Vininspo! Episode 46: Liam McElhinney, Tasmanian Vintners

Vininspo! Episode 46: Liam McElhinney, Tasmanian Vintners

Subscribe to this Substack [https://edmerrison.substack.com/] and follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/vininspo.wine] so you never miss a story! Liam McElhinney’s astonishing show-circuit success at Lowestoft once seemed to me like lightning from a blue sky. The land of the long white cloud had seen it all before—twice over—but I was oblivious. The irreverent, self-effacing bloke I met during the Covid years, who spun a tragicomic tale of lording it up in a Tassie mansion during lockdown while his wife and kids were sequestered in New Zealand, wasn’t obviously a wine wunderkind grown old and wise. But that’s Liam, I guess; one of the most easy-going hard-workers you could meet. This was an enjoyable conversation with a charismatic raconteur. As is always the case, there is plenty of depth, though—both in detail and in the up-and-down, cut-and-thrust of an ambitious go-getter with an open, original mind. And succeeding, mind you, in an agricultural pursuit that is rarely, if ever, straightforward. When Liam and I first crossed paths, he was in Melbourne with Julian Langworthy, who gave a cracking interview—similarly lighthearted with several serious lessons—for episode 26 of the Vininspo! podcast [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-26-julian-langworthy?r=59dyb2]. Liam and Jules are kind of distant cousins within an Australian family winemaking tree, which itself could do with some untangling, not least so you can get to grips with some of the brands mentioned. That family business is called Fogarty Hall Fine Wine Estates. One of its founders, Peter Fogarty, appears in the chapter where Liam is lured to Tasmania. In 2019, Fogarty and a partner, Rod Roberts, acquired the assets and business of the collapsed contract facility Winemaking Tasmania, rechristening it Tasmanian Vintners. Liam became chief winemaker of this new entity. Fogarty Hall’s Tasmanian portfolio now includes the brands Ossa (founded by Rod Roberts and his wife Cecile), Thalia, Strelley Farm and, most famously, Lowestoft. Liam was sitting amid the grandeur of the 1840s-built Lowestoft homestead on the banks of the Derwent River when we recorded the podcast. This label, in particular, has brought Liam head-turning show success, including the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 2023. The unrivalled variety—and quality—of grapes that Liam works with in his role has fast-tracked him to being an authority on this small island’s remarkably varied terroirs. We talk about these climatic variations, especially in the Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley and East Coast. On the mainland, Fogarty Hall owns Deep Woods in Margaret River, where Julian Langworthy has made his mark as one of the most decorated winemakers of his generation. Lake’s Folly (Hunter Valley), Dalwhinnie (Pyrenees) and Evans & Tate (Margaret River) are among the wineries in the same stable. Turning back the clock to Liam’s Kiwi days, he mentions formative encounters with Cloudy Bay founding winemaker Kevin Judd, now of Greywacke, and Jane Ferrari, long-serving brand ambassador for Yalumba in the Barossa. The Central Otago pioneers mentioned are Rudi Bauer (Quartz Reef), Grant Taylor (formerly Gibbston Valley, later establishing Valli) and Lois Mills of Rippon. In Hawke’s Bay, Warren Gibson and Trinity Hill are discussed at length with Bilancia’s Lorraine Leheny in episode 44 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-44-lorraine-leheny-of-bilancia?r=59dyb2]. John Hancock also crops up there, and there’s also an overlap in my conversation with Kym Milne MW for episode 41 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-41-kym-milne?r=59dyb2]. The same, in fact, goes for Craggy Range visionary Steve Smith MW (episode 16) [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-16-steve-smith-mw?r=59dyb2]. Looming large in Liam’s Marlborough years are the figures of John and Brent Marris. Brent played a lead role in launching the Delegat brand Oyster Bay before building up Wither Hills, which was eventually sold to the drinks giant Lion Nathan (now Lion). The Ned is the name of the next Sauvignon Blanc brand to go viral at Marris’s hand, with Liam integral to that growth. Waihopai is the subregion linked to its point of difference, coming to prominence after the Wairau and Awatere valleys. From The Ned, Liam progressed to te Pā, teaming up with its founder, Haysley MacDonald. And one more person who should be acknowledged is Liam’s long-suffering wife, Gemma Lyons. Gemma works for Ossa, but I first came across her during her time with Wairau River, another Marlborough family estate I had the pleasure of working with. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe [https://edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

