The wildfires around Bordeaux have made headlines around the world. Jane Anson, Bordeaux expert and local resident, talks to Sarah Kemp about the impact on the region and the effect on the wine industry. Listen in to hear her first-hand experience of living next to a fire 15km from the city where she lives, and her early thoughts on the possibility of smoke taint in the vineyards closest to the fires.

All the latest news and views from John Stimpfig and Elin McCoy in this month’s Omnibus. Reports on the state of Napa Valley, good and bad, how En Primeur 2025 Bordeaux fared in the UK and US (and which wines did sell through), reaction to Michelin’s guide to Burgundy, weather watch and much more.

Etna is a relatively new region in Sicily which is attracting today’s most dynamic winemakers as well as established names. David Gleave MW has just returned from there and brings us up-to-date with what is going on in our latest 10-Minute Masterclass. Find out the producers to watch and the grapes to look out for.

Jane Anson calls it “the best party in Bordeaux” and it is hard not to agree listening to Sarah Kemp and Jane Anson discuss the 2026 Connoisseur Week where they visited stellar estates including Cos d’Estournel, Pichon Comtesse, Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux, Vieux Château Certan, Angelus, Troplong Mondot, Condat and drank legendary wines back to 1945. Find out how the great vintages stacked up, and which vintages they recommend you drink now, and those that aren’t just ready yet. Listen in to hear about a week of glorious wines and people.

Is there still value in Burgundy? Jasper Morris MW, author of” Inside Burgundy”, says yes. Listen in to discover which appellations Jasper recommends to find value in our latest 10-Minute Masterclass.

When did you last see a mature bottle of Bordeaux on a wine list? Sarah Kemp talks to Michael Saunders and Robert Mathias MW of Coterie Holding’s wholesale arm Hallgarten and Novum about “The Cellar Series”, an initiative to put mature Bordeaux back on hotel and restaurant wine lists. Listen in to hear how they have persuaded some of Bordeaux’s classed growths to embrace the hospitality industry, and put Bordeaux back where it belongs, on the table.

In our final episode of The Judgement of Paris, Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig discuss the impact of the historic tasting, and discuss with Patricia Gallagher, Bo Barrett, Brian St Pierre and Hervé Berland how it affected the world’s wine industry. We find out from Bella how Steven viewed it, and hear from Steven himself on why, for him, wine is a way of life.

May 24th 1976 – a day when a tasting in Paris changed the wine world. Listen in to Part 3 of the story of the Judgement of Paris to hear from two of the people who were actually in the room, Patricia Gallagher and Bella Spurrier. Discover Mike Grigich’s reaction when he received a telegram to say Chateau Montelena had won the white wine flight and find out how Baron Phillipe de Rothschild’s reacted when Château Mouton Rothschild came second to an unknown Californian wine, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Plus the backlash against Steven Spurrier who became persona non grata in many French vineyards and how the French judges came under fire. Unmissable drama.

“We weren’t always welcome because they thought we were French”. Bella Spurrier recalling her trip to California with Steven while sourcing the wines for the Judgement of Paris. Listening in to part two of the History of the Judgement of Paris to hear the remarkable tale of how the tasting came about, and how the wines were chosen. In this episode, Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig talk to Bella Spurrier, Steven’s wife who accompanied him on his trip to California, Patrica Gallagher, Steven’s director of the Academie du Vin who came up with the idea for the tasting and Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena who remembers the visit (he was told to clean the cellars and disappear by Mike Grigich). Unmissable recollections from the people who were actually there.

The most significant wine tasting in history celebrates its 50th anniversary. Join us for the first episode in a special four-part series on “The History of the Judgement of Paris”, hosted by Sarah Kemp and John Stimpfig. Exclusive interviews with Bella Spurrier, Steven’s wife, Patricia Gallagher, director of the Academie du Vin, Bo Barrett, owner of Chateau Montelena, Brian St Pierre, media director at the Wine Institute of California in the 70s and Hervé Berland, ex- Managing Director of Château Mouton Rothschild, and a recently discovered audio of Steven Spurrier discussing how a tasting in Paris changed the wine world. Listen in to hear from the people who were there, and made it happen.