This episode is the second half of our interview with Elena Brooks, the winemaker for Dandelion, Sister’s Run, and Heirloom Vineyards. Part 1 tells the story of Elena’s upbringing in communist Bulgaria and how she moved to Australia and started her own wine label in her early twenties. This episode, Part 2, covers Elena’s ambition with Dandelion, the challenges and opportunities that exist today within the Australian wine scene, and the region Elena believes should have ‘Grand Cru’ status.

At the time she started Dandelion, the trend in Australia was big, bold red wines. Elena launched Dandelion to tell a new story, one of acid and tannin and aroma over fruit and alcohol alone. She was also trying to tell the story of place and regional diversity, which she believes is paramount if Australia wants to compete globally. 

While Australian wine today faces plenty of challenges, Elena’s perspective is one of gratitude to be making history, writing the playbook for Australian wines alongside an incredibly talented cohort of peers in the industry. Changing the narrative has always been Elena’s drive. When she started Dandelion 17 years ago, she had one lofty mission: to change peoples’ palates. 

01:19 Boutique Wines and Changing Palates

01:50 Wine as a Storytelling Medium

03:05 Food and Wine Culture

05:14 The Aspirational Journey of Wine

09:18 Exploring Unique Vineyards

14:37 Eden Valley's Signature Riesling

17:49 Challenges in the Australian Wine Industry

20:16 Opportunities in the Australian Wine Industry

21:03 Trust Your Palate  

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

In today’s episode, which is part one of two, Elena Brooks from Dandelion Vineyards shares how she went from making pantyhose-filtered wines as a teenager in Bulgaria to a true winemaking visionary in South Australia. Elena has multiple wine brands, including three that we import: Dandelion, Sister’s Run, and Heirloom Vineyards. All of these brands are based in McLaren Vale but feature varietal wines from all over South Australia. Elena makes some of our highest volume wines, but don’t confuse that for low quality. These wines often come from single, old-vine sites, and they are drinkable and acid-driven while staying true to the benchmark styles of their respective regions.

Elena has made quite a name for herself in Australia and the US, and her path to success success was entirely self-made. It involved immigrating from Bulgaria to Australia around the age of twenty and learning the customs and language of a new country. In this episode, you’ll hear how Elena’s first experience with wine was at a 45,000-ton Bulgarian winery that employed 500 people, including her mom. When communism fell in 1990, an influx of foreigners, namely Australians, came to work at this winery for big supermarket brands. At the age of 12, Elena was interpreting at the winery after school, and a few years later she’d move to Adelaide to study winemaking. Elena was drawn not only to the winemaking side but the marketing of wine, as marketing wasn’t exactly a thing in communist Bulgaria. She’s a true entrepreneuer in every sense of the word, diving not only into the product, wine, but the sales, marketing, and philosophy of the product. 

Part one sets us up for part two, which delves into Elena’s wines, the challenges and opportunities in Australia today, and which region Elena would classify as Grand Cru if Australia used the cru system. 

To begin, we have to go all the way back to Elena’s childhood in Communist-era Bulgaria, when she remembers tasting her very first wine, a sparkling herb infused white wine… 

00:29 Wine Culture in Bulgaria

01:32 Childhood Entrepreneurial Ventures

03:43 The Analytical Mind Behind Winemaking

06:27 Accidental Entry into the Wine World

15:36 Transition to Australia

18:44 Starting Dandelion Vineyards

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode of Stories from the Cellar gets into Western Australia's wine region, with a special focus on Margaret River. With insights from Ronnie Sanders, founder and CEO of Vine Street Imports and an expert in Australian wines, the podcast uncovers the geographical isolation, diverse climates, and cultural uniqueness that make Western Australia's wine regions so special. Highlighting Margaret River for its Chardonnay and Cabernet productions, the episode explores the region's history, climate influences, and its blend of Bordeaux and California characteristics, alongside a culture that combines luxury with a casual surf atmosphere. The discussion also touches on other important wine hubs in Western Australia like Pemberton, Denmark, and Franklin River, emphasizing the variety of wines produced due to the area's vast size and varied climates.

00:29 Welcome to Stories from the Cellar: The Western Australia Wine Episode
01:23 The Geographical and Viticultural Diversity of Western Australia
03:25 Spotlight on Margaret River: A Premier Wine Region
04:34 Margaret River's Unique Climate and Culture
06:12 The Surf-Inspired Lifestyle of Margaret River
07:28 Wrapping Up: Insights and Invitations

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode featuring Ronnie Sanders, the founder and CEO of Vine Street Imports, focuses on wines from South Australia. Ronnie shares his extensive knowledge on the subject, discussing the history, key regions like McLaren Vale and Barossa, notable grape varieties, the influence of climate and soils, and the pioneering of the natural wine movement in the Adelaide Hills. He also emphasizes the importance of old vine material, the diverse winemaking talent fostered by the University of Adelaide, and touches on personal relationships and stories intertwined with South Australia's wine industry. The podcast aims to provide educational insights into the complexities and distinctions of South Australian wines, celebrating its significance in the global wine landscape.

