Wine with Meg + Mel

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The Australian vintage just shrank, but the story is not as simple as “less wine equals higher prices”. We unpack Wine Australia’s national vintage report, why production is down across regions, and what it suggests about oversupply, water constraints, and the long, messy shift from bulk wine to premium Australian wine. If you work in wine, run a cellar door, or simply care about what ends up in your glass, these numbers explain a lot about where the market is heading.

Then we zoom in on Tasmania, where bad conditions around flowering and fruit set can trigger the “chicken and hen” effect, leaving uneven bunches and lower yields. The upside is the classic quality question: if fewer berries make it through, do the survivors become more concentrated and exciting? We talk through why vintage 2026 in Tasmania could be a sleeper hit, even if the business reality is tougher for producers who cannot just charge double.

From there, it’s over to Europe’s heat. With veraison and ripening now happening under hotter, drier conditions, French PDOs are increasingly allowing irrigation to save crops, and the quality risks look familiar: high sugar, higher alcohol, and flavours and tannins that may not be fully ripe. Finally, we get practical about consumer trends in Australia. Gen Z and Millennials are drinking on premise and they are more willing to pay $18+ per glass, which changes how wineries should think about value, experience, and sales tactics.

If this helped you see the wine industry more clearly, subscribe, share it with a wine mate, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.
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A winemaker gets cut, a flagship winery gets prepped for sale, and suddenly we are not talking about tasting notes anymore. We dig into the Oakridge bombshell: David Bicknell, the winemaker many credit with changing the direction of Australian Chardonnay, is made redundant after decades shaping the Yarra Valley’s most influential single-vineyard wines. The language around it matters, the emotion is real, and the business logic is confronting.

From there we zoom out into the Australian wine industry crisis and the structures that helped create it. We talk Endeavour Group, Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Woolworths, Coles, and the retail duopoly that has both selling power and buying power. We unpack “ghost brands”, why shelf space is everything, and how vertical integration can turn a product built on provenance and story into a price-led commodity. We also revisit the political side: ACCC scrutiny, Senate inquiry warnings, and how quickly important reform can disappear when the spotlight moves on.

We do not pretend there is one simple fix, but we do land on practical actions for drinkers who want better wine and a healthier industry: check the back label, understand who is importing and controlling the brand, and buy direct from small producers when you can. If this conversation sparks a reaction, share it with a mate, subscribe for more, and leave us a review so more people can find it.
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Get your clipboard, lab coat and pen at the ready as Meg and Mel NERD OUT on this episode about Gamay. 
We go deep on Gamay and Beaujolais, from Nouveau history to why carbonic maceration can taste like lollies even when the wine is dry. Along the way we test a budget French bottle against a pricier Cru and an Australian Gamay, then share practical hacks for dissolved CO2 and reduction. 
Wine 1: Mommessin, Les Papillons Gamay, https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_132844/mommessin-les-papillons-gamay
Wine 2: Chateau du Moulin-a-Vant Gamay, 2020, https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_430458/ch-teau-du-moulin-vent-moulin-vent?isFromSearch=false&isPersonalised=false&pageName=category_page&spPageId=viewCategory_API_desktop&pageNumber=2
Wine 3: Golding, Adelaide Hills Gamay, 2024, https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_6008117/golding-adelaide-hills-gamay
Keep an eye out for Copper Coins...

Shake your wine if you think it's not quite right and tell us what you think!

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A $25 McLaren Vale Shiraz wins Best Shiraz in the world, so we put Beresford to the test with side-by-side pours and zero patience for hype. We chase what makes the wines feel so seamless, from sub-region minerality in Blewitt Springs to oak choices, label alcohol quirks, and of course the incredible Wine making by Beresfords own Natalie Cleghorn.
Beresford Estate Shiraz, 2024, $25:00: https://www.beresfordestate.com.au/products/classic-shiraz-750ml
Beresford Estate Blewitt Springs Shiraz, 2023, $45.00: https://www.beresfordestate.com.au/products/estate-shiraz-750ml
Beresford Estate Grand Reserve Shiraz, 2017, $120.00: https://www.beresfordestate.com.au/products/beresford-grand-reserve-shiraz-750ml
Emblem 'Blewitt Springs' Pecorino, 2024, $25.00: https://www.beresfordestate.com.au/products/emblem-pecorino-750ml
Emblem 'Old Vine' Grenache, 2025, $35:00: https://www.beresfordestate.com.au/products/emblem-grenache-750ml
Taste the wines for yourself and let us know your thoughts! DM us on Instagram, we're always keen to chat!
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We stack up the week’s wine news with a mix of hard numbers and genuine bright spots, from rock-bottom bulk prices to a more diverse global awards landscape. We also get real about mental health in the Australian wine industry and why connection, provenance and ethics still matter when times are tough. 
• Australian bulk Shiraz and Cabernet sitting at extreme low values 
• what bulk wine is for and why shipping in bulk can be cheaper and more sustainable 
• how oversupply and the post-China hangover keep pressure on growers 
• Decanter World Wine Awards results as a snapshot of quality and global change 
• emerging regions gaining recognition including England, China, Serbia and Uruguay 
• a Sydney high school site hosting CSIRO disease-resistant grapevine trials 
• powdery mildew and downy mildew pressure in warm, wet climates 
• crossbreeding versus GMO and how the wine industry thinks about it 
• mental health pressures from isolation, long hours, uncertainty and access to alcohol 
• practical support ideas like community breakfasts, viticulture groups and Rootlings 
• a Halliday column on provenance, ethics and finding hope in wine 
Yeah, go read it. It’s called It Might Take A Graveyard to Show It, but there’s Life in Wine Yet. 

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