Vininspo! Podcast Episode 40: Scott Wasley, The Spanish Acquisition

Vininspo! Podcast Episode 42: Bree Stock MW, Limited Addition

Follow and subscribe to this show and written content on Substack [https://edmerrison.substack.com/]; see what's happening on Instagram: @vininspo.wine [https://www.instagram.com/vininspo.wine/]. I met Bree Stock in Melbourne a decade and a half ago, and boy, has she gone a long way since then. Some 8,000 miles away now, she’s appended a pair of powerful initials to her new surname, become an authority on the wines of her adoptive home and fomented a mini-revolution in grape-growing in one of the most revered regions in the US. Brisbane-born Bree was back from a first stint in the Pacific Northwest when our paths crossed in the classroom. She was an excellent teacher: engaging, encyclopaedic, perceptive and plain-speaking. She continues to teach, and some of these acronyms and colleagues crop up in our conversation. Like my former guests Andrea Pritzker [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/episode-2-andrea-pritzker-mw?r=59dyb2], Steve Smith [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-16-steve-smith-mw?r=59dyb2], Stephen Wong [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-38-stephen?r=59dyb2] and Kym Milne [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-41-kym-milne?r=59dyb2], Bree is an MW, or Master of Wine. She talks about the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), whose qualifications she and I still teach; the two fellow MWs she taught with in Melbourne, Meg Brodtmann [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/episode-9-meg-brodtmann-mw?r=59dyb2] (episode 9) and Kate McIntyre, do as well. She also mentions the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), which she abbreviates as “the court,” and which offers four levels of professional certification for sommeliers and beverage professionals. Other Australian contacts who crop up include Steve Webber and Leanne De Bortoli, whose influence is palpable in my article on Sarah Fagan. Bree also worked harvest with Yarra Valley winemaker Mac Forbes, who encouraged her to go to the UK to make contact with the likes of Justin Knock MW and Lenka Sedlackova MW. Peter Marchant is a Queensland-based sommelier and podcaster with whom she tasted after her first long stint overseas, and Scott Wasley is the founder of Melbourne-based importer The Spanish Acquisition—and my guest on episode 40 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-40-scott-wasley?r=59dyb2]. And the Canberra estate Clonakilla is named in reference to a formative wine event Bree attended. In Canada, Bree talks about the Okanagan Valley, a highly regarded wine region in British Columbia, and the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario. Barbara Philip is the MW she learned so much from while working in restaurants. Wine-growing in the cooler climes of northern North America gets us onto the topic of hybrid varieties, with Marquette and Phoenix mentioned in passing. For more on hybrids, check out my chat with Christina Pickard in episode 12 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-12-christina-pickard?r=59dyb2]. Bree and I also talk a lot about non-mainstream grape varieties in the Willamette Valley, where Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris—both planted here by founding estate Eyrie Vineyards—are mainstays along with Chardonnay, but Bree mentions a whole host of other grapes she’s playing with. Many of them, such as Mencía and Godello, are prevalent in Northwest Spain, and you can learn more about them from my chat with Noah Chichester in episode 5 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/episode-5-noah-chichester-of-winesofgaliciacom?r=59dyb2]. (Noah turns up in our chat, too.) Bree’s boundary-pushing ideas on suitable grapes for Oregon are shared by her husband, Chad Stock. Chad had previously worked at the likes of Antica Terra in Amity and Johan in Willamette’s Van Duzer Corridor, while Bree worked an early harvest at Bethel Heights. Chad used to make his own wines under the Minimus label, but these days he and Bree run the Limited Addition label, so named for the ideal of not interfering with the wines they’re making from a range of grape varieties and vineyards scattered across the Willamette Valley. 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 41: Kym Milne MW, Global Wine Solutions

Subscribe to edmerrison.substack.com [https://edmerrison.substack.com/]Follow on Instagram: @vininspo.wine [https://www.instagram.com/vininspo.wine/] With his teetotal forebears and country-town upbringing, Kym Milne wasn’t an obvious candidate for clocking up airmiles and accolades as one of the world’s most influential flying winemakers. But a thirst for travel, a nose for opportunity and a mild-mannered approach to collaboration have taken him from Bordertown to the furthest frontiers and back again. Kym and I crossed paths only recently, when we judged together at the 2026 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. I’d been told to look out for him by one of his deeply satisfied clients, our mutual friend Anita Goode of the Mount Benson winery Wangolina. I could