00:47 The Genesis of Vine Street Imports
01:07 Exploring Australian Wine: A Series Overview
01:33 Deep Dive into South Australia's Wine Scene
02:28 The Significance of McLaren Vale and Barossa
03:13 The Rich Diversity of South Australian Wines
08:09 Understanding the Impact of Soil on Wine
09:42 The Role of Education in South Australia's Wine Industry
10:42 Personal Connections and Closing Thoughts

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is the second half of our conversation with Johan Meyer (also known as Stompie) from Mother Rock and J.H. Meyer Signature Wines based in the Swartland, South Africa. Here, we dive into his wines and why the Cape needs to diversify beyond old vine Chenin Blanc. We also talk about the new wine of origin appellation called Picket-bo-berg that he’s created at his home estate on top of the Piketberg Mountain. Plus, we end with the story of why Stompie is called Stompie. We’ll pick up our conversation where we left off, talking about how Chenin Blanc allows him a little bit more creativity than Chardonnay, and why this desire to make something outside the box led him to become South Africa’s first producer to receive the special invite to the ‘Brutal!’ club of winemakers, a label that is very much a part of the global natural wine movement today. 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Johan Meyer (also known as Stompie) from Mother Rock and J.H. Meyer Signature Wines based in the Swartland, South Africa. If you’re privy to the natural wine scene in the Cape, you’ll know these labels without a doubt. I often hear people say that there are three guys that really put natural wine on the map in South Africa and that is Johan Meyer, Jurgen Gouws of Intellego (there’s an episode with him a few back) and Craig Hawkins of Lammershoek and Testalonga.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Stompie got into natural wine, and how it wasn’t always what he did. At the beginning, he was working for a big commercial winery called Sutter Home – you might have heard of it – out in California. After another stint at a smaller winery in New Zealand, plus a transformative experience at Matassa in Southern France – a natural wine project started by Tom Lubbe, a New Zealander who grew up in South Africa South – Stompie returned home determined to do his own thing. He shares how the Swartland Revolution which took place around 2010 helped pave the way for newcomers like himself, and how at that time, there was a huge gap in the market for affordable natural wine made at scale. Enter: Mother Rock Wines. 

That is all part 1 of my conversation with Stompie. In Part 2, we talk more about the wines, including his 'Brutal!' series, which is a natural wine “club” of sorts, to which Stompie was the first South African producer ever invited. You’ll also hear about the new wine of origin appellation that he has established at his high elevation home on the Piketberg Mountain, about two and a half hours north of Cape Town. Plus, stick around for the end of part 2 where you’ll hear why Stompie is called Stompie.

To begin the story, we need to go all the way back to Stompie’s childhood in the Garden Route, where the dominant type of farming was not of grapes, but of cows...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is a compilation of interviews with the Cowley brothers: Ben, the viticulturist, and Luc, the winemaker.

For some excellent context on Ben’s backstory, go back and listen to the episode just before this one. It tells the story of how he made the switch from the film industry to wine, and how, at the beginning when he moved from Auckland to his parents' new Auntsfield estate, he was living in a primitive woolshed on the property that still had the slats for manure to fall through while the sheep were being sheared. You’ll also hear about Ben’s thoughts on how Marlborough became synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc, and his take on new wave New Zealand.

Today, we’re diving into the place and the wines. You'll hear about the history of Auntsfield as Marlborough's first commercial winery. You'll hear what makes the Southern Valleys particularly well suited to Pinot Noir, and why it makes less herbaceous styles of Sauvignon Blanc. And you'll hear about the new Appellation Marlborough map that is the first of its kind to highlight the subregional differences in Marlborough. 

This is an excellent episode if you're curious about the climate, soils, and history of Marlborough! 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Ben Cowley, the viticulturist at Auntsfield Estate based in the southern valleys of Marlborough, New Zealand. Auntsfield is unique in Marlborough for two main reasons. First, they put a heavy focus on their Pinot Noir production in an industry that is almost entirely focused on Sauvignon Blanc. Unlike many Marlborough vineyards, Pinot Noir makes up half of Auntsfield’s vineyard area, as it’s particularly well suited to the old clay hillsides found there. Second, Auntsfield was the first commercial winery to be established in Marlborough in the late 1800s. A Scottish immigrant named David Herd planted his first vines in 1873 at a time when most agricultural work had to do with sheep, not wine.

As you’ll hear Ben explain, wine was made at Auntsfield until the 1930s when prohibition kicked in and the vineyard closed. Fast forward about 70 years, and Ben’s parents Graeme and Linda bought the property and restored the wine estate with the help of their sons, Ben, the viticulturist, and Luc, the winemaker. Before getting into wine, Graeme and Linda were movers and shakers in the New Zealand film industry, having been the first people to rent motion picture cameras, which kick started the independent filmmaker movement. Ben followed in their footsteps and was working in the film industry in Auckland before his second career in wine. As you’ll hear, an unsteady freelance paycheck and a newborn baby got Ben and his wife thinking about their futures, and then a house break in was the straw that broke the camel’s back. They packed up their car and headed to the south island on the fateful day of September 11th, 2001.

In this episode, you’ll hear all of those stories, plus we’ll get into New Zealand's wine scene – the challenges, the cool stuff happening, and the balance between old-school and next-gen. We talk about why the Cowleys are so passionate about Pinot Noir, and why Marlborough became synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc. For a deeper dive into the wines and the site, check out the episode just after this one with both Ben and Luc. But first, the story of Auntsfield as told by Ben, who could never have imagined such a dramatic switch from film to wine...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This is the second half of ourconversation with Louis Schofield from Worlds Apart Wines. Part 1 is integral for understanding who Louis is thanks to the mentors, especially Taras Ochota, who helped shape his winemaking identity today. You should really start there if you haven’t listened already. In this episode, we go into more depth with Louis’ Worlds Apart wines. We cover the extraordinary places that they come from, why Louis believes that “in South Australia, the path to Burgundian style winemaking is not paved with Pinot but with Grenach,” as well as his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities present within the Australian wine industry today. 

