Got Somme : Master Sommelier's Wine Podcast

Got Somme has gone global! After being nominated in two categories at the 2026 67 Pall Mall Wine Communicator Awards, Angus flies from Melbourne to London to find out whether Got Somme can take home an international award. Before the winners are announced, we explore London’s incredible wine culture, beginning at Ye Olde Wine Shades, one of the city’s oldest and most historic wine bars. Angus tastes grower Champagne from a traditional pewter tankard and pairs classic British dishes with wines from England, France, South Africa and Spain. From English sparkling wine with fish and chips to Chardonnay with a Scotch egg, Grenache with bangers and mash, and Port with Stilton, this might be the most British wine tasting Got Somme has ever attempted. We also receive special access to 67 Pall Mall for a conversation with founder and CEO Grant Ashton. Grant shares his plans for 67 Pall Mall Melbourne, the challenges of importing international wine into Australia and why Australian wine deserves its place alongside the greatest bottles in the world. Then it is time to get suited, booted and head to the 67 Pall Mall Wine Communicator Awards. Did Got Somme win? You will have to watch to find out. Stay until the end for a preview of our next adventure as we jump aboard the Eurostar and travel to Chablis and Champagne, including rare access behind the gates of the legendary Champagne Salon. In this episode: 00:00 Welcome to London 00:23 The 67 Pall Mall Wine Communicator Awards 00:39 Visiting Ye Olde Wine Shades 01:44 English sparkling wine with fish and chips 02:39 Chardonnay and the classic Scotch egg 04:21 Grenache with bangers and mash 05:37 Pairing wine, cheese and Port 07:50 Meeting 67 Pall Mall founder Grant Ashton 08:38 The challenge of bringing international wine to Australia 09:32 Why Australians proudly drink Australian wine 10:07 Plans for 67 Pall Mall Melbourne 12:02 The Wine Communicator Awards begin 12:58 Did Got Somme win? 13:08 Next stop: Chablis and Champagne Salon Subscribe to Got Somme as we make wine easier to understand, meet the people shaping the industry and explore the world’s greatest wine regions. Got Somme is hosted by Angus O’Loughlin and Master Sommelier Carlos Santos.

What if your new favourite Australian wine came from a region you have never heard of and cost less than $30? Angus O’Loughlin and Master Sommelier Carlos Santos are joined by winemaker Andrew Dawson from Yeah Wine to explore Blackwood Valley, one of Western Australia’s most exciting and overlooked wine regions. Nestled inland from Margaret River, Blackwood Valley is home to family-run vineyards, rolling hills and a distinctive continental climate that produces beautifully expressive Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, without the premium price tag. The conversation begins with a 2023 Whimwood Estate Chardonnay so good Angus ordered 12 bottles. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in French oak, this impressive Blackwood Valley wine is crafted using techniques commonly associated with much more expensive Chardonnay. From there, the trio tastes Beulah Wines’ 2023 Shiraz, a bright, medium-bodied expression grown by the Nield family, before discovering Andrew’s Yeah Wine 2023 “Bringing Sexy Back” Merlot, made using fruit grown by Mick Hester in Blackwood Valley. A big thank you to our friends at Blackwood Valley Wines and to Andrew Dawson from Yeah Wine for helping us discover the remarkable people, vineyards and wines behind this special Western Australian region. Wines featured in this episode 2023 Whimwood Estate Chardonnay: View and purchase the Chardonnay 2023 Beulah Wines Shiraz: View Beulah Wines’ range 2023 Yeah Wine “Bringing Sexy Back” Merlot: View and purchase the Merlot Discover Blackwood Valley WinesWebsite: https://blackwoodvalleywine.com.au/Instagram: @blackwoodvalleywine Discover Whimwood Estate WinesWebsite: https://www.whimwoodestatewines.com.au/Instagram: @whimwoodestatewines Discover Andrew Dawson and Yeah WineWebsite: https://www.yeahwine.com.au/Instagram: @yeah_wine Chapters 00:00 The $28 Chardonnay worth talking about 00:42 Meet Yeah Wine’s Andrew Dawson 02:16 Discovering Blackwood Valley 03:17 Blackwood Valley vs Margaret River 04:40 Tasting Whimwood Estate Chardonnay 08:06 Finding exceptional wine without the premium price 08:30 Blackwood Valley’s climate, hills and vineyards 10:41 The families behind Blackwood Valley wine 12:10 Tasting Beulah Wines’ 2023 Shiraz 14:17 Why Western Australian Shiraz tastes different 15:16 The family story behind Beulah Wines 16:37 Blackwood Valley vs Margaret River Cabernet 18:02 Is Blackwood Valley Australia’s answer to southern France? 20:17 Yeah Wine’s “Bringing Sexy Back” Merlot 22:44 Making wine approachable without the pretension 24:30 What is happening to the Australian wine industry? 26:44 Sustainable winegrowing in Blackwood Valley 27:56 Why visit Blackwood Valley? 28:53 The best Blackwood Valley wines to buy for $50 Welcome to Got Somme, the ultimate wine podcast where Master Sommeliers and wine experts share their tips, blind tasting challenges, and insider knowledge from vineyards around the world. Whether you’re a wine beginner or a seasoned enthusiast, we explore everything from wine education and wine tasting techniques to sparkling wines, red vs white, and the best wines under $30.Subscribe for weekly episodes and join us as we taste, learn, and uncover the stories behind your favourite wines. Perfect for anyone looking to improve their wine knowledge, discover new wine regions, or just enjoy a fun, educational chat about wine.

