The Maker and The Merchant

There are many voices in the drinks industry. A cacophony of opinion, thought, and ego fill our earwaves with things they want us to know. Many voices carry weight, others carry the aural equivalent of a sluice gate being opened into our front rooms. But now is not the time for more of this, no. Now IS the time for questions to be asked, truths to be faced, and trousers to be let out. Ferg and Lee have finally, and under much duress, opened their mailboxes and inbags, and read, perused, and utterly ignored the millions of letters that have been flooding in.   It's been quite the task to whittle these questions down, but our hosts have intrepidly sought out the letters that pose the most interesting and challenging thought experiments. Their will be some expected correspondents, and some truly surprising ones. Here we don't tell you what we want you to hear, we're not narcissistic enough for that. No, we answer YOUR questions.   So, sit in the big black chair, sit only in the spotlight, and your time starts on Thursday morning when TM&TM: Oat Milk hits the podocean.

Did Alan Partridge ever truly settle the discussion of who is the best lord? Do you have conversations down the pub about what is the best guitar solo? Who was the best bladder kicker, or other similar things that we simply can't be bothered to come up with? Then this is an episode for you. Or maybe not. Listen or don't, you're choice.   Ferg and Lee finally come round to the hot topic, hashtag sensitive, issue of the moment: what is the best drink?   There are propositions, hypotheses, and many conjectures. There is consensus and disagreement, often simultaneously. Do you agree with our hosts' choices? Would you like to suggest alternatives? Is a final and unanimous conclusion reached?   TM&TM:  Dignity Under Cabin Pressure topping the opinion polls from Thursday morning.

A fiery sun falls into a calm ocean, ending its day an expectant audience sit in the agora, awaiting knowledge and wisdom. The philosopher steps forward, drawing his gaze from the Acropolis to the gathered few, he sighs, stroking his moustache and beard. He prefers to bring thought, to pose questions, and understand exactly what the hell is going on. Soon, the pregnant pause becomes the ultimate chaos. The world crumbles, following the sun into the sea. Words fill the air, only to be long forgotten. Three lifetimes of wonder and nonsense reduced to questionable audio quality. Witnesses would gladly drink hemlock just to end it all.   Greek wine. That's what we talk about. With the exceptional Mike Boyne.

Have you Been To? Been to? Bin Two? Been To? Have you Bin Two Bin Two? Abbott & Costello continue ad infinitum   We ask, where has Mike Boyne Bin Two. Where is he now? And just how long has he wanted to be a slug balancer?   Yes, Friend Of The Pod and Industry Legend Mike Boyne rejoins us in TM&TM Towers to share thoughts on the trade, running and indie, staffing, wine selection, and showing off his huge guns.   So pour a brandy, grab a fruit rollup, and let's talk about the industry.

Are you a competitive person? Is your own self worth based on challenging someone else to something (largely completely unimportant or irrelevant)? Do you actively seek the approval of others; especially strangers or