To jump back in, we’ll start with the meaning behind the name, Worlds Apart.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episod is with Louis Schofield from Worlds Apart Wines based in Adelaide Hills, Australia. Louis is a jack-of-all trades wine industry legend who spent a decade working in fine wine retail and dining, including at the acclaimed Orana and East End Cellars. He was content in that world, until he met one of his biggest mentors, the late Taras Ochota of Ochota Barrels. Taras was a mover and shaker who is widely credited as having been the impetus behind South Australia’s new wave. His style can be summed up as punk, boundary-pushing, minimalist, small-batch wines. Or, as Taras puts it, “I reckon you can often see the styles of music people like in the wines they make. I like edgy music, rawer, sharper, and my wines tend to be all elbows and knees sticking out." 

Louis met Taras when he was working at East End Cellars, and he was was quick to accept when a friend alerted him that Taras was looking for harvest workers. Seven years later, Louis is still an integral part of the Ochota Barrels production, helping Taras’ wife Amber in the cellar after Taras’ tragic passing in 2020.

At first, Louis was reticent about starting his own label. “There were enough people making shit wine without me doing it too,” he told me. But with a bit of a nudge from Taras, Louis and his now wife, Hannah, co-founded Worlds Apart in 2017. Their wines could technically be called natural, with no additives but minimal sulfur, but they avoid rigid dogma and focus on crafting wines that are pure, vibrant, and most importantly, speak of place. They source grapes from all over South Australia, notably McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, and Eden Valley. You’re going to find verve and energy in Louis wines, a bit of texture in the whites, and lacy tannins in the focused reds. 

In this episode, which is part one of two, Louis and I talk about his experiences at Orana, East End Cellars, Ochota Barrels, and even that time he did a harvest in Arizona with Maynard James Keenan from Tool. We talk a lot about Taras, and the impact he and Amber continue to have on Louis’ wine identity. There are some really special memories that Louis shares in here, and having never met Taras myself, I feel really lucky to have gotten to hear firsthand from someone who knew him so well.

In part two, we talk a little bit more about Louis wines, and the extraordinary places that they come from, why Louis believes that “in South Australia, the path to Burgundian style winemaking is not paved with Pinot, it's paved with Grenach,” as well as his thoughts on the challenges and opportunities present within the Australian wine industry today.

To start our conversation, we begin with how Louis got into winemaking in the first place. It was a circuitous route, starting with a job in music, and briefly, shed engineering…

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the intro music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is with Matt Gant from Gant & Co. wines based in Karridale at the southern tip of Margaret River in Western Australia. This is the second half of our conversation with Matt – go back and listen to Part 1 if you haven’t already. In this episode, we dive into the wines in more detail as well as the special place that Matt now calls home. Plus, why Australia's past is it's biggest challenge...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This is the fifth and final episode in our mini-series on South African wines. The goal with this series is to highlight the key regions, grapes, winemakers, and stories of the South African wine industry to distill this huge category into bite sized, educational pieces. Joining me for this episode about the Stellenbosch is our in-house South African wine expert, Aaron Meeker. 

While the last four episodes covered wine regions specifically, this episode is about the industry at large. We talk about stereotypes and push back in the market and how the story of South African wine is being rewritten thanks to a number of movers and shakers in the US. We also talk about Vine Street’s strategy for premiumizing South African wines. Through storytelling, persistence, and direct engagement with buyers, our goal has always been to cultivate a greater appreciation for South African wines. 

Our conversation starts by going back to 2015 with an introductory email from Mick Craven, and how we got into South African wine knowing virtually nothing about this category...

00:46 Discovering South African Wine: A New Opportunity

01:33 Challenges and Learning Curves

02:03 Initial Knowledge and Perceptions

02:57 The Hard Sell and Changing Perceptions

03:48 Growth and Optimism

05:38 Key Players and Market Dynamics

07:15 Strategies for Success

10:02 The Long Game: Building a Market

12:46 The Future of South African Wine

18:55 Conclusion: The Road Ahead

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Matt Gant from Gant & Co. wines based in Karridale at the southern tip of Margaret River, Australia. Matt has been a friend of Vine Street for the last two decades. We began importing his First Drop line from the Barossa in about 2004/2005. We no longer work with First Drop – nor does Matt – but last year we picked up his newest venture, Gant & Co. These wines come from the family estate established by Claudia’s father in Karridale, which is a cool-climate subregion of Margaret River, highly influenced by both the Indian and Southern oceans.

The lineup includes a Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc, which is made in a savory rather than fruity style with lees aging and subtle oak presence, as well as two lighter-bodied reds. The first is called Nouveau. It’s made in the Portuguese Palhete style, which is a nod to Matt’s many years working in Portugal. He is actually currently a partner in a project at Quinta da Pedra Alta in the Douro, and this co-ferment of red and white varieties is similar to the base wine of port prior to fortification. Think crushable, chillable red that’s also a really serious wine made from dry-farmed grapes, indigenous yeast, etc. etc. Finally, the Jeune is a light red blend of Cab, Merlot, and Malbec, and it’s made in what Erin Larkin from the Wine Advocate calls “a summertime Cabernet.” Listen to the second episode of this interview to hear me fangirling over this wine.

These wines disprove every trite American perception of Australian wine as sunshine in a bottle. They are light and acid-driven, yet pack so much flavor and texture onto that slender frame. They’re really great wines, and they’re such an incredible value, especially for Australian wine these days.

