. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
In this edition of the news on Drinks Adventures: Top Shelf declares pathway to profitability; Cape Byron campaigns for tax relief with Excise Strength Gin; Business booming at McLaren Vale winery, Oliver’s Taranga; and New lease on life for Orange, NSW cider maker Small Acres. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Few Australian distillery launches in 2023 have been greeted with the excitement surrounding Waubs Harbour in Bicheno, Tasmania. It’s easy to see why. The distillery’s striking location in a former oyster hatchery on the rugged Tassie coast promises a true maritime expression of Australian single malt whisky. The founders bring with them some pretty impressive pedigree in both distilling and business generally. Head distiller Rob Polmear was previously head of production at Lark Distillery, and head distiller at Overeem. He’s banded together with our guests this episode – his brother Tim Polmear and Tim’s wife, Bec – who in 2015 successfully exited an e-commerce business, Flat Tummy Tea. Since our conversation, Waubs Harbour has revealed the identity of its distributor, Proof & Company, which also represents brands including Never Never Gin, Ferrand Cognac, Plantation Rum and more. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Renowned drinks writer Max Allen returns to the Drinks Adventures podcast this episode, three years on from our interview launching his last book, Intoxicating: Ten Drinks That Shaped Australia. Max’s new book that we’ll be discussing today is called Alternative Reality: How Australian Wine Changed Course. It explores the Australian wine industry’s rapid embrace of non-mainstream grape varieties over the last two decades, which can all be traced back to 2001 in Mildura, north east Victoria, where a group of visionaries launched the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. And it includes comprehensive information about the 150 different grape varieties currently grown in Australia: what the wines made from these grapes taste like, and who the best producers are. It’s another engaging and enlightening conversation with Max in which we also consider whether these emerging grape varieties could ultimately challenge the dominance of mainstays like shiraz, chardonnay and friends in the top echelons of Australian fine wine. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
In this edition of the news on Drinks Adventures: Chris Malcolm slams Mighty Craft failures; Morris releases Tokay Barrel Whisky; and Introducing The Beer Drinker’s Toolkit, a new book by Mick Wust. And, on a personal note, announcing my new industry role as media & communications manager at Spirits & Cocktails Australia. This is the final episode of Season 16. I'm taking a short break to catch up on back of house stuff, so we can start anew in a few weeks’ time. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Western Australia’s Howard Park Wines featured on this podcast very early on when I interviewed then chef winemaker Janice McDonald, in October 2018. Janice has since moved on to focus on the Margaret River wine company she founded with partner Stuart Pym, Flowstone Wines, which we explored on Drinks Adventures in early 2023. In this episode we welcome Howard Park’s current chief winemaker Nic Bowen to the show, together with Natalie Burch, general manager and marketing director. Nic joined Howard Park in 2021 with strong pedigree as a sparkling winemaker, having worked alongside the legendary Ed Carr at House of Arras. Howard Park had won a major trophy for its Jete Brut NV even prior to Nic’s arrival, and in this episode he’ll share what the company is currently doing in the vineyard and winery to build on this early success. We also touch on some of the many other projects currently underway at Howard Park and sibling brands, like the recent embrace of grenache, and the low intervention wines released under the Mon Tout label. But first up, we go back to the beginning with Natalie Burch, who details how her family became involved with Howard Park 30 years ago, and the exciting evolution of its wine styles over that time. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
Whisky production disappeared from New Zealand in 1997 with the closure of the Willowbank Distillery in Dunedin. But in 2009 Tasmanian entrepreneur Greg Ramsay brought together a group of investors to purchase Willowbank’s remaining stocks and re-launch New Zealand whisky to the world. Greg joins us this episode as we explore some of New Zealand’s little-known whisky-making heritage, and the whisky renaissance that’s now underway. His company, dubbed The New Zealand Whisky Collection, is currently preparing to launch some modern expressions, having begun production in 2021 at its own distillery installed at Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
James Christopher of Sydney’s Brix Rum is with us again this episode, following his previous appearance back in Season Two. It was very early days for Brix when we last spoke in 2018, at which time the company was relying on imported spirit for the dark rums in its range. Brix has now come to market with a new core range of rums fully produced here in Australia, which have superseded the imported product, in beautiful packaging designed by podcast sponsor, Co-Partnership. It seemed a pivotal time to sit down with James for a chat about the intervening years, and some of the exciting developments at Brix – and in the Australian rum category generally – as the company enters a new phase. Click here to open episode in your podcast player.
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