I waited a long time for the opportunity to record this conversation. Iro is a good friend, but she’s a very busy lady! Working in the Summer season as a Sommelier in a seafood restaurant in Chania, and the rest of the year as an Ambassador for the Wines Of Crete Association can be two very demanding roles!

In this conversation we talked about the history of Cretan wines, what grapes are the key grapes and what wines they can make, the key figures (well, apologies for many that were left out. We love you all!), the geography of this big island and more.

So let’s go! Join us to the coast, hills, mountains, stunning vineyard, wines and people of Crete!

In this episode, I was joined by Chef Michael Caines MBE, Chef Owner of Lympstone Manor, Country Hotel, Restaurant and Vineyard alongside his longstanding Operations Manager, Steve Edwards.

It's a hard enough job, starting a Country Hotel, in a rundown building, having to renovate it to a Relais & Châteaux standards, establishing a kitchen and a restaurant worthy of a Michelin star, before any other task is considered.

Planting a vineyard, and especially one destined to make Traditional Method English sparkling wines, with no experience in viticulture or winemaking could be seen as over ambitious at best, or foolhardy at worst.

Michael just knew, after one look at the southwest sloping barren field, stretching from the house, down towards the mouth of the River Exe, that had it been somewhere in France or Italy, that field would be planted to vines.

Join us on this episode, to hear about the complexities of the challenge, the wines produced so far and the ones yet to be released, what other products the vineyard produces, *other forms of fermentations, Michael and Steve's desert island wine (and what dish goes with it!),, And much more.

* BBC Food- Michael Caines, A Life Through Food

Listen to this BBC Food programme by Dan Saladino, exploring the life of Chef Michael Caines, highlighting, among many others stories, the saving of the Pain De Morvan, the rural French bread Michael first learnt to bake more than 30 years ago and now is baked daily at Lympston Manor.

In this series of conversations, my guest, Amanda Barnes, is taking us on a grand tour of the South America vineyards.

We will first soar over the Andes, to Chile, to discover the famous valleys, such as Colchagua, Maipu and Casablanca. From there we will move north all the way to The Atacama Desert before returning to explore the deep south towards Patagonia.

Our journey will continue to examine the latest trends in Argentina. Yes, it’s not all about Malbec!

Finally, in the final segment of our tour, we will delve into what’s happening in the rest of the continent. Brazil, Uruguay, are up and coming wine nations with increasing presence in US and European markets.

Peru and Bolivia, with their rich heritage of vine cultivation will feature too, as well as a cameo from Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Salud!