Our conversation is split into two parts: in the first episode we talk about Matt’s background, and how his palate has evolved over the years thanks to his time working abroad. In the second episode, we get into Karridale and the wines.

To begin, Matt started by sharing with me his very first memory of wine growing up – not in Australia, but in a small town near in the county of Essex, just northeast of London...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Ronnie Sanders, founder and CEO of Vine Street Imports, recounts the story of meeting Matt Gant from Gant & Co., a husband-wife winemaking project based in Karridale at the southern tip of Margaret River. Plus, Ronnie shares the defining thing that he loves about Matt's winemaking style. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is the second half of our conversation with Martin Dicuzzo from Magna Montis based in Argentina's Uco Valley. In Part 2, we talk about Martin’s first vintage that received praise from Tim Atkin, Martin’s first time meeting Ronnie and the Vine Street team, the crazy reality of inflation in Argentina, and of course, the wines. To pick up where we left off, Martin explains that with his bright, fresh Tupungato Malbec that is fermented in stainless steel and aged in concrete, he ended up creating somewhat of a paradox...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Martin DiCuzzo, the owner and winemaker of Magna Montis based in Argentina’s Uco Valley. Magna Montis is the first Argentinian producer that Vine Street has ever imported. Ronnie was really drawn to these wines because they’re so unlike the typical fruit bomb stereotype of wines from Mendoza. They are super fresh and bright, even the ones aged in oak. If you know the rest of our portfolio that is largely built off the “new wave” ethos – you’ll know instantly that they fit right in. The lineup includes three Malbecs – there’s the Tupungato, which is fruit-forward, fresh and bright, the Paraje Altamira which is aged in oak and is more classic in its profile, and the Machinte, the most premium wine, which is very elegant and powerful – as well as one uniquely floral and saline Chardonnay.

In this two part conversation with Martin, we talk a lot about this new chapter of Argentinian wine. Part 1 is all about Martin’s background, including his nearly four year stint living in China working for Bodegas Norton as an Asian distribution manager. We talk about how he got into winemaking without any formal education, and his big hopes and dreams for his country’s wine reputation. In Part 2, you’ll hear about the praise Martin got from Tim Atkin in his first ever vintage, his experience meeting Ronnie and the Vine street team for the first time – including how Ronnie simply could not believe that Martin had never heard of the Grateful Dead – and of course, we’ll touch on the wines and the reasons behind his winemaking ethos.

Martin grew up in a pretty quiet neighborhood in a middle class family. His childhood obsession, which turned into something of a lifelong passion, was music. He had a rock band and even started his own company importing music electronics. For much of his twenties, it really didn’t seem like wine was anywhere in his future…

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is the second half of our conversation with Jurgen Gouws of Intellego Wines. If you haven't already, go back and listen to part 1 to hear more about Jurgen’s background. In this episode, we talk about how a surfing trip in Bali inspired on of his most beloved wines, the Kedungu red blend, his recent foray into the pet nat world, and the subtle intricacies of working with growers who supply fruit to many different producers. 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Jurgen Gouws from Intellego Wines is a laidback guy with a surfer’s tan who makes serious natural wines. His lineup runs the gamut from pet nats to skin contact whites to chillable reds and seriously incredible Syrah. After studying at Elsenburg in Stellenbosch, he traveled the world to work at Terroir al Limit in Priorat, at Stéphane Ogier in the Rhone Valley, Matassa in the Languedoc, and even two harvests in Russia. Back in South Africa, he spent four years at Lammershoek with Craig Hawkins, who, having also spent time at Matassa, liked to play with elements of natural winemaking. Jurgen was developing his own winemaking identity as he watched Craig lean more heavily into that ethos with the launch of Testalonga. With his own brand Intellego, Jurgen adopted many of the same ideologies: organic farming, minimal intervention in the cellar, and a real focus on place more than anything.  Intellego translates to “I understand” in Latin and is aptly named, as Jurgen has really begun to understand the potential of the incredible Swartland. He has a particular affinity for some of the older Chenin Blanc bush vines in South Africa and is not afraid to push the boundaries of texture. 

Jurgen came to the US recently and we were lucky enough to snag him for an hour to chat. This episode is part 1 of 2. Here we talk more about Jurgen’s background and in part 2, we talk more about his wines. In this episode, Jurgen shares his experience working in Russia, Afrikaans culture, the influence that Eben Sadie had on his career, and how he decided to get into wine at 15 years old after giving up his lifelong dream of being a dentist...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Mick Craven from Craven Wines was our very first guest on this little podcast when we launched last year. He was back in town, so we sat down for a quick catch up. 

In this episode, we talk about the Cravens' infamous Pinot Gris, which (surprise, surprise) was rejected yet again by the South African Wine & Spirits Board for not conforming to the 'typicity' of Stellenbosch. Mick has some things to say about that. We also talk about the exciting things happening in the Polkadraai Hills (a ward of Stellenbosch), the Cravens' new cement toys in the cellar, and cheesesteaks... 

Plus, Mick shares a new wine that might be coming on the Craven horizon! 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is part 2 of our conversation with Franco Lourens of Lourens Family Wines based in Paarl, South Africa. Go back and check out part 1 if you haven’t already, as this episode is a continuation of our conversation.

