While Italian footballers are known for their histrionics, Trembath & Taylor has scored goals and won fans while sparing us the theatrics. Arguably Australia’s foremost importer of Italy’s wines plays the game with no shortage of passion, but has passed it on to a legion of converts in a refreshingly low-key manner.

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The rock-star billing of Brunello, Barolo, Barbaresco et al makes it hard to believe that the wines of Italy were playing to tiny crowds 30 years ago, when Trembath & Taylor started out. Matt and I cover their trajectory and modern trends extensively in this conversation. Inevitably, we cover several regions, grapes and styles. Some may be new to you; that’s part of the point. One aim of my Substack is to be a one-stop shop for fostering curiosity and answering it… but I haven’t really got started with the educational materials. Still, Matt fleshes out many of the points; where you’re left wondering about anything, please leave a question in the comments.

I will try to pick out a few key mentions to help you navigate further reading. Matt mentions a host of local personalities when talking about this formative experience at The George Hotel in the Melbourne seaside suburb of St Kilda. These include the late restaurateur Donlevy Fitzpatrick, who created The Melbourne Wine Room with Maurice Terzini, Karen Martini, and Michael Sapountsis—all of whom became prominent figures in the Australian dining scene. Other members of the cast include winemakers Barney Flanders (check out his excellent Garagiste label) and David Chapman (ditto for Allies), as well as wine writer Marcus Ellis.

A few acronyms crop up when we discuss education. A few acronyms often appear in discussions about Italian wine classification. DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Controlled Denomination of Origin), DOCG for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, and IGP for Indicazione Geografica Protetta (Protected Geographical Indication; previously known as IGT, where the T stands for Tipica). IGP wines generally allow greater freedom in the choice of grape varieties, sourcing, and methods of harvesting, vinification, and maturation. Stricter regulations govern DOC and DOCG wines, and while DOCG is often assumed to indicate higher quality, this isn’t the case—it all depends on the specific DOC or DOCG, as each sets and enforces its own rules.

Matt refers to WSET (the Wine & Spirit Education Trust), the London-based organisation for which I am an accredited educator, and which has a significant global presence through its structured courses, ranging from Level 1 to 4. I have interviewed a couple of other educators—Andrea Pritzker and Meg Brodtmann—both of whom happen to be MWs, and the Master of Wine program also comes up in our conversation. Kate McIntyre MW is the person for whom he filled in at Trembath & Taylor. Kate’s family winery is Moorooduc Estate on the Mornington Peninsula.

Todd Slater and Iona Baker are the sales staff members mentioned. Both previously worked in restaurants with serious Italian credentials, the former with Stefano Manfredi in Sydney and the latter with Guy Grossi in Melbourne.

Quite a few producers are namechecked. These include Hofstätter in Alto Adige and Brancaia in Tuscany, which produced the first two Italian wines Matt tasted: Pinot Nero and the Il Blu Merlot blend, respectively. Other names include Ottin (Valle d’Aosta), Marcarini, Poderi Colla, Chiara Boschis, Conterno Fantino (Piemonte), Pieropan, Speri (Veneto), Damiano Ciolli (Lazio), Costanti, Fuligni and Poggerino (Tuscany).

Last, here are a few of those more obscure grape varieties to track down: Prié (Aosta), Timorasso and Cortese (Piemonte), Rossese di Dolceacqua (Liguria), Ciliegiolo (Tuscany), Cesanese (Lazio), Carricante, Grillo, Catarratto, Frappato, Nerello Mascalese (Sicily).

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Vininspo! Podcast Episode 29: Matt Paul, Trembath & Taylor