The English Wine Diaries

Dec 03 2024 81 ep. 47 mins 8
The English Wine Diaries Podcast artwork

The English Wine Diaries is a weekly interview series with Rebecca Pitcairn, editor, journalist and founder of The Southern Quarter, an online lifestyle magazine about English Wine. Each week Rebecca is joined by a special guest from the world of wine (and beyond) to talk all about their English wine journey. From sommeliers to vineyard owners, hoteliers and some rather familiar faces too, discover how a love of wine – particularly that made on British soil – has helped shape their lives and careers. www.thesouthernquarter.co.uk

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Episode 81: Mark Darley, All Angels

Dec 03 2024 54 mins  
Joining me on the last episode of season 11 of The English Wine Diaries is Mark Darley, founder and owner of All Angels Vineyard in Newbury, Berkshire. Mark and his family became custodians of Church Farm in 2009 and, while it was still earlyish days for English wine back then, talks around the dinner table soon turned to planting a vineyard. When the farmland was analysed as ideal

Episode 80: Luke Spalding, Everflyht

Nov 26 2024 70 mins  
Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Luke Spalding General Manager at Everflyht Vineyard in East Sussex. With a background in wine studies from Plumpton Wine Division, and having worked at nearby vineyard, Ridgeview, Luke joined the Everflyht single vineyard estate in 2019 just two years after owners Ben and Sam Ellis planted the first vines. As well as pl

Episode 79: Laura Robinson and Mathew Abbey, Burn Valley Vineyard

Nov 12 2024 44 mins  
On today’s episode of the English Wine Diaries is Laura Robinson and Mathew Abbey from Burn Valley Vineyard in Norfolk. Laura’s family moved to Crossways Farm in North Creake in October 1989, but it wasn’t until 2016 that they decided to plant vines on their land, harvesting their first crop after the hot summer of 2018. Since then, they have built and expanded a winery and d

Episode 78: Tom Gilbey, wine expert and marathon runner!!

Nov 05 2024 50 mins  
Joining me on today’s episode of the English Wine Diaries is award-winning wine expert and social media sensation, Tom Gilbey. The Gilbey name is synonymous with wine and spirits. The Gilbey family were the first English family to buy a vineyard in Bordeaux in 1875 and subsequently became the most prominent wine and spirits merchant in the UK, selling one in every three bottles o

Episode 77: Richard Balfour-Lynn, Co-founder Balfour Wine Estate

Oct 22 2024 41 mins  
Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Richard Balfour-Lynn, co-founder of Balfour Winery in Kent. Following an education at Westminster School and the City of London Business School, Richard set up his first business at 24 years old – his early business interests ranged from Irish linen and lace to medical diagnostic centres and air conditioning companies

Episode 76: Johnny Stanford, Restaurant Tern

Oct 16 2024 46 mins  
Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Johnny Stanford, chef patron of Tern Restaurant in Worthing. Manchester born and bred, Johnny began his career working with Paul Kitching at his acclaimed restaurant Juniper in Altrincham, before heading to Cumbria, then Edinburgh and finally settling in Sussex in 2012. Johnny worked as sous chef at the Michelin starr

Episode 75: Mary Bridges, head winemaker at Gusbourne

Oct 08 2024 36 mins  
Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Mary Bridges, head winemaker and vineyard visionary at Gusbourne. Mary grew up near Inverness in Scotland in a farming family, where her love of the land developed from an early age, along with an instinct for the flavour alchemy created by good wine. She started her career in hospitality and quickly became enthused wit

Episode 74: Sam Caporn MW aka The Mistress of Wine

Oct 01 2024 56 mins  
We're back with series 11 of The English Wine Diaries and kick starting this season is The Mistress of Wine, aka Sam Caporn MW. Not only is Sam one of just 421 Masters of Wine world-wide, (of which there are only 149 women) she was also the recipient of the 2011 Madame Bollinger Medal for Excellence in Tasting and remains one of just 16 women to have received the medal to date. Sam

Episode 73: Wine presenter and communicator Tom Surgey

Aug 06 2024 69 mins  
Joining me on the last episode of series 10 of The English Wine Diaries is wine expert and presenter, Tom Surgey. Tom was just 14 when his career in hospitality started, peeling carrots and potatoes in a Sussex pub after school. At the tender age of 20, he found himself working at The Ivy in London, where a hero called Sancho taught him the basics of wine and his passion for the dr

Episode 72: Michael Kennedy, CEO Roebuck Estates

Jul 30 2024 46 mins  
Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Michael Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of Roebuck Estates – who make premium sparkling wine from their multi-vineyard estates in Sussex. Following university, Michael joined the Graduate Management Scheme of Marks and Spencer, and became the first trainee manager to be appointed to an overseas position in Paris. Aft