In this episode, we talk about how Franco launched his own project, as well as the stories behind his wines. We start with the story of his white blend. Franco released his first solo wine as a means of getting some extra cash for an engagement ring. The plan worked, and later, he would rename this white blend after his wife, Lindi Carien... 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is an interview with Franco Lourens of Lourens Family Wines based in Paarl, South Africa. The word ‘family’ is found in the name of many wine projects, but few actually put their family at the center of their branding. Franco’s wines are not only named after members of his family, but their faces also adorn the labels. His red blend, 'Howard John,' is named after his dad, the white blend 'Lindi Carien' after his wife, and the coveted varietal Grenache after his daughter, Lua Ilse.

Working mostly with old-vines, Franco has become masterful at the intricacies of blending to craft quietly confident wines, an acumen that has earned him a deserved place among South Africa's best new-wave producers. Franco originally started his own label while working as the assistant winemaker at Alheit Vineyards in Hemel-en-Aarde, but since 2020, Franco has been back in Paarl sharing cellar space with Lukas from Van Loggerenberg Wines. 

In this episode, which is part 1 of 2, Franco shares his background and reveals what – or rather - who kept him from quitting the wine business when he felt he was hitting a plateau. In part 2, you’ll hear how needing some extra cash for an engagement ring prompted Franco to start his own label, as well as the stories behind many of his wines. 

For Franco, becoming a winemaker was never a given, as wine wasn’t a big part of his parents’ lives. But when you grow up in a viticultural paradise, it’s easy for wine culture to seep in through osmosis...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Ronnie Sanders, CEO of Vine Street Imports, shares his take on why current market conditions mean it's the perfect time to sell English sparkling wine...

This is the fourth episode in our mini-series on South African wines. The goal with this series is to highlight the key regions, grapes, winemakers, and stories of the South African wine industry to distill this huge category into bite sized, educational pieces. Joining me for this episode about the Stellenbosch is our in-house South African wine expert, Aaron Meeker. 

Despite being the seventh-largest wine-producing country, South Africa has a highly concentrated viticultural area predominantly within a short drive from Cape Town. This episode dives into South Africa's unique winemaking regions with some of the country’s more extreme climates. Our very own Aaron Meeker shares the places that should be on your radar if you’re looking to move beyond Stellenbosch and Swartland. From the cool climate of Elim to the rugged terroir of the West Coast, this episode highlights the challenges of farming in harsh conditions and the evolving diversity in wine styles and grape varieties across the country.

00:52 Exploring Remote Wine Regions: Malgas

01:22 Extreme Winemaking in Cape Agulhas

02:09 The Coldest Wine Region: Elim

02:37 Rugged Elegance: Montagu and the Karoo

03:00 West Coast Wine Pioneers

03:42 Diversity in South African Chenin Blanc

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is the second half of Henry Laithwaite's interview from Harrow & Hope. I encourage you to go back and listen to part 1 if you haven’t already as this is merely a continuation of our conversation. In Part 2, we talk more specifically about the Harrow & Hope wines, as well as well as the catch 22 between creative freedom and the need for stricter regulations to protect the quality of English sparkling wines. To pick up where we left off, Back in 2018, Henry was paid a visit by the New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov, but at the time, Henry didn’t actually know who that was…

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Harrow and Hope is a very special producer in our book because they represent the next gen of sparkling wine in England. New York Times wine critic Eric Asmiov calls their wines, “as different from the big English names as Champagne’s grower-producers are from the big houses."

In other words, these are small-batch, organically farmed, mostly native-ferment wines from their 16 acre vineyard in the county of Buckinghamshire, which is not really known for being wine country. Most vineyards in England are located further south, in places like Sussex and Kent. But Henry and his wife, Kaye, found the perfect plot of land on an ancient Thems gravel terrace, where water flowed about 450,000 years ago. For thousands of years the Thames cut down into the gravels and chalk and left a terrace with steep slopes with large deposits of flint gravel, mixed into thick orange clay lying on top of the chalk.

This terroir, as we know, is perfect for sparkling wine production. But how did Henry and Kaye get there? How did they get to be known as the small grower producer in the rising English sparkling wine industry? That, of course, is what you’re about to hear. In this episode, we talk about growing up in a prominent wine merchant family and how he went from making pineapple wine to the real stuff in McLaren Vale, Bordeaux, and finally, England. We discuss living in French culture (read: "c'est pas possible), and what it's like to come after the likes of Nyetimber and Ridgeview.

Wine, in some form or another, would always be a part of Henry’s future. His very first memories are not running around in Reading, where he was born, but wandering through vineyards in Bordeaux.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Ronnie Sanders, CEO of Vine Street Imports, shares his first memories of Henry Laithwaite of Harrow & Hope when he was "just a kid" working with ReadHead Studios in McLaren Vale. Plus, hear what Ronnie remembers about visiting the Harrow & Hope vineyard for the first time in Marlow, England. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Regions, districts, wards... oh my! In this short episode, we break down South African Wine of Origin law for you simply, using the analogy of a Russian Doll. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

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This episode is the second half of our conversation with Jolandie Fouché of Wolf & Woman Wines. If you haven’t listened to part 1, I would encourage you to go back and do so before listening to this one. In this episode, we talk about Jolandie’s wines and her experiences in the South African wine industry. Here's a preview:

"The other day, somebody asked me, "Do you actually want to be a serious winemaker?" ...You would never receive that kind of comment in you were a man. Never, ever, ever, ever."

We left off the first episode hearing about how Jolandie took the jump into doing Wolf and Woman full time, and how prior to that, she was still the head winemaker for Kloovenburg and doing Wolf and Woman on the side. One of the stipulations that Kloovenburg gave her was that she couldn’t produce any varieties that they produced, and that basically left her with three red cultivars, one of which was Pinotage. But as well all know, Pinotage has historically been a hit or miss variety, and most of what was on the market at that time was a miss...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Jolandie Fouché of Wolf and Woman Wines based in Swartland, South Africa. These wines, which we imported for the first time last year, were an instant success. They’re absolutely phenomenal varietal wines, and the range includes Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose, Pinotage, and Syrah.

