The HelenaSips Podcast

A Drink With... Tom Gilbey

Tom Gilbey has spent over 30 years in the wine trade, but you’ll probably know him best as that guy on social media who is brutally and hilariously honest about every wine he tastes, rating them CLASS, PASS or absolute ARSE. He’s tasted a different bottle at every mile of the London Marathon, demonstrated wine temperature by sitting in an ice bath at 3 degrees, he has a book, a new wine club and is about to take his live show Absolute Filth on tour around the UK and Ireland. In a world of stuffy tasting notes, he’s a real breath of fresh air. In this conversation, we talk about his long family history in booze, a joint love of unpretentious wine places, the bottle that ‘did it’ for him, ice baths, sensory memories, TikTok, Jam Shed wine and his upcoming tour, Absolute Filth. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Find Tom Gilbey Instagram: @tomgilbeywine [https://www.instagram.com/tomgilbeywine/?hl=en] For all things tour, book and info: tomgilbey.com [https://tomgilbey.com/] In the glass… A Chilli Martini from Sophie’s Soho [https://www.sophiessteakhouse.com/soho-home/] Make it yourself? Here’s how: * Vodka: 50 ml (or 1.75 oz) premium or vanilla-infused vodka * Passionfruit Puree: 25 ml (or 0.8 oz) * Vanilla Syrup: 15–20 ml (or 0.5–0.75 oz) depending on sweetness preference * Red Chilli: 1/2 to 1 sliced red chilli (adjust to your preferred heat Chill a martini glass, then muddle fresh red chilli slices with vanilla syrup in a shaker to release the heat. Add vodka and passionfruit puree, fill with ice and shake hard for 15-20 seconds. Double strain into the chilled glass to keep out seeds, and float a chilli slice on top to garnish. ******* Liked this? Listen to more episodes: Olympian Legend, Dame Jess Ennis-Hill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-jess-ennis-hill] Designer & entrepreneur, Cath Kidston [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-cath-kidston] ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-joanne-harris] Actor & Winemaker Sam Neill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sam-neill] Designer & Artist Laurence Llewellyn Bowen [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-laurence-llewelyn-bowen] Broadcaster & super athlete, Vassos Alexander [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-vassos-alexander] Co-Founder of Renais Gin, Alex Watson [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-alex-watson] Artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sarah-mccartney] Mr Plant Geek, Michael Perry [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-mr-plant-geek] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.helenasips.com/subscribe [https://www.helenasips.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Drink With... Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is an interior designer turned TV icon who’s now reclaiming his roots as a fine artist. Classically trained at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, he spent years adorning everything from oligarchs’ boudoirs to West End theatre ceilings before the cameras showed up. He then spent the best part of a decade transforming other people’s living rooms on national television with Changing Rooms, watched by 12 million Brits at its peak and since then has been a regular feature on all sorts of shows, from being thrown around a jungle on celebrity bear hunt to playing pictionary live on air. But somewhere between the leather trousers and the velvet curtains, the painter got quietly sidelined by the tvs star. Now, in his 61st year, he’s picking the brushes back up and touring the country with his third solo show, Drawn to Adorn, and by his own admission, hitting a technical peak most pensioners don’t get to brag about… We talk gin as an antiseptic, simple food habits, his upbringing in Kensington and southeast London and his journey from art school to television and back to artist again. Along the way, we touch on his mother’s influence, the importance of arty careers, confidence, genitals and some pretty solid advice for life. Find Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Instagram: @llewelynbowen [https://www.instagram.com/llewelynbowen/] LLB Design Website: llb.co.uk [https://www.llb.co.uk/] Drawn to Adorn show with Buckingham Fine Art: * Sat 27th June in Brighton * 11th July in Stratford-upon-Avon Get tickets and more information HERE. [https://sohofineart.co.uk/events/drawn-to-adorn-with-laurence-llewelyn-bowen/] Buy the art here: cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk [https://www.cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk/?s=llewelyn&sentence=1&post_type=product] In the glass… Gin. Any Gin. And sometimes, with tonic! ******* Liked this? Listen to more episodes: Olympian Legend, Dame Jess Ennis-Hill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-jess-ennis-hill] Designer & entrepreneur, Cath Kidston [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-cath-kidston] ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-joanne-harris] Actor & Winemaker Sam Neill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sam-neill] Broadcaster & super athlete, Vassos Alexander [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-vassos-alexander] Co-Founder of Renais Gin, Alex Watson [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-alex-watson] Artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sarah-mccartney] Mr Plant Geeek, Michael Perry [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-mr-plant-geek] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.helenasips.com/subscribe [https://www.helenasips.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Drink With... Mr Plant Geek

