D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves

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Victoria may be Australia’s smallest mainland state, but when it comes to wine, it punches wildly above its weight. Home to 21 wine regions and more than 800 producers, it’s a remarkably diverse patchwork of cool-climate Pinot and Chardonnay, peppery Shiraz, ageworthy fortified Muscat and, yes, Australia’s original Prosecco and many other Italian grape varieties. Its wine history is equally rich, shaped by generations of immigrant growers, pioneering families and some seriously old vines. 
In this episode, we take a tour through Victoria’s five signature wine destinations: from the Yarra Valley and Pinot Coast to the goldfields, Rutherglen and the King Valley. Joining us is Stephanie Duboudin, CEO of Wine Victoria, whose 25-plus years in the international wine business give her a uniquely broad perspective on the state’s place in the global wine landscape. We dig into what makes Victoria distinctive, the remarkable family histories behind its vineyards, the evolution of its regional identities, and why this small corner of Australia deserves considerably more attention from wine lovers and the trade alike.
This episode was produced in collaboration with the Wine Victoria association of growers and producers.

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In this episode of The Wine Thieves, Sara d'Amato and John Szabo MS turn their attention to one of the most important institutions in global wine: Vinitaly. Guest Stevie Kim — Managing Partner of Vinitaly and the founding force behind the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) — joins from New York for a wide-ranging conversation about Italian wine on the world stage.
Sara and John open with the fair itself: born in September 1967 as a two-day tasting at Verona's Palazzo della Gran Guardia, now a four-day B2B colossus drawing 90,000 visitors from 135 countries. They unpack the 2022 restructuring that split the professional trade fair from the consumer-facing Vinitaly and the City, addressing the criticism — in Veronafiere president Federico Bricolo's words — that the fair had drifted into being "a championship of Italians visiting each other's stands." Two dates land on the calendar for anyone serious about Italian wine: the 59th edition in Verona, April 11–14, 2027, and Vinitaly.USA, returning October 26–27, 2026, at Pier 36 in New York. For Canadian trade especially, NYC is the version of Verona that fits in a long weekend.
The conversation also covers VIA — the certification programme launched in 2015 that has quietly become one of the more rigorous credentials in wine. Over 1,500 candidates taught, 525 Italian Wine Ambassadors certified across 57 countries, 22 Italian Wine Experts, and a pass rate hovering around 29%. This is not a participation trophy. Stevie talks about bringing on Professor Attilio Scienza — the University of Milan vine geneticist who, by John's reckoning, has done more DNA work on Italian native varieties than anyone alive — and what changes when you build a wine curriculum from genetics and geology upward rather than tacking regions onto a tasting course.
Plus: how a Korean-born, US-raised finance graduate ended up running the promotional engine of the world's most fragmented wine country, and the question that drives the whole VIA project — has the native-variety, region-by-region narrative actually moved buyers and drinkers beyond Barolo, Brunello, Chianti, Amarone, and Prosecco, or is it still mostly an industry conversation?

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Its’ syrah-o’clock somewhere and the Wine Thieves are back to unlock the secrets of the northern Rhone’s largest appellation where syrah takes many shapes: Crozes-Hermitage. But it’s really a tale of two crozes, two very distinct parts. There’s what growers refer to as the northern half of Crozes-Hermitage to the north of the imposing hill of Hermitage itself – where it is narrower, cooler, and higher, with steep granitic slopes. That hard magmatic stone in all its glory makes for striking syrah. In the south, it is windier, flatter, drier, and warmer, with decidedly more Mediterranean influence, and alluvial, stone-covered plains where much of the appellation's volume originates, featuring mainly compelling, fruit-forward styles of syrah. 
Joining us from Tain-l’Hermitage, our guests Daphné Chave and David Combier  are part of the rising ‘new generation’ of younger wine producers in the region, carrying forward the legacy of their parents. Daphné is the next generation at the helm of her family’s Domaine Yann Chave. She recently earned a degree in winemaking and has worked at some of the wolds great wineries, and is now exploring new directions as she gradually takes more control of the estate. 
David is a fourth-generation organic farmer and co-owner of Domaine Combier, pioneers of organic viticulture in Crozes-Hermitage since the 1970s. The Domaine spans 60 hectares, with the majority in the Crozes-Hermitage AOC, covering the full spectrum of the appellation from the exposed granite soils in the north to the clay-limestone vineyards of the south.
We’ll discuss how their experiences abroad have influenced their winemaking, how the variety of syrah reflects its terroir in its wine, recent challenges affecting the variety in the northern Rhone and of course, a word on the whites – Marsanne and roussane of the appellation and its rising demand among other topics in this Wine Thieves reboot episode! 
Join us with a glass of Crozes Hermitage (search winealign.com for our top picks from the region) and follow along.  
This episode was made with the support of Interprofessionnelle
de l'Appellation Crozes-Hermitage.