After more than a decade of earning her stripes in the South African wine industry, Jolandie decided to turn her attention to her passion project, Wolf & Woman Wines, fulltime. Shortly after releasing her maiden vintage in 2018, Jolandie’s Chenin Blanc won the Tim Atkin White Wine Discovery of the Year award, and her 2019 Chenin was awarded as a Chenin Champion by Jancis Robinson in the Financial Times alongside some of the well established names like the Sadie Family, Chris Alheit, the Mullineuxs.

Jolandie’s wines, as their name implies, are wild. I think they’re some of the most energetic wines in our book, and just like a dog that ressembles its owner, I think that energy is a reflection of Jolandie. She’s without a doubt one of the most exciting new wave producers to watch from South Africa.

Her interview is split up into two parts. Part 1 focuses on her background, and part 2 focuses on the wines and her experiences in the South African wine industry. I really, really encourage you to listen to both.

In this episode, you'll hear how Jolandie went from being the head winemaker at Kloovenberg to taking her side hustle full-time. Keep in mind that this was during the middle of the pandemic, when South Africa was going through alcohol sales, bans and lockdowns, and on top of that, Jolandie had just had her first child. Keep listening to find out how she channeled her inner wolf to keep going...  

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Aaron Meeker, our National Sales Manager, and Ronnie Sanders, our CEO, recount the story of tasting Jolandie Fouché's Wolf & Woman Wines for the first time and the wild impression it left on them.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

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Today, we have Ronnie Sanders, our CEO, and Aaron Meeker, our National Sales Manager, on to remember Josh Raynolds, a wine critic that was extremely influential in the Australian wine world. Josh passed away tragically a few days ago. He was a not only a colleague, but a mentor and a friend to Ronnie. We hope you enjoy listening to these stories about Josh’s deep curiosity about all wines – not just the flashy ones – and the impact he had on championing a new era of Australian wine.

Our deepest condolensces to the Raynolds family.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Episode 17 is with Lukas van Loggerneberg of Van Loggerenberg Wines based in Paarl, South Africa. 

Lukas is a gentle giant. He's a quiet, modest man who makes some of the country's best wines. That's by no means a stretch of the imagination, as he is a Tim Atkin first growth producer, a title reserved for the best 25 winemakers in all of South Africa. We’re lucky enough to import his entire collection of wines, which includes a more premium range – wines like the Graft Syrah, Breton Cabernet Franc, and Kameraderie Chenin Blanc – and then your more every day wines in the ‘Break a Leg’ Series – a Chardonnay, Cinsaut rosé, and Merlot.  

Lukas' wines reflect his character; they are quiet wines that don't brag or boast, and yet they are showstopping. His Breton Cabernet Franc should be the next wine you seek out if you haven't yet tried it. Anyway, wine wasn’t really a part of Lukas’ family history growing up in the Breedekloof Valley. He did grow up around vineyards, but those grapes were mostly being used for brandy production.

He got his start at Elsenberg Agricultural School in Stellenbosch, and worked for other folks in South Africa and the US before going it alone. The decision to do so came during a trip to the Loire Valley with his college roommate, Reenen Borman of Boschkloof, and their wives. They were at Domaine de la Chevalerie, and the cork had just been pulled on a 1989 Cab Franc. Right then, smelling that beautiful Italian herb aroma from 15 feet away, Lukas knew he was going to resign from his job as soon as he got home.

But, surely, in order to have the guts to do that, one needs to have some good experience under their belt. After graduating from Elsenberg, Lukas cut his teeth at a winery on the east coast of the US. As luck would have it, right before he was supposed to get on his flight, he broke two bones in his foot. Remember his "Break a Leg" wine series? There's a theme here - but we'll get to all that. If you are assuming, like I did, that Lukas went to work in the Finger Lakes, you'd be wrong. He went to the bustling village of Litchfield, Connecticut...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Aaron Meeker, our National Sales Manager & in-house South African wine aficianado, talks about his perceptions of Lukas Van Loggerenberg and the Van Loggerenberg wines. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This is the third episode in our mini-series on South African wines. The goal with this series is to highlight the key regions, grapes, winemakers, and stories of the South African wine industry to distill this huge category into bite sized, educational pieces. Joining me for this episode about the Stellenbosch is our in-house South African wine expert, Aaron Meeker. 

In this episode, Aaron shares the highlights of Walker Bay in under five minutes. There is obviously much more to this area, but in the interest of keeping these episodes bite sized, we’ve distilled this down to the key info you should know. Aaron covers the climate, landscape, and styles of wine from the Walker Bay, plus names of key winemakers located here. As you’ll hear, this is a region that we feel is still very much in its infancy but has so much potential in the next decade.