There were only 24 bottles of this rare Swiss wine left in the world. Then Angus and Carlos opened one.In this episode of Got Somme, Master Sommelier Carlos Santos and Angus O’Loughlin explore the fascinating world of rare and allocated wines. Does limited production genuinely signal exceptional quality, or is scarcity sometimes little more than a clever sales technique designed to create FOMO? Carlos reveals how wine allocations work inside the world’s best restaurants, including why venues may receive only one or two bottles of legendary wines such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. He also explains how relationships with distributors, purchasing history and global demand determine who gets access to the most sought-after bottles. The pair then taste an experimental Swiss Merlot from Ticino, supplied by Daniel of Invidia Wines. With the winemaker having passed away and production ending, this bottle represents a genuinely finite piece of Swiss winemaking history. https://invidiawines.com/ https://www.instagram.com/invidia_wines/ Episode chapters: 00:00 Only 24 bottles remain 01:04 Carlos reveals his Swiss connection 02:07 How wine allocations create FOMO 03:58 Does scarcity automatically mean value? 05:09 Why restaurants refuse tiny allocations 07:04 Carlos’s smallest-ever wine allocation 09:05 What it takes to access Romanée-Conti 11:15 The true cost of securing DRC 13:27 Are some allocated wines overrated? 14:46 Australia’s undiscovered small-production wines 16:04 Discovering Swiss wine 16:32 Why Ticino is famous for Merlot 17:18 The story behind this incredibly rare bottle 18:07 Tasting the experimental Swiss Merlot 18:46 Carlos’s tasting notes 19:12 Final verdict #GotSomme #SwissWine #RareWine #AllocatedWine #WinePodcast #MasterSommelier #TicinoWine #Merlot #WineTasting #DRC #RomaneeConti #AustralianWine

Can Master Sommelier Carlos Santos identify an Australian Sauvignon Blanc completely blind? In this episode of the Got Somme Blind Wine Tasting Series, Angus O’Loughlin pours Carlos a youthful and aromatic white wine filled with classic Sauvignon Blanc characteristics. Carlos immediately discovers a pale straw colour, slight spritz and a pungent nose packed with asparagus, gooseberry, green apple, lemon and passionfruit. On the palate, he finds high acidity, warm alcohol, savoury notes and no obvious oak influence. He correctly identifies the grape variety, vintage and almost the exact alcohol percentage, but can he identify where in Australia it was produced? The wine is revealed as the 2025 Bunderra Estate Sauvignon Blanc from Blackwood Valley, Western Australia. Angus and Carlos compare the wine with the more intensely aromatic Sauvignon Blanc styles of Marlborough, the mineral and restrained wines of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, and the Bordeaux-inspired Sauvignon Blanc blends commonly produced in Margaret River. They also explore whether Australian Sauvignon Blanc is entering a new era, moving beyond the aggressively herbaceous styles that dominated the category during the 2000s and finding a more balanced Australian identity. Is Blackwood Valley one of Australia’s most underrated Sauvignon Blanc regions? In This Episode Watch the full blind tasting to see how close Carlos gets. How to identify Sauvignon Blanc in a blind wine tasting Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas and flavours Australian versus New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc compared with Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc from Blackwood Valley, Western Australia Why slight bubbles can indicate a youthful white wine Identifying oak, acidity and alcohol during a blind tasting Margaret River’s connection to Bordeaux-style wines Whether Sauvignon Blanc is making a comeback in Australia Developing a uniquely Australian Sauvignon Blanc style Episode Chapters 00:00 A seriously pungent wine 00:18 Analysing the colour, bubbles and appearance 00:37 Asparagus, gooseberry and passionfruit aromas 01:04 Tasting the acidity, alcohol and texture 01:20 Carlos makes his grape variety call 01:53 Guessing the vintage 02:02 The wine is revealed 02:23 Discovering Blackwood Valley 03:06 Marlborough versus Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc 04:04 Bunderra Estate Sauvignon Blanc 04:14 Finding the middle ground between France and New Zealand 04:53 Margaret River and Bordeaux-style Sauvignon Blanc 05:29 Is Sauvignon Blanc returning to favour? 06:28 What should Australian Sauvignon Blanc taste like? Australian Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc blind tasting, Master Sommelier blind tasting, Carlos Santos Master Sommelier, Got Somme podcast, Bunderra Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Blackwood Valley wine, Western Australian wine, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre wine, Pouilly-Fumé, Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc, Australian white wine, wine tasting tips, how to blind taste wine Subscribe to Got Somme for more blind wine tastings, honest bottle reviews and conversations exploring the people, regions and stories shaping the world of wine.

