we catch up with master somm, stefan neumann this week, studying wines as soon as legally possible to find the perfect food and wine combinations, while serving raymond blanc trousseau for breakfast.
we have a look at liv-ex, the trading platform where ownership can change hands, but the wine never moves. merchants and brokers are trading more burgundy than bordeaux on the platform now, but are they trading on speculation, or because people are actually drinking more burgundy? who knows?
maybe we should ask the wine society’s new fine wine manager! a new appointment from wine society, giving their sales team a bit more focus on fine wine. we all know in the trade that wine society are one of the best places for sub £15, but perhaps people don’t realise just how good the top end of their range is.
finally, we have a quick ponder on a slight tweak to the chianti doc rules, that now allow rosé made from sangiovese. will it be identikit pale rosé, or will the italians make a rosé with some character?
stefan’s journey into wine started at 17, with no plan become a master sommelier, but after studying harder than ever for an early wine exam, hospitality was always the path for stefan. working at amazing restaurants in austria, and moving to le manoir aux quat’saisons to work as a breakfast waiter was tough, but the best place to learn.
restaurants in the uk, and the diversity of the people working in them became a real catalyst for his ms journey, specifically at the fat duck. a cohort of ambitious, supportive sommeliers meant that not every exam was a disaster.
stefan’s positive outlook on passing the ms has lead to a desire to give back, working as a mentor for other aspiring ms students, launching a blind tasting coaching platform, online over covid, and also now in-person.
we ask stefan about regions that he’s excited about, and the state of fine wine in the trade at the moment. both answers show that he’s consistently and increasingly excited by the diversity and quality of wines from places such as austria, australia, and georgia.
finally, like we always do, we delve a little bit behind the scenes, and it turns out that stafan is embracing creativity for the sake of creativity, as well as fitness in all forms. we’re heading over for pork dumplings and any old gruner veltliner, but we might pass on the gymnastic rings for dessert.
dan and brad were in the same bit of north norfolk on holiday, this week, but like liam and noel, they didn’t meet up, or see each other while they were there.
finally, we acknowledge the sudden passing of friend of the show, and wine trade veteran matthew jukes. such awful news.
feel free to share with a friend
speeding through wine exams:
and for me, 2010 really was the starting point when i started at the fat duck in bray. i did my introduction and certified in 2010 and i very quickly moved on to the advanced in 2011. so i did this in one and a half years, which is even by today’s standards is very, very quick.
on studying for the ms:
you never train alone all by yourself. you always train with someone else. and i think sometimes this is what you underestimate with the world of wine. no matter what you do, no matter which exam you do, no matter how easy or difficult it may seem to be, you’re never going to fully train alone.
comfort food pairing:
it’s either going to be dumplings, could be a variation of different dim sums, or could be a very nice marinated pork belly or pork chop. and that with a simplistic entry-level grüner veltliner is just absolute magic.
https://wineindustrydigest.com/
https://harpers.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/36247/burgundy_overtakes_bordeaux_as_most_traded_region_.html
published 12 august 2026, by oliver catchpole
according to new analysis from liv-ex, burgundy has overtaken bordeaux as the most traded wine region by value in a single month, for the first time since 2022.
https://drinksretailingnews.co.uk/the-wine-society-launches-specialist-fine-wine-service/
published 13 august 2026, by lizzy o’riordan
the wine society is set to launch a specialist fine wine service in what it calls a “long-term investment”. the new service, which will be led by head of fine wine alex turnbull, will be dedicated to supporting members with advice and guidance on fine wines, helping them access rare parcels and navigating first-release and en primeur allocations.
https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2026/08/mario-piccini-on-why-chianti-rose-matters-now/
published 12 august 2026, by patrick schmitt
the chianti consortium’s decision to formalise a rosé category within the docg – confirmed last month as part of the most substantial rewrite of the appellation’s rules in recent years – was never going to be a minor technical amendment.
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