Michael Perry, also known as Mr Plant Geek, has spent his career making the plant world genuinely exciting thanks to his infectious enthusiasm for the subject. He is an author, a TV presenter, podcaster, content creator and self-described hortpreneur who spent many years at Thompson & Morgan introducing hundreds of new plants into the UK before going freelance. He has been named in the Sunday Times twenty most influential horticulturists in the country and has spent the years since travelling across Europe and beyond lecturing and speaking at all sort of plant-based events. In this episode, we hear about how it all started and where it has taken him, thoughts on faux flowers and the weirdest plants he’s come across. We also touch on functional drinks and plants in cocktails, water sommeliers and why it’s important to always go with your gut when making life decisions. Find Michael Perry, aka Mr Plant Geek Instagram: @mr_plantgeek [https://www.instagram.com/mr_plantgeek/?hl=en] Website: mrplantgeek.com [https://mrplantgeek.com/] Podcast: The Plant Based Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/3vvwDZrKOLr9JDGzbwt2xS] Book: Hortus Curious [https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9780241561553?gC=5a105e8b&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23577763092&gbraid=0AAAAADsTpASRs-0x4xXVK3RJzunjGg4En&gclid=CjwKCAjw857RBhAgEiwAI-1yKO3pXXuR7tFyD84XxOguqe7wKkhr7uHH2pbW1vV4epL4TY9IcKFCDxoCNNUQAvD_BwE] In the glass… Three Spirit, Livener, £25.99, threespiritdrinks.com [https://threespiritdrinks.com/products/livener?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&loc_interest_ms=&loc_physical_ms=1006657&matchtype=e&device=c&gclid=CjwKCAjw857RBhAgEiwAI-1yKGXN1sa_ofmrozYGazSv2uZppjBfijIQn6SEJNSzk5fRaMe7O8bO0BoCxv4QAvD_BwE&adposition=&gc_id=22198047567&h_ga_id=181942979013&h_ad_id=762434565544&h_keyword_id=kwd-2429785317974&h_keyword=three%20spirit%20livener%20drinks&h_placement=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22198047567&gbraid=0AAAAABvc1K-2Gv6LkTChep7JjOmL3lAwK&gclid=CjwKCAjw857RBhAgEiwAI-1yKGXN1sa_ofmrozYGazSv2uZppjBfijIQn6SEJNSzk5fRaMe7O8bO0BoCxv4QAvD_BwE] A gorgeous, punchy, functional, non-alcoholic botanical elixir. "The Pick-Me-Up". ******* Liked this? Listen to more episodes: Olympian Legend, Dame Jess Ennis-Hill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-jess-ennis-hill] Designer & entrepreneur, Cath Kidston [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-cath-kidston] ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-joanne-harris] Actor & Winemaker Sam Neill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sam-neill] Broadcaster & super athlete, Vassos Alexander [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-vassos-alexander] Co-Founder of Renais Gin, Alex Watson [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-alex-watson] Artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sarah-mccartney] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.helenasips.com/subscribe [https://www.helenasips.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Drink With... Jess Ennis-Hill