00:08 Journey Through Elgin

00:35 Exploring Bot River

01:28 Notable Producers in Bot River

02:00 Characteristics of Bot River Wines

02:43 Soil Composition and Its Impact

03:38 Future of Bot River

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Episode 16 is part 2 with Charla Bosman, the winemaker at Sijnn Wines. If you haven’t listened to part 1, go back and start there. It it has a lot of context about Charla and Sijnn that you’ll need before listening to this episode. Here, we talk about life in South Africa, and all of its highs – the people, the diversity, the landscape – and the lows - making wine during load shedding, the routine power outages that occur multiple times per day. In this episode, we hear Charla the person, not just Charla the winemaker. She’s lighthearted and fun, and it’s evident that she puts her heart & soul into making wine, not for external validation, but because it’s what lights her up inside. That’s not to say that she’s never been noticed for her work. She has – and in a big way, winning Tim Atkin’s Young Winemaker of the Year award last year. We get into all that, and more, in this episode.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Episode 15 is with Charla Bosman, the winemaker at Sijnn Wines located in a tiny town called Malgas at the edge of South Africa’s Cape South Coast. Sijnn (pronounced 'sane') was named after the Khoisan word for riverbank, as it sits up on the hill overlooking the Breede River about 10 miles from the Indian ocean as the crow flies. It is here, 25 miles down a windy, bumpy dirt road, that David Trafford of De Trafford wines in Stellenbosch, decided to start this passion project in 2000.

Fast forward to 2014, and in comes Charla, a bright eyed 25-year-old, with just the right amount of naivete for a person who is about to live an hour from the closest grocery store. In this episode, which is part 1 of 2, we talk about place more than anything, because if you’re going to understand Sijnn, you have to understand the isolated, breathtaking landscape where the wines originate. And, after nearly a decade making wine there, if you’re going to understand Sijnn, you really have to get to know Charla.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Aaron Meeker, Vine Street Imports' National Sales Manager / resident South African wine connoisseur,  remembers his first trip out to the extremely remote town of Malgas to visit Charla Bosman of Sijnn Wines for the first time with Stephanie Wiid and Etienne Terblanche of Thistle & Weed. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

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This episode is part 2 of our interview with Peter Dredge of Dr. Edge based in Tasmania, Australia.  If you haven’t listened to part 1, go back and do so, as this is simply a continuation of our conversation. In this episode, you’ll hear the story of Peter’s wine labels, many of which are taken – with permission – from trip hop album artwork. You’ll hear the stories behind the names of some of his wines, like Dr. Ongo and Tryannosaurus Dredge, and you’ll hear how his varietal wines – Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir – stand out from the pack. 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

If you consider the Tasmanian wine industry old enough to be going through a new wave à la Swartland or South Australia, Peter Dredge (a.k.a. Dr. Edge) would be largely responsible for shifting those tectonic plates. Peter is helping to show the world that, rather than just shipping high-acid juice to the mainland for bubbly blends, Tasmania can have its own reputable wine identity. He calls his wines "unashamedly soft handed," which is an ethos he developed over the course of his time working with Brian Croser at Petaluma, Dr. Loosen in Germany, and Bay of Fires and Meadowbank in Tasmania. 

We import six Dr. Edge wines, three of which fall into the “experimental” series including a skinsy Shönburger, a cheerful Pinot Meunier, and a bright Pinot Noir pet nat. The other three – Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir - are more traditional and can be thought of as Tasmanian benchmarks. 

This episode is part 1 of two. Part 1 focuses more on Peter’s background, and part 2 dives a little deeper into his wines. In this episode, you’ll hear how Peter decided to take a leap of faith, moving from Adelaide to Tasmania for a job at Bay of Fires before ever having visited. You’ll hear how he started a tongue-in-cheek side project called “Brian Global International” which made wine in both Tasmania and Oregon. And you’ll hear how at the beginning of Dr. Edge, he was making wine out of a cooperative winery located within the Museum of Old and New Art, a museum centered on the themes of sex and death. His journey in winemaking is – as he puts it – like a Game of Thrones plot, hard to keep track of all the twists and turns. But one thing is for sure: it all began on one fateful day during Peter’s senior year of high school in 1995.    

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This episode is part 2 with Callum Powell of Agricola Vintners based in Australia’s Barossa Valley. If you haven’t listened to part 1, hit pause and go back to listen! It gives a lot of context for this episode and shares stories of Callum’s background, starting with growing up running around the cellar of Torbreck which his dad, Dave Powell, founded.

In this episode, we get more into the details of his two Syrah wines, called ‘Flaxman Valley’ and ‘Ebenezer’ – what’s unique about the sites where they were grown, how they were made, how they’re different, etc. We also talk a bit about the business side of things because Callum only recently quit his other winemaking gig and went full in on Agricola.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Episode 11 is with Callum Powell of Agricola Vintners based in Australia’s Barossa Valley. This episode will focus on Callum’s background, and the next episode you’ll hear him talk more specifically about his two Syrah wines, which by the way come with very high praise from his winemaker peers, notably Fraser McKinley from Sami-Odi.

It's impressive because at 28 years old, Callum is one of – if not the youngest winemaker from any country in our book. You might recognize his last name, Powell, as he is the son of Dave Powell, the man who launched Torbreck. In today’s episode, you’ll hear Callum’s coming of age in the wine industry, starting with memories of Torbreck back in the 90s. You’ll hear about all the people who have molded Callum’s perspective, from his dad to Jean Louis Chave to the folks at Tyrells and Jasper Hill, just to name a few. Callum also shares his take on what it means to be a young winemaker in Australia, pruning vines 4 times his age, and how the notion of terroir – or to use Callum’s more literal interpretation – provenance, is viewed in Australia. It's been quite a journey for Callum, and to begin the story, we have to go back to when he was just a twinkle in his parents’ eyes...