immediately see the cause of her affection. Kym has the kind of deep well of experience that is unfathomable to most of us, but wears his knowledge lightly. He’s seen it all but listens intently, and while you sense the conscientiousness that has taken him so far, he is clearly light of heart. I couldn’t wait to get him on the podcast. Much of the context for this conversation is filled in as we go, but as always, some references could do with clarification. Mundulla-raised Kym talks about the start of his career at Berri Estates in the Riverland, South Australia. The winery and its wares have undergone changes through the years; it now comes under the Vinarchy banner, formed by a merger of parts of the Accolade and Pernod-Ricard operations. One of his mentors there was Ian Mackenzie, a renowned figure in Australian wine judging and sparkling production, perhaps best known for his time at Seppelt.  At Roseworthy, he studied under Bryce Rankine, author of the seminal text Making Good Wine, and the influential NZ viticulturist, Richard Smart. Richard, who died last year, was discussed in my interview with Steve Smith MW for episode 16. Coincidentally, Steve was part of the turnaround at Villa Maria alongside Kym under owner George Fistonich. The Hawke’s Bay brands Esk Valley and Vidal also came under his purview as Villa Maria. Other notable Kiwis who enter the fray during discussions about flying winemaking projects are John Hancock of Morton Estate and Trinity Hill fame, and Warren Gibson, founder of Bilancia and Trinity Hill (Hawke’s Bay), as well as consulting winemaker Alastair Maling MW. Elsewhere in the flying winemaking years, we come across the Bordelais Jacques Lurton, who is associated with various projects from Kangaroo Island to Mendoza, and Hugh Ryman, who has likewise made wine everywhere and is one of the partners, along with British wine writer Robert Joseph, behind wine brand Le Grand Noir. Grants of St. James’s was the UK importer of Villa Maria, through which Kym made important contacts. When it was taken over, Kym was part of the small group that engineered the management buyout of its own-label division, International Wine Services (IWS). Lynne Sheriff MW helped Kym scout opportunities in South Africa, and Reid Bosward (instrumental in the modern iteration of Kaesler) is the Barossa winemaker Kym installed in Stellenbosch. Speaking of Stellenbosch, we also mention a few of Global Wine Services’ present and past clients, namely Rustenberg in South Africa, Hunter’s in Marlborough, New Zealand, and, in Chile, Valdivieso and Errázuriz. 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] How harvest happens at Dr Loosen

Ernst Loosen is one of the most recognisable global figures in wine. This indefatigable ambassador for Mosel Riesling pops up all over the place to spread the gospel according to this most versatile of grapes. Dr Loosen has managed to pull off something special as a brand and a domaine: quality at scale and a range of grand-cru bottlings that faithfully express some of the planet’s most breathtaking sites without costing the earth. There’s plenty there to admire, but as a fan of German precision, I wanted to put a more practical question to Erni this time. Erni has been at the helm of the Dr Loosen estate in Bernkastel since the late 1980s. In his time in charge, he has revived lesser-known, ancient German customs by “innovating” with patiently raised, balanced dry wines while respecting the valley’s traditions with precisely delineated off-dry to lusciously sweet styles. When you take into account that Dr Loosen makes single-site wines from 11 grands crus spread across several villages and encompassing all Prädikats, the logistics get quickly complicated. I just wanted to know: Come vintage time, how the heck does he marshal his pickers to get it all done? What follows is the preamble to the podcast, so if you listen to that, you needn’t read this (although it may help familiarise you with place and category names). Similarly, the video below is the interview segment of the podcast, so if you’re reading this, watch that and ignore the podcast. Got it?! The Mosel Valley is in Germany’s west. It’s named after the Mosel River, which rises as the Moselle in the Vosges mountains in France. In Germany, it twists its way up to join the Rhine River at Koblenz. The Upper Mosel, or Obermosel, crosses the border into Germany and winds its way up to the city of Trier. Around here, you have the famous tributaries of the Saar and Ruwer, both of which are home to famous producers and distinctive wines; this area is referenced in my podcast with Cornelius Dönnhoff and Philipp Wittmann [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-alt-format-wittmann-and-doennhoff?r=59dyb2]. At the opposite end, at the river’s northern tip, you have the Untermosel, or Terrassenmosel, known for its towering stone terraces. This is where you’ll find Heymann-Löwenstein, in honour of whose renegade founder, Reinhard Löwenstein, I penned this tribute [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/ode-to-wine-renegade-reinhard-hands?r=59dyb2]. And in between, you have the Mittelmosel, or Middle Mosel. Here, you will find Weingut Dr Loosen and its famous