I was absolutely delighted to have the chance to meet Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill recently AND taste the very first bottle of her brand new ‘mid’ wine, Seven Summers. Jess Ennis-Hill is one of Britain’s most iconic athletes. She captured the nation’s heart at the London 2012 Olympics as our gold medal-winning, heptathlon champion before returning after motherhood to win gold at the world championships in 2015 and Olympic silver in Rio in 2016. But this conversation isn’t just about medals. Since retiring from elite sport, Jessica has been navigating a very different kind of challenge, shifting from a life defined by performance and precision to one shaped by family, wellbeing and a deeper understanding of the body beyond its limits. Now a mother and entrepreneur, she’s helping women rethink fitness in a more intuitive, sustainable way. In this episode, we explore what happens after you’ve achieved the dream and how you rebuild a life that feels just as meaningful and joyful, without the roar of the crowd, all with a splash of her genuinely delicious, brand new, 7% ABV ‘mid wine’: a Provençal pink called Seven Summers! [https://7summers.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOoppcqe5fhd8tl02OLaSbcCSPywXFEBJXX80M1xrDiEnmFYxbW-J] Find Jess Ennis-Hill Instagram: @jessicaennishill [https://www.instagram.com/jessicaennishill/] @wearejennis [https://www.instagram.com/wearejennis/?hl=en] Jennis on Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/c/Jennis_app/about] In the glass… Seven Summers 7% ABV Rosé Wine A brand new launch from Jess herself, Seven Summers is an exceptionally well-made rosé from Provence with an ABV of just 7% but all of the crisp and saline, strawberry-scented charm of your favourite Provençal pink. Find it for £12.50 a bottle at 7summers.co.uk [https://7summers.co.uk/] and follow on instagram @7summers_wine [https://www.instagram.com/7summers_wine/] ******* Liked this? Listen to more episodes: Designer & entrepreneur, Cath Kidston [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-cath-kidston] ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-joanne-harris] Actor & Winemaker Sam Neill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sam-neill] Broadcaster & super athlete, Vassos Alexander [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-vassos-alexander] Co-Founder of Renais Gin, Alex Watson [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-alex-watson] Artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sarah-mccartney] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.helenasips.com/subscribe [https://www.helenasips.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

A Drink With... Sarah McCartney

In this episode, I speak to Sarah McCartney, a self-taught, British artisan perfumer and founder of cult perfume house 4160 Tuesdays. Sarah is known for creating scents inspired by memories, places and everyday pleasures, from marmalade on toast and tea and biscuits to seaside holidays. After 14 years working as head writer for Lush Cosmetics’s magazine, during which time she devoured over 200 books on herbalism and essential oils in order to better describe products to customers, Sarah turned her writing talents towards a novel, which then became the launch point for a whole new new career in perfumery. She has since built a devoted following for her fragrances that are imaginative, joyful and unapologetically human. Join us as we discuss what being a called “a young upstart” at 50 looks like, the joy and function of fragrance, why perfumery doeasn’t have to be an exclusive club and of course, a lot of parallels with wine. Please subscribe if you enjoy these conversations - and tell your friends! Find Sarah McCartney Instagram: @ [https://www.instagram.com/sarahmccartneythinks/]sarahmccartneythinks [https://www.instagram.com/sarahmccartneythinks/] and @4160tuesdays [https://www.instagram.com/4160tuesdays/] 4160tuesdays.com [https://www.4160tuesdays.com/] In the glass… Kier Normonde aka Kier Breton A blend of local dry cider from Normany or Brittany with a splash of crème de Cassis de Dijon. Light, refreshing and deliciously local. ******* Liked this? Listen to more episodes: Designer & entrepreneur, Cath Kidston [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-cath-kidston] ‘Chocolat’ author, Joanne Harris [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-joanne-harris] Actor & Winemaker Sam Neill [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-sam-neill] Broadcaster & super athlete, Vassos Alexander [https://www.helenasips.com/p/podcast-vassos-alexander] Co-Founder of Renais Gin, Alex Watson [https://www.helenasips.com/p/a-drink-with-alex-watson] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.helenasips.com/subscribe [https://www.helenasips.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]