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Ronnie Sanders, CEO of Vine Street Imports, tells the story of how he was tipped of to Agricola Vintners by Fraser McKinley of Sami-Odi, one of South Australia's movers and shakers of the wine industry. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Episode 10 is with Mark Stephens of Deep Rooted Wines based in Walker Bay, South Africa. Mark is a regenerative viticulturist-turned-winemaker and is a prominent figure in the Cape South Coast’s new wave. The South Coasters - as they call themselves - are an exciting group of winemakers whose energy and enthusiasm resemble that of the Swartland revolution a number of years ago. Another one in this group whose name you might recognize from our book is Natasha Williams of Lelie van Saron.

Mark is a new addition to our portfolio and he’s unique in that he’s one of our only producers who makes strictly zero added sulfur wines. This choice is a personal one for Mark as he's got a pretty strong sensitivity to sulfur, but he was fed up with going to natural wine fairs and being served unequivocally flawed wines and being told “it’s ok, it’s natural.” So he set out to make clean, low pH, sulfur-free wines under his own label. We’ve got two of his wines, a skin-contact Verdelho called “Touch Me” with a pretty unique label (keep listening to hear that story) and a textural Fumé Blanc.

In this episode, you'll hear Mark's story of how he came to understand the connection between feeling good and zero sulfur. You'll also hear why he uses the term "wellness wine" when describing his wines, as well as why he decided to name his Verdelho "Touch Me"... 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Aaron Meeker, Vine Street Imports' National Sales Manager, recounts his first impressions of Deep Rooted Wines, a brand by Mark Stephens. Mark is based in Walker Bay, South Africa, and he's a regenerative viticulturist who recently launched a wine brand with very eye-catching labels. One in particular, the 'Touch Me' Verdelho, will certainly turn heads...

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

This is the second episode in our mini-series on South African wines. The goal with this series is to highlight the key regions, grapes, winemakers, and stories of the South African wine industry to distill this huge category into bite sized, educational pieces. Joining me for this episode about the Stellenbosch is our in-house South African wine expert, Aaron Meeker. 

Located conveniently near Cape Town, Stellenbosch has the longest winemaking history in the country dating back to the 1600s. In this episode, our resident South African wine expert Aaron Meeker covers the region's diverse soils, unique climate influences, and historical evolution of vineyards and wine styles. You’ll hear all the benchmark names, plus some of the up-and-coming players on the scene. The episode finishes with a look to the future of Stellenbosch wine and why this is still one of South Africa’s most interesting regions.  

00:16 Historical Roots: The Birth of Stellenbosch Vineyards

02:24 Geography and Climate: The Unique Terroir of Stellenbosch

03:00 The Majestic Mountains of Stellenbosch

03:58 Soil Types and Their Influence on Wine

05:40 The Evolution of Stellenbosch Winemaking

07:28 Modern Winemaking and New Investments

08:06 The Next Generation of Stellenbosch Winemakers

12:34 Community and Collaboration in Stellenbosch

12:59 Top Stellenbosch Producers to Watch

14:09 The Future of Stellenbosch Wine

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Today's episode is with Ronnie Sanders, Vine Street Imports' founder and CEO. In today's show, we discuss the early days of the business, and all the various ways that it has evolved over the last nearly quarter century. You’ll hear Ronnie’s take on building a business that is rooted in challenging categories – such as Australia, South Africa, and England - as well as what happens when you go into business with family and friends. You’ll also hear what Ronnie thinks is coming down the pike for 2023, and all the wines that excite him the most right now. Oh and you’ll also hear about that time Ronnie drank 27 bottles of wine – including 12 bottles of Domaine de la Romanee Conti – over a 9 hour lunch with a few friends and a guy named Robert Parker.

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Trevor Clough is the owner and head blender at Digby Fine English based in West Sussex, England. Digby is a sparkling wine brand, and they’re the first wine producer to operate under the négociant, or blending house, model in England. This means they source their grapes from growers in places like Kent, Sussex, and Dorset, and blend the batches in their cellar at their headquarters in Arendal, about 20 miles west of Brighton. In today’s episode, Trevor (American-born but European-raised) shares how he and his husband Jason decided to quit their corporate jobs in London and launch into the wine business. You’ll learn about the various wine regions and soils that are actually quite unique and not just a copy-paste version of the “C word” (as Trevor likes to call it) from across the channel. Plus, if you’re curious how to market English wine in the US, there are some good nuggets of wisdom in here. 

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Aaron Meeker, National Sales Manager, tells the story of how Digby Fine English came to be in the Vine Street Imports portfolio thanks to a well known wine writer's son. Ronnie Sanders, CEO, chimes in with one very important thing that Trevor Clough (owner of Digby) gets right every time. 

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website 

Frederick Stevenson is the brainchild (and longtime alias) of Steve Crawford. Steve launched this small-scale winery based in Adelaide, Australia as an antidote to the industrial scale and trophy winemaking that he felt had overwhelmed the Aussie wine scene. What Steve prefers to make and drink are the fresher, livelier styles he had become accustomed to drinking while living and working in Europe.

If Steve Crawford sounds a little bit like Frederick Stevenson, that’s by design. On today’s episode, you’ll hear the story of how Steve chose that alias, as well as what happened when his boss at a winemaking gig found out he was running his own clandestine winemaking operation. You’ll hear about a historic moment during the Young Gun of Wine Awards, an annual event hosted by the eponymous, new-wave wine publication in Australia, when Steve tied not once but twice for the Winemaker’s Choice Award. And, you’ll hear why on the bottom of his Riesling label you can find a German proclamation that translates to “Folks, it’s time for a sausage.”

Hosted by Charlotte Alsaadi.

Special thanks to SNACKTIME for the music! 

Vine Street Imports Instagram  |  Website