sites. Erni has grand-cru vineyards—the German is Grosse Lagen—in several villages. Travelling downriver, these are Bernkastel, Graach, Wehlen, Ürzig, Erden, Lösnich, Kinheim and Bremm. Using the German convention of adjectivising the place name and prefixing it to the vineyard name, the Grosse Lagen are Bernkasteler Lay, Bernkasteler Johannisbrünchen, Graacher Himmelreich, Graacher Domprobst, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat, Erdener Treppchen, Lösnicher Försterlay, Kinheimer Rosenberg and Bremmer Calmont. The Mosel is Germany’s oldest winegrowing region, with the Romans bringing vines here 2000 years ago. In 1787, the Archbishop of Trier decreed that Riesling replace all inferior vines in the valley. A century later, Germany’s Riesling wines were the most revered and sought-after on the planet. All kinds of things went pear-shaped for Germany in the 20th century, and it also shot itself in the foot with wine laws that undermined the primacy of good farming and the supremacy of Riesling and other quality grapes. These days, Riesling is back where it belongs: No. 1 in Germany. It accounts for just over 62% of the Mosel vineyard. Mosel Riesling is the world’s most distinctive rendition of this grape, and that distinctiveness is borne of hugely specific circumstances, to which the river valley is key. This is a cool, continental climate at high European latitudes. That makes it marginal for ripening Riesling grapes (please refer to my interview with Jason Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards in Oregon [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-36-jason?r=59dyb2] for a fantastic explanation of marginality). Though relatively cool, summer days are long, with, hopefully, plenty of sunlight bringing intense, bright flavours to the grapes, which—though they achieve relatively low sugar and therefore potential alcohol levels—hang on the vine for a long time, developing surprising depth. Because water cools more slowly than land, the river helps extend the growing season by delaying the onset of properly cold weather. It also reflects light onto the photosynthesising vines. On the river’s banks, the vines climb steep slopes, ideal for intercepting more light. As you drive up the valley, it’s obvious that most of the planted slopes share the same orientation, facing predominantly south for maximum sunshine in the northern hemisphere. The soils are mostly slate, although Ürziger Würzgarten is extremely rare with its red volcanic rock. These extremely stony soils retain and reradiate heat. This exceptional set of circumstances combines to ensure slow but complete ripeness in a cool place where acidity will naturally be high and grape sugars comparatively low. The steep, stony slopes are not conducive to machinery, and hand-harvesting is a key Mosel custom that Erni and I discuss: grape selection for different wine styles. Another factor giving rise to strict selection is botrytis cinerea, or noble rot. Humidity from the river gives rise to misty autumn mornings, when the fungus begins to attack the grapes, puncturing the skins and causing water loss, thus concentrating flavours, sugars and acids. So long as the grapes stay otherwise healthy, with warm, stable afternoons to dry them out, this can reap benefits and is the key to nobly sweet wines such as Tokaji and Sauternes. This brings us to the point of this interview. The Mosel Valley is the wine region that most fully exploits the full Prädikat spectrum. So called because the style of wine is predicated on a minimum must weight—that is to say, the amount of sugar in the must at the time of harvest, measured in degrees Oechsle—the Prädikat system spans six categories. Starting with the lightest style, Kabinett, the other five Prädikats, in ascending order of minimum must weight, are Spätlese, Auslese, Eiswein, Beerenauslese (BA for short), and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese can all be dry; therefore, the amount of alcohol and residual sweetness in these wines varies according to the winemaker’s aims. When Erni talks about declassifying fruit, he means that grapes that qualify for Spätlese and above automatically meet the minimum must weight for Kabinett. In the Mosel, you have the option to “declassify” these grapes to the “lower” category of Kabinett, but Erni explains that this would do a disservice to the category and the customer. (Incidentally, his anecdote about the Vinea Wachau, where declassification is outlawed, involves Emmerich Knoll, who crops up in this Austrian Riesling piece [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/post-taste-the-otherness-of-austrian?r=59dyb2]). Beerenauslese and Eiswein have the same minimum must weight and are always sweet; the former relies on botrytis to concentrate its sugars, the latter is harvested when fully frozen. This removes water from the equation during pressing, yielding extremely high must weights. Highly rare, expensive Trockenbeerenauslese is made from the highest-quality, totally shivelled, botrytised berries. The other style we talk about is the GGs, or Grosses Gewächs wines. A GG is the top dry wine from a grand-cru vineyard (Grosse Lage) by a member of the VDP. Dr