I’ve arrived pretty late to podcasts, especially when it comes to my specialist subject of wine, but many of my friends are fans. One was keen that we should collaborate on one, so I realised I needed to get up to speed.

I’ve spent the past few weeks listening to them in any spare minute driving, sitting on trains, doing the washing-up – the great advantage the pod has over a blog being that you can do something else when you’re listening to them, as opposed to staring at a screen.

They seem to fall into two main camps – ones that are basically an interview with a winemaker or other wine expert, which are generally quite geeky, and those that are more like a chat show with lots of noisy banter between the presenters. Then there’s the odd one, like Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink to That!, (known in the pod world as IDTT), the most professional wine podcast out there, which includes in-depth investigations such as an hour-long and well-researched programme on the aligoté grape.

The Q&A approach is most likely to appeal if you’re already into wine, although Saturday Kitchen’s amiable presenter Olly Smith’s A Glass With … takes a broader approach, chatting to celebs about their lives in general over their favourite wine. (Turns out Andi Oliver likes sherry, and Clare Balding Meursault.)

Good examples of the interview model are Heritage Radio’s In the Drink, which is fronted by sommelier Joe Campanale (though, like many other US podcasts, you have to endure a lengthy commercial plug before you get going), and Lawrence Francis’ UK-based Interpreting Wine, which amazingly manages to broadcast on an almost daily basis (there’s a great session with the Wine Show’s Joe Fattorini).

Of the noisy bantz model, which is probably of more interest to less wine-obsessed listeners, I like the no-holds-barred Natural Disasters (again US) fronted by Bon Appétit’s wine editor Marissa Ross; and Ben McFarland, Sam Caporn and Tom Sandham’s It’s the Drink Talking, which covers a full range of drinks and rates them as, er, “spit or swallow”.

So, having caught the podcast bug, have I said “yes” to my pal (Master of Wine) Liam Steevenson? As it happens, I have. Our podcast is called Bâtonnage, which refers to the process of stirring up the spent yeast cells in a wine to add texture and flavour (stirring – geddit?) and it launches this month. Wish us luck!

Four wines to sip with your favourite podcast

Goisot Bourgogne-Aligote 2016 £16.40 Les Caves de Pyrène, 12.5%

Pure, intense, mineral. Interesting alternative to Chablis





Tornai Juhfark 2017 £6.99 Lidl, 12%

Weird sort of Hungarian grape podcasts love to cover. Dry, smooth, delicious

Barbadillo Solear Manzanilla £5.95 for a half bottle Wine Society, £10.99 Waitrose, 15%

Still one of the wine world’s best bargains – keep handy in the fridge

Escarpment The Edge Pinot Noir 2016 £14.99 Waitrose or Ocado. 14%

Lush NZ pinot from Interpreting Wine interviewee Larry McKenna

This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information.