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In this episode, we take a look behind the scenes of one of the wine and spirits industry’s most important trade fairs: Wine Paris and Vinexpo Paris. The Thieves speak with with Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium, the company that runs the fair – and spoiler alert: Wine Paris and Vinexpo Paris are two names for the same show – Rodolphe explains why the trade fair has a dual name,  and will discuss some of the issues that are most pertinent to the world of wine today, the challenges and opportunities, and the relevance of trade fairs in a digital world. We’ll also get a better understanding of how the trade fair operates and why it should matter to you, no matter what side of the wine trade you are on, should you chose to travel this coming February 12th-14th to the City of Lights (. . . fashion, love, fine wine & fine food).

Wine Paris brings wine and spirits producers together from around the world, with organizers anticipating an increase of 72% in international exhibitors and 50 countries represented. Floor space has been expanded by 25% to accommodate the 3,900 exhibitors, with also a significant increase for spirits, craft drinks, no/low, beer and cider producers. And you can count on 100% of France’s wine regions to be under one roof, as Vinexposium reports.

In addition, Wine Paris also promises to address some of the industry’s most challenging problems such as climate change, a shift in consumer demand and geo-political conflicts amidst economic and sales declines, through a series of masterclasses panels and conferences.

For more information, on how to combine Valentine's Day, Paris, and your career in wine, visit https://wineparis-vinexpo.com.

This episode was produced in partnership with Vinexposium.

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The Wine Thieves are back with part two of a series on the Unità Geografiche Aggiuntivi of Chianti Classico (or UGAs) the recently announced additional geographic units that will begin appearing on labels of the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione category as of this year.  Joining us again are Caterina Mori, Director of Communications for the Chianti Classico Consorzio, and the "Map Man" Alessandro Masnaghetti who literally drew up the map of the 11 new UGS that we’ll be covering in deep detail in this episode. If you haven't already listened to part one, go back to the previous episode as it will be critical to your understanding of this instalment. 

Geology, and the soils derived from these underlying rocks formed an important basis for Masnaghetti’s map-making work. To begin the episode, John and Sara provide a brief recap of Tuscan geology and terminology you'll encounter travelling through the 11 UGAs, along with what can be expected from the wines grown on each of the main "geological units", marine and continental, and the  specific soil types that fall under each.  Masgnaghetti discusses how the various soil types translate into to different organoleptic wine profiles in each UGA, from the macigno, pietraforte, albarese and Formazione di Sillano of the marine formations, to the continental units that include the gravelly-alluvial soils of San Casciano in the north and the lacustrine clay soils typical of the western part of the Castellina UGA. 

The UGA tour  proceeds clockwise, starting from San Casciano in the northwest corner of the Chianti Classico area,  continuing through Greve, Montefiorale, Lamole, Panzano, Radda, Gaiole, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Valgliagli, and finally San Donato in Poggio.

Special thanks to our WineAlign colleague and Chianti Classico ambassador Michael Godel, who kindly chose a song to match the feel and vibe of each of the 11 UGAs for this episode. Acquire some bottles, hit play on the UGA playlist, and taste your way through this historic territory.

Michael Godel's Chianti Classico "UGA Soundtrack"

1.     San Casciano - Feeling Gravity's Pull, R.E.M.

2.     Greve - Red Eyes, The War on Drugs 

3.     Lamole - Herbal Scent, Tom Browne

4.     Montefioralle - More than a Feeling, Boston

5.     Panzano - Fantasy, Earth, Wind & Fire

6.     Radda - People Get Ready, Curtis Mayfield

7.     Gaiole - Fresh, Kool & The Gang

8.     Castelnuovo Berardenga - Into the Great Wide Open, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

9.     Vagliagli – Gustosità, Nino Rapicavoli 

10.  Castellina - Ahead by a Century, The Tragically Hip

11.  San Donato in Poggio - Compte à Rebour Adagio, Georges Delerue 

This episode was produced thanks to a Campaign Financed According to EU Regulation No 1308/2013.