Stories From the Cellar

Apr 22 2024

Stories From the Cellar Podcast artwork

Stories From the Cellar tells the stories of the people, places, and wines in the Vine Street Imports portfolio. We import wines primarily from Australia and South Africa, plus Italy, England, New Zealand, and Slovenia. From up-and-coming producers to established legends, you’ll hear the stories of how our winemakers were propelled into this vinous universe. You’ll hear what lights them up, the raison d’être that gives meaning to their work. We'll also share short educational snippets about various wine regions, and we'll talk about wine culture and the wine business. Ultimately, the purpose of this show is to tell stories that bring wine alive. By understanding the greater context behind the bottle, it renders what’s inside it a little more… human. Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi. Special thanks to @snacktime for the music. @vsiwine vsimports.com

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Australia's Evolving Wine Styles: From the Parker Era to the Natural Wine Movement and Beyond

Apr 22 2024 22 mins

This episode with Vine Street Imports founder and CEO Ronnie Sanders delves into the evolution of Australian wine over the last 25 years. It explores the shift from the '90s highly manipulated, high alcohol content wines appreciated by critics like Robert Parker, to a modern appreciation for natural, lower alcohol content wines. Ronnie contrasts the older, bigger, and bolder styles

Australian Wine Prices: How Did We Get Here?

Apr 22 2024 15 mins

This episode with Vine Street Imports' founder and CEO, Ronnie Sanders, discusses the dynamics affecting Australian wine prices. Beginning with an overview of how market demand, rather than production cost, determines pricing, the discussion tracks the shift from the era of 'cheap and cheerful' Australian wines to today's landscape of premiumization. Key factors include the global

Western Australia: Hidden Wine Gems from Margaret River and Beyond

Apr 22 2024 8 mins

This episode of Stories from the Cellar gets into Western Australia's wine region, with a special focus on Margaret River. With insights from Ronnie Sanders, founder and CEO of Vine Street Imports and an expert in Australian wines, the podcast uncovers the geographical isolation, diverse climates, and cultural uniqueness that make Western Australia's wine regions so special. Highli

Victoria: Where Australia's Cool Climate Wines Shine

Apr 22 2024 7 mins

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of Victorian wines, featuring Vine Street Imports founder and CEO, Ronnie Sanders. The episode highlights Victoria's distinct climate, geography, and the exceptional wine producers within the region. Ronnie shares his passion for presenting Victoria's cool climate wines, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah, which challenge the comm

South Australia: The Heart of Australia's Wine Industry

Apr 22 2024 12 mins

This episode featuring Ronnie Sanders, the founder and CEO of Vine Street Imports, focuses on wines from South Australia. Ronnie shares his extensive knowledge on the subject, discussing the history, key regions like McLaren Vale and Barossa, notable grape varieties, the influence of climate and soils, and the pioneering of the natural wine movement in the Adelaide Hills. He also e

Johan Meyer (Mother Rock & J.H. Meyer Signature Wines) Part 2: Brutal! wines, Stompie's gripe with old vine Chenin Blanc, and his brand new Wine of Origin appellation called Piket-bo-berg

Dec 16 2023 27 mins

This episode is the second half of our conversation with Johan Meyer (also known as Stompie) from Mother Rock and J.H. Meyer Signature Wines based in the Swartland, South Africa. Here, we dive into his wines and why the Cape needs to diversify beyond old vine Chenin Blanc. We also talk about the new wine of origin appellation called Picket-bo-berg that he’s created at his home es

Johan Meyer (Mother Rock & J.H. Meyer Signature Wines) Part 1: The Swartland Revolution & filling the natural wine gap in the market

Dec 07 2023 30 mins

Today's episode is with Johan Meyer (also known as Stompie) from Mother Rock and J.H. Meyer Signature Wines based in the Swartland, South Africa. If you’re privy to the natural wine scene in the Cape, you’ll know these labels without a doubt. I often hear people say that there are three guys that really put natural wine on the map in South Africa and that is Johan Meyer, Jurgen

Ben & Luc Cowley (Auntsfield Estate): The story of Marlborough's first commercial winery

Nov 13 2023 28 mins

This episode is a compilation of interviews with the Cowley brothers: Ben, the viticulturist, and Luc, the winemaker. For some excellent context on Ben’s backstory, go back and listen to the episode just before this one. It tells the story of how he made the switch from the film industry to wine, and how, at the beginning when he moved from Auckland to his parents' new Auntsfield

Ben Cowley (Auntsfield Estate): From the film industry to wine

Nov 13 2023 29 mins

Today's episode is with Ben Cowley, the viticulturist at Auntsfield Estate based in the southern valleys of Marlborough, New Zealand. Auntsfield is unique in Marlborough for two main reasons. First, they put a heavy focus on their Pinot Noir production in an industry that is almost entirely focused on Sauvignon Blanc. Unlike many Marlborough vineyards, Pinot Noir makes up half of A

Louis Schofield (Worlds Apart) Part 2 - The magic of South Australian wine

Sep 25 2023 32 mins

This is the second half of ourconversation with Louis Schofield from Worlds Apart Wines. Part 1 is integral for understanding who Louis is thanks to the mentors, especially Taras Ochota, who helped shape his winemaking identity today. You should really start there if you haven’t listened already. In this episode, we go into more depth with Louis’ Worlds Apart wines. We cover th