[Vininspo! Alt. Format] Haardt-to-Haardt with Sophie Christmann

Sometimes it’s easy to confuse classicism with conservatism. On the face of it, 1798-founded Weingut A. Christmann seems to tick both boxes. Urbane 7th-generation patriarch Steffen Christmann read law at Heidelberg and presides over the VDP group of revered growers. The estate’s super-elegant wines grow exclusively on sites classified as premier and grand cru, and their crisp, sharp labels speak eloquently of their breeding. Classic to the core. But conservative? It ain’t that simple. All that class belies a dynamism that has only picked up pace since Sophie Christmann joined her father at the helm a decade ago. I first met Sophie in Melbourne in 2016, when she had come to Australia to work the harvest with Jeffrey Grosset and Stephanie Toole in the Clare Valley, and her drive and articulacy were notable then. She talks about her time at Grosset and Mount Horrocks in our interview. Later that same year, she went on work harvest in Baden, southern Germany, with Julian Huber of Weingut Bernhard Huber in Malterdingen. This is one of the country’s champions of world-class Pinot Noir, and we also discuss Sophie’s formative experience there. Sophie immediately started to transform Christmann into a leading producer of site-driven Spätburgunder, as Burgundy’s revered red grape is known in those parts. Again, we discuss that evolution in detail. I also had the pleasure of visiting Gimmeldingen in 2019, the year that Sophie and Steffen had another carpe diem moment, this time with traditional-method sparkling wine. Again, she shares excellent details on this project, which has become Sektgut Christmann et Kauffmann. Alsace-born Mathieu Kauffmann, the other half of this partnership, was the celebrated chef de cave at Champagne house Bollinger. He was initially lured to the Pfalz by a position at Reichsrat von Buhl before teaming up with the Christmanns on an ambitious initiative inspired by the great terroir wines of the grower Champagne movement. In our conversation, I refer to a couple of other [Vininspo! Alt. Format] episodes: one with Ernst Loosen [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-alt-format-how-harvest-happens-at-dr-loosen?r=59dyb2] of the Mosel and another with Cornelius Dönnhoff (Nahe) and Philipp Wittmann (Rheinhessen) [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-alt-format-wittmann-and-doennhoff?r=59dyb2]. Both of those, as well as episode 14 with Gunderloch’s Johannes Hasselbach [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-14-johannes-hasselbach?r=59dyb2], will provide the listener with other fascinating detail about fine German wine. Speaking of progressive, the Christmann estate has been certified biodynamic by respect-BIODYN for over 20 years. We talk about the reframing of the range, whose Aus Den Lagen Riesling and Pinot Noir represent the already high-quality jumping-in point. We talk about the Grossen Lagen (grand-cru sites) of Meerspinne in Gimmeldingen, Vogelsang in Neustadt and, in the village of Königsbach, Ölberg-Hart and jewel-in-the-crown Idig. The Ersten Lagen (premier-cru sites) are spread across these same villages plus Ruppertsberg and Mussbach. Sophie also mentions the famous villages of Forst and Deidesheim, also within the Mittelhaardt section of Pfalz. That subregional name is derived from the Haardt mountains (or, as Sophie says, hills), which are the extension of the Vosges mountains (Vogesen in German) of Alsace to the south, the other side of the French border. Other Pfalz friends (geddit?) that crop up are Weingut Rings, Weingut Dr Bürklin-Wolf and Ökonomierat Rebholz, led by Hans-Jörg Rebholz. A touching reference is made to Philipp Wittmann’s father, Günter. Weingut Rudolf Fürst in Franken, meanwhile, is cited as another benchmark Spätburgunder producer. On that note, German Pinot Noir plantings have jumped by 50% in the past 30 years, and Sophie is one of those leading the quality charge. She talks about how the breakdown of her estate’s plantings has shifted over time. For context, in 2024/5, Riesling accounted for 25.2% of vines in the Pfalz (Palatinate in English), while Pinot Noir was just 7.3%. At Christmann, it is shifting towards two-thirds and one-third, respectively. The wines of Sophie, Steffen, Mathieu and the team are imported into Australia by CellarHand, by whom I am employed on a part-time basis. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe [https://edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Vininspo! Episode 45: Andreas Wickhoff MW, Bründlmayer

