Welcome to The Wine Conversation – created for people who love wine. We have called it a “podsite,” as it’s a hybrid, a home to podcast interviews and a website for great articles and recommendations – plus all the information you might not have had time to scribble down while listening.
Since the beginning of time, people have loved stories, and The Wine Conversation will be full of stories, whether talking to some of the great names in our series “Great Wine Lives” or discussing regions and vintages with world experts like Jane Anson and Jasper Morris MW, in our series “10-minute masterclasses”. There will be recommendations, restaurant reviews, and off-beat stories, whether it is wine sent to outer space or unusual animals found in the vineyard. Since its launch, it has attracted listeners in over 100 countries, climbing the international Apple Food charts, no wonder Decanter Magazine called it “A must-listen for intelligent wine lovers”. And, like all great conversations, we will hope it won’t be one-sided--we’d love to hear from you. Whether you consider yourself an expert or just know what you like, The Wine Conversation invites you to join us to explore the fascinating world of wine together. Let’s talk!
SARAH KEMP
Founder
Sarah was the Publisher and Managing Director of Decanter for over a quarter of a century, leading the re-shaping of the company for a modern media age.
She founded decanter.com, decanterchina.com, the Decanter World Wine Awards, and Europe and China’s premier wine events, the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter and the Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter.
From the age of sixteen when she was given the second edition of Hugh Johnson’s book “Wine Companion” she has been fascinated by the world of wine, and has travelled from Bordeaux to Brazil, Australia to Argentina, Napa to Ningxia, discovering the vineyards and the people behind the labels.
She presented the US TV series New American Cuisine and was nominated for a James Beard Award. She lives today between the Scottish Borders and London, and is trying to age as gracefully as some of the wines in her cellar.
And, introducing our co-conversationalists…
JOHN STIMPFIG
John Stimpfig is a wine writer and editor, who loves talking about wine almost as much as drinking it.
After a mid-life crisis/epiphany, he changed career in the 1990s and began writing about wine for a number of publications and websites including Decanter, Wine & Spirit International, Food & Wine, Reuters, the FT and the Observer. For many years, he was a Contributing Editor to both Decanter and the FT’s How To Spend It Magazine, whilst also running a wine events company. He then joined Decanter full time as its Content Director from 2014-2019. Today, he co-runs First Press Editions, which specialises in publishing bespoke wine books. John is the recipient of several international wine writing awards including four Roederers, a Glenfiddich and a Lanson. He lives in leafy Oxfordshire with his wife and three children, as well as a large dog and a small, imperfectly-formed cellar.
ELIN MCCOY
Elin McCoy is an award-winning journalist and author focusing on the world of wine.
Since 2001 she has been the wine critic for Bloomberg News where she writes a weekly column, and is a frequent contributor to UK magazines World of Fine Wine and Decanter. Her book, “The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. and the Reign of American Taste”, garnered international praise in more than 200 reviews worldwide. Fascinated by California wine history, she is currently at work on a book set in 19th Century Sonoma and finishing a compilation of her columns for a book on wine in the 21st Century.
McCoy serves regularly as wine competition judge in the U.S. and abroad and is a senior judge for the World of Fine Wine restaurant wine list awards. She is a frequent keynote speaker and moderator on wine at industry events such as VinExpo, and at wine festivals, symposia and private corporate events.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband, writer/artist John Frederick Walker.
JANE ANSON
Jane Anson has lived in Bordeaux since 2003 and is author of “Inside Bordeaux” (BB&R Publishing 2020, called a 'category buster' by Wine Anorak, 'groundbreaking' by Jancis Robinson, and 'the Bordeaux bible' by Le Figaro)
Jane is also author of “Wine Revolution” (Quarto 2017), “The Club of Nine” (Katz Publishing 2016), “Angélus” (Editions de la Martiniere, 2016) and “Bordeaux Legends”, a history of the 1855 First Growth wines (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2013), as well as co-author or translator of over a dozen wine and travel books. She is Bordeaux correspondent and columnist for Decanter magazine and has won several awards for her writing, including Louis Roederer Wine Online Communicator of the Year 2020, and Born Digital Best Editorial 2020. She is a graduate of the DUAD tasting diploma with the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology and an accredited wine teacher at the Bordeaux Ecole du Vin.
BRIAN ST. PIERRE
Brian St. Pierre has been a freelance writer most of his life; he is the author of 12 books, and an editor or contributor to 12 more, mostly on food and wine.
He worked at the Wine Institute in San Francisco for several years, and established its international relations department before lapsing back into writing. He’s written for The New York Times, Sunday Telegraph, San Francisco Chronicle, and other newspapers, as well as many magazines, including Decanter, where he was a Contributing Editor for nearly 30 years, and www.decanter.com.
…And to silent but superb partners, thank you
Audio – Scott Mitchell of Soundwaves Pro Audio – In between recording bands, staging events and festivals, Scott has been learning more about wine than he ever knew he wanted to know. Based in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, he has taught Sarah the difference between MP3s and MP4s and how to spot “ummms” quickly when cutting audio.
Designed by invisible stud.io – Ali and Jess are the endlessly patient and brilliantly creative professionals who have brought The Wine Conversation to life, and made it great fun along the way.