Before Gary Vaynerchuk became known around the world as GaryVee, he built his first audience talking about wine. In this special episode of Got Somme, Gary returns to his roots for a conversation with Angus O’Loughlin and Master Sommelier Carlos Santos about wine, business, collecting and where the global wine market could be heading next. Gary explains why he believes wine buyers currently have more power than producers, with oversupply creating extraordinary opportunities to purchase premium bottles for a fraction of their traditional prices. He reveals the remarkable deals he is seeing from Australia and New Zealand, including Barossa Shiraz, Margaret River Chardonnay and Central Otago Pinot Noir, and explains why this could be one of the greatest wine-buying periods he has experienced in 35 years. Gary predicts that blockchain technology could allow collectors to buy, sell and trade ownership of physical bottles without repeatedly moving them between warehouses. The wine could remain safely stored under temperature-controlled conditions until its owner chooses to redeem it. It is a prediction Gary believes people will return to in ten years. IN THIS EPISODE • Discovering wine while working in his family’s liquor store • Building Wine Library and becoming an early wine creator on YouTube • How Wine Library TV challenged the pretension surrounding wine • Learning to enjoy wine as a consumer instead of an operator • Why Gary believes the current market strongly favours wine buyers • Premium Australian and New Zealand wines being heavily discounted • Using wine dinners to build stronger business relationships • Why a brilliant $15 wine can be more exciting than a famous label • The value and humility of blind wine tasting • How Australian Shiraz and Chardonnay have evolved • Why buttery, oaky Chardonnay may be returning • How NFTs and blockchain could change fine wine ownership • The future of wine collecting and temperature-controlled storage • Building Empathy Wines and selling it earlier than planned GUEST Gary Vaynerchuk, GaryVee Instagram: @garyvee YouTube: GaryVee Wine content: Wine Library TV Gary Vee, GaryVee, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary Vaynerchuk wine, Gary Vee wine, Gary Vee interview, Gary Vee podcast, Wine Library TV, WineText, Empathy Wines, wine podcast, Australian wine, wine investing, wine collecting, fine wine, wine market, wine bargains, wine business, blockchain wine, NFT wine, future of wine, Master Sommelier, Carlos Santos, Angus O’Loughlin, Got Somme, Barossa Shiraz, Margaret River Chardonnay, Central Otago Pinot Noir #GaryVee #GaryVaynerchuk #WinePodcast #WineBusiness #AustralianWine #WineCollecting #FineWine #WineLibraryTV #GotSomme Gary Vee wine Gary Vaynerchuk wine Gary Vee wine podcast Gary Vaynerchuk podcast Gary Vee interview Gary Vee Wine Library Wine Library TV Gary Vee Australian wine Gary Vee NFTs Gary Vee blockchain Gary Vee wine collecting Gary Vee wine investing Gary Vee Empathy Wines Gary Vee Wine Text future of wine wine market 2026wine buyer’s market best-value wine Australian wine podcast Master Sommelier podcast wine business podcast NFT wine ownership blockchain wine collecting fine wine collecting Australian Shiraz Margaret River Chardonnay Barossa Shiraz Central Otago Pinot Noir