Andreas Wickhoff spread his wings and travelled far and wide before coming home to roost in the Danube Valley, not too distant from where he grew up in rural Steiermark. As general manager at the Bründlmayer estate in the Kamptal, he keeps the flame burning at what Jancis Robinson has called “a beacon for Austrian wine”. Not an ounce of his worldly, cosmopolitan background, hospitality training and Master of Wine education is wasted as he goes about pursuing and portraying provenance and excellence in wine. I first met Andreas in Melbourne a year or so after Willi Bründlmayer came for Riesling Downunder in 2015. I had long since fallen in love with the grace and purity of the estate’s Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, and Willi himself is the very image of the worldly, wise, humble gentleman. Andreas seemed the perfect fit for the estate. Lucid, resolute and articulate, he is compelling company and puts you in the picture with consummate ease. In this interview, I deliberately milked Andreas for his Austrian wine knowledge, and needn’t expand much thanks to his thoroughness and clarity. There are a few names and terms that could do with spelling out, however. Andreas grew up in Steiermark (Styria), prime wine-growing territory known for its Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon, which, as he explains, is the local name for Chardonnay. Weingut Sattlerhof is the estate in South Styria that changed his life, first through a single-site wine from the Kranachberg vineyard, and later when he joined forces with Willi Sattler. Premium Estates of Austria is the name of the group Andreas represented. Other members included Fritz Wieninger (Wien), Gernot Heinrich (Neusiedlersee, Burgenland), Fred Loimer (Kamptal) and Alois Gölles, a fellow Styrian famed for his artisanal spirits. You can learn a lot about the Wachau from this video [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/the-wachau-10-minute-overview?r=59dyb2], including prevalent soils such as gneiss and loess, and the implications of the three-tiered classification system spanning Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd. Andreas gives further insight, using as reference points the likes of Alzinger, F.X. Pichler, and Emmerich Knoll towards the east of the valley, and Franz Hirtzberger at its western edge. In the Kremstal region, Lenz Moser, Stadt Krems and Winzer Krems are the larger producers mentioned, all of which provide an accessible reference point. In the Kamptal, meanwhile, the sparkling wine programmes of Loimer, Jurtschitsch, Schloss Gobelsburg and Steininger are held up as exemplars. Staying in the Kamptal, the Bründlmayer winery is in Langenlois and other villages mentioned are Kammern (home to the Lamm Erste Lage, or premier-cru site) and Zöbing (home to the Heiligensten Erste Lage). Note that this area’s classification does not yet extend to grands crus; when it does, you can be sure these will be near the top of the list. Other vineyards we discuss in the Bründlmayer portfolio are Spiegel, Berg Vogelsang, and Loiserberg (for Grüner Veltliner), Steinmassl (Riesling), and Steinberg vineyard (Chardonnay). Willi’s wife Edwige deservedly gets a few mentions, not least for her love of Champagne. Coteaux Kampenois is Andreas’s tongue-in-cheek nickname for his multi-vintage base wine, a Kamptal twist on the French Coteaux Champenois appellation for still wines from that region. In another French reference, Hubert Lamy is the Burgundy domaine where a young Willi Bründlmayer did a stage. Finally, there is a reference to the Austrian wine scandal, the mid-1980s crisis from whose depths the likes of Bründlmayer hauled this nation’s reputation before propelling it into the stratosphere. This involved wine producers illegally adding the toxic chemical diethylene glycol—an antifreeze agent—to cheap bulk wine to increase its richness and body. Needless to say, none of the producers we spoke about had anything to do with it. The powers that be in Austrian wine have since done a superb job in raising standards and awareness of the country’s varied and abundant vinous gifts. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe [https://edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Vininspo! Podcast Episode 44: Lorraine Leheny, Bilancia