Loosen, Wittmann, Dönnhoff and Gunderloch are all members of this private band of quality-focused growers. Again, there is more context on this in my interviews with Cornelius, Philipp and Johannes Hasselbach of Gunderloch [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/vininspo-episode-14-johannes-hasselbach?r=59dyb2]. In the six-minute video embedded above, Erni talks about the terroir of three of his GGs: Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Treppchen. It’s highly illuminating and not as dry as it sounds, I promise. Finally, Erni mentions some of the estate’s wine-growing preferences here, such as excluding botrytis-affected grapes from the Kabinett and GG wines. The estate’s Kabinett and Spätlese wines always have residual sweetness (as a rough guide, usually just above 40g/L of residual grape sugar for the Kabinett and 60-ish for the Spätlese). The Auslese wines comprise roughly 50% healthy and 50% botrytised berries and come in with roughly 90g/L residual sugar. Remember, though, that such wines have extremely high acidity to balance this. If it isn’t already obvious, Erni is something of a maverick, and he produces a couple of sub-genres of GG that sort of shouldn’t exist. These are dry grand-cru wines with extra ageing in barrel and bottle before release, and they’re labelled GG Réserve and GG Homage. I’d like to extend my thanks to Erni Loosen for the generosity with which he has always shared his time and wisdom, and to the Dr Loosen team, who were responsible for most of the superb images on the video version of this podcast. 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 40: Scott Wasley, The Spanish Acquisition

Dubious logic first led Scott Wasley to Spain. First, he figured planes jetting into Sydney for the 2000 Olympics would, once emptied of their sporting spectators, be offering cheap flights back to Europe. And second, he was drinking a slightly stale dry Sherry when that fateful miscalculation fuelled his travel plans with sommelier pal Peter Healy. An Iberian adventure was the seemingly inevitable upshot. What wasn’t remotely inevitable at that stage was that Scott would go on to found Australia’s foremost importer of wines from Spain and Portugal. Based in Melbourne, The Spanish Acquisition hasn’t exactly ridden the Spanish wine renaissance wave over the last 25 years. Instead, the relationship has been somewhat symbiotic, and the pulse of that wave has quickened in tandem with TSA’s rise. Vino de España was barely a puddle in Australia at the turn of the century. In overseas markets generally, modern Spanish wine was far more “modern”—big, ripe, extracted, oaky and red—than it was Spanish. It was only beginning to find its identity and mojo following the slump brought on by the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled from 1939 until his death in 1975. The new millennium has seen a revolution, and it seems the buzz around Spanish wine is at its loudest right now. My interview with Scott is partly the story of his Iberian Peninsula initiation and partly how the wave has swelled. Along the way, there are many local and personal references, which will be useful to clarify here. The most famous of those are Paul Keating, former Labor Party leader who served as Australia’s 24th Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996, and the late Roland S. Howard, celebrated both as a solo artist and as a member of the Nick Cave-fronted post-punk outfit The Birthday Party. (Scott wore a band t-shirt for the interview.) In the Aussie hospitality scene, Scott mentions working at Universal, the erstwhile Adelaide wine bar of Shaw + Smith winery co-founder Michael Hill-Smith, alongside Scott’s mentor, Duncan Miller. La Corvina is the now-defunct bar in the Melbourne seaside suburb of St Kilda, where Scott was handed the keys by Michael Kennedy. In the same suburb was The George Hotel, whose burgeoning ’90s wine scene was mentioned in my conversation with Matt Paul of the Italian wine importer, Trembath & Taylor, in episode 29 [https://open.substack.com/pub/edmerrison/p/vininspo-podcast-episode-29-matt-paul?r=59dyb2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]. The trajectory of Matt and his former boss, Michael Trembath, is discussed, as is that of my former boss, Patrick Walsh, founder of the importer CellarHand and my guest on episode 4 [https://open.substack.com/pub/edmerrison/p/episode-4-patrick-walsh-of-cellarhand?r=59dyb2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true]. Further Victorian importers starting around that time were Pinot NOW founder Steve Naughton and Euan McKay, who runs an eponymous wholesaler. Melbourne restaurateurs Andrew McConnell of Trader House and Guy Grossi, who called time on 26 years at CBD institution Grossi Florentino in 2025, also crop up. Other wine friends of Scott’s include former sommelier Peter Healy, who travelled with him to Spain, and Peter Bessey, who was instrumental in the decision to start TSA. A third Peter turns up when we get to Spain: Peter Sisseck, founder of Dominio de Pingus in Ribera del Duero. He forms a monumentally influential trio with Álvaro Palacios and Telmo Rodríguez. The latter two’s projects are so numerous and scattered that it’s hard