Like content like this? Get it straight to your inbox by subscribing to my Substack [https://edmerrison.substack.com/]. Follow on Instagram: @vininspo.wine [https://www.instagram.com/vininspo.wine/] The simplicity of La Collina’s label is almost as enchanting as the complexity of the liquid inside the bottle. A slender figure, arms stretched out straight on either side, effortlessly bearing evenly weighted scales. An elegantly compact statement, perfect in form, strong and enduring. The silhouette and the Syrah. I’ve long admired the Bilancia wines from afar without having visited Hawke’s Bay or met Lorraine Leheny or her husband, Warren Gibson. I rectified that, to some degree at least, when Lorraine visited Melbourne in May with a handful of fellow growers from the region. I signed up for a double header: a masterclass featuring wines from Two Terraces Vineyard (Bilancia’s sublime 2024 Chardonnay from here is the current release) and a broader regional tasting where Warren would have fronted a masterclass on Hawke’s Bay reds had he not done himself a mischief on the farm that kept him home. In any event, I got to taste the wines, and Lorraine and I made a date for this conversation. I’m glad we did. There’s plenty to enjoy here from this modest and highly accomplished vigneron. The chat is easy to follow, albeit with a few local references demanding further context. On the craft beer front, there is a reference to influential drinks entrepreneur Phil Sexton, who launched the Mathilda Bay and Little Creatures brands. He also established the Giant Steps winery in the Yarra Valley, and duly crops up in episode 11 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-11-steve-flamsteed?r=59dyb2], which features its founding winemaker. The Traditional Brewing Company pubs in suburban Melbourne that we talk about are the Loaded Dog in Fitzroy North (now closed; named for a Henry Lawson short story), the Geebung Polo Club (after a Banjo Paterson poem; now the Auburn Hotel) and the Sydney Liars’ Club (from a contemporary poem; now called the Doutta Galla). Carlton United Breweries (CUB) is the brewing giant behind Carlton Draught, while Coopers is a now ubiquitous South Australian bottle-, can- or keg-conditioned ale that was hard to track down in Melbourne back in the day. Among Lorraine’s cohort at Roseworthy Agricultural College were Nick Delaforce (now making Port at Niepoort), Brian Bicknell of Mahi (Marlborough), Rebecca Salmond of Odyssey (Auckland), Herb Friedli (Poderi Crisci, Waiheke Island), Matt Harrop (Fowles, Strathbogie Ranges), Mike Gadd and Virginia Willcock (Vasse Felix winemaker Ginny was my guest on episode 32 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-32-virginia?r=59dyb2]). Lorraine and Warren’s friendship with Tom and Nadège Carson of Serrat (Yarra Valley) dates back to those times, too, likewise Stephen Pannell (episode 30 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-30-stephen?r=59dyb2]), whose family hung out with Lorraine’s at Tom and Nadège’s wedding. Sticking with the Aussie connections, the late Dr John Middleton and his wife, Marli, founders of Mount Mary, took Lorraine under their wing early on. Mario Marson (Vinea Marson, Heathcote) was their winemaker there at the time. When the conversation turns to Chardonnay, David Bicknell (Oakridge, Yarra Valley) shows up alongside Steve Flamsteed (Decades), my guest on episode 11 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-11-steve-flamsteed?r=59dyb2]. Taking us full circle, Steve Flamsteed also makes wine under the Salo label with Hawke’s Bay native Dave Mackintosh. Back in Hawke’s Bay, then, Trinity Hill is the estate that lured Warren and Lorraine to the region in the late ’90s. John Hancock, one of its founders and a former winemaker at Morton Estate, crops up here and also shares some history with Warren in the flying winemaker scene, as discussed with Kym Milne (my guest on episode 41 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-41-kym-milne?r=59dyb2]). Other Hawke’s Bay names that appear are Dr Alan Limmer, founder of Stonecroft, Craggy Range (and the person who built that vision, Steve Smith MW of Pyramid Valley, Smith & Sheth and episode 16 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-16-steve-smith-mw?r=59dyb2] fame) and cornerstone estate Te Mata. The lie of the land is, of course, very important, and the map above helps illustrate it. Hawke’s Bay’s three key rivers are the Tutaekuri, Ngaruroro and Tukituki. The La Collina vineyard is situated on Roys Hill, just beyond the western cusp of the Gimblett Gravels. The Bridge Pa Triangle extends behind it, and to the west of that are the Mangatahi Terraces, home to Two Terraces Vineyard. The Heretaunga Plains stretch out to the south. Besides Two Terraces, the vineyards behind Bilancia’s single-site Chardonnays are Trelinnoe, Kaikora and Lorraine’s own Tiratore site. Uvaggio is the name of Bilancia’s Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne field blend. The excellent Kumeu River, just outside Auckland, is cited as a model for these origin-specific wines. At the other end of the spectrum is the Oyster Bay brand. This Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc phenomenon was just starting to bubble away while Lorraine was working at Delegat in Auckland. Founded by siblings Jim and Rose Delegat, the company’s chief winemaker at the time was Brent Marris, owner of Marisco Vineyards in Marlborough. Finally, Cyclone Gabrielle was the tropical storm that caused devastation in Hawke’s Bay and other parts of New Zealand’s North Island in 2023. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe [https://edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

[Hiatus] Ode to Wine: Renegade Reinhard hands over the reins

The Vininspo! podcast will resume regular broadcasting next week, back with a Bilancia bang when Lorraine Leheny joins me from Hawke’s Bay. I’m taking a little breather and leaving you in the capable hands of Reinhard Löwenstein, and an article penned as a Substack post in November 2025. Read it here [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/ode-to-wine-renegade-reinhard-hands?r=59dyb2]. If it sometimes feels like we’re peering into the abyss, it’s worth lifting our gaze to these towering cliffs of slate, where all is substance and possibility… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe [https://edmerrison.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]