to keep up, but Álvaro’s name is connected to Palacios Remondo in Rioja, Álvaro Palacios in Rioja and Priorat, and Descendientes de J. Palacios in Bierzo, the last with his nephew Ricardo. Telmo’s famed family estate in Rioja is Remelluri, while other projects include Bodega Lanzaga in Rioja, Ladeiras do Xil in Valdeorras (Galicia), Molino Real in Málaga (Andalucía), Pegaso (Sierra de Gredos) and Al-Muvedre (Valencia). In Jerez that first time, Scott was hosted by Jane Ward of the Sherry bodega Lustau. In Priorat, he visited and counted as an early principal Capçanes, and also met Sara Perez, then of Mas Martinet and later Sara Perez i René Barbier in neighbouring DO Montsant. For more context on the grape varieties Mencía and Albariño, I recommend listening to my excellent conversation with Noah Chichester of the Wines of Galicia Substack for episode 5 [https://edmerrison.substack.com/p/episode-5-noah-chichester-of-winesofgaliciacom?r=59dyb2] (plus a bonus). The Spanish Acquisition website is also a treasure trove of information on Spanish and Portuguese wines. I spoke to Scott on the eve of a Sherry tasting at Prince Wine Store, which also houses a restaurant called Bellota (Spanish for acorn—a food gorged on by pigs that become delicious ham). Speaking of Sherry, Scott has conceived his own, a superb en rama bottling called Albero that sports a label designed by his wife, the artist Leah Teschendorff. And finally, here’s what was on the drinks list for Scott and Leah that night: a sparkling wine from Raventós i Blanc in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Cataluña; a dry, unfortified white from the Palomino grape bottled under the Manuel Antonio de la Riva label, a Sherry bodega revived by Willy Peréz and Ramiro Ibañez; and a red wine based on the Mandó grape from Celler del Roure in Valencia. ¡Salud! 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] Louis Michel Chablis

The best way to enjoy this episode is to watch the video, which comes complete with subtitles, maps and other visuals. I urge you to watch it; you'll find it at edmerrison.substack.com [https://edmerrison.substack.com/]. Don't forget to follow along with happenings on Instagram, too: @vininspo.wine [https://www.instagram.com/vininspo.wine/] So, when Bryan Adams was getting his first real six-string, Guillaume Michel’s grandfather Louis was kissing goodbye to his last oak barrel. Two pivotal moments during the summer of ‘69 right there; one led to a cheesy soft-rock catalogue, the other to a library of flinty, pure Chardonnay. I know which repertoire I prefer. This domaine in the heart of the village of Chablis is a reference point. “Those who favour stainless steel want the purest flavour of Chablis, with the firm streak of acidity and the mineral quality that the French describe as goût de pierre à fusil, or gunflint,” goes the entry in the Oxford Companion to Wine, before declaring: “Louis Michel’s is generally considered to be the epitome of this style.” I’ve known its current custodian, Guillaume, for over a decade and work for his Australian importer, CellarHand. His good humour, exceptional English and incredible vineyard holdings in the historic heart of the appellation convinced me that he is the ideal guest for an in-depth discussion of the lie of the land and the wines it produces. The purpose of this 45-minute video is to start with the historical and geographical basics—climate, topography, geology, etc.—and delve deeper into the subtleties of terroir and how to mitigate challenges to maximise its expression in the glass. Much of this is objective, some is subjective, but I hope it is all, somehow, instructive, adding to a listener’s understanding and, crucially, enjoyment. Guillaume sprinkles the domaine’s specifics through our conversation, but in a nutshell, premier and grand cru wines account for 70% of production at this 25-hectare estate, turning the norm for the region on its head. He owns vines in the Left Bank premiers crus Montmains, Forêts, Vaillons, Séchets and Butteaux (plus a separate parcel bottled as Butteaux Vieilles Vignes), and the Right Bank premiers crus Vaulorent and Montée de Tonnerre. The domaine also produces Grand Cru Chablis from parcels in Grenouilles, Les Clos and Vaudésir. There’s a particularly enlightening segment about flag-bearing premiers crus. This refers to the practice of grouping a family of premier cru sites under a headline or banner climat. Wines carrying the flag-bearer’s name could contain grapes from various sub-climats within the family, or just from the flag-bearing climat or, indeed, a sub-climat within the group that enjoys less fame than the flag-bearer. We discuss Guillaume’s Forêts, Butteaux and Montmain wines, all of which are grown on the Montmain hill. Séchets and Vaillons grow on the Vaillons hill. On the Right Bank, Vaulorent is part of the Fourchaume premier cru grouping, and Montée de Tonnerre is a flag-bearing premier cru. The maps help illustrate this, and my thanks go out to the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) for its assistance with visual material. It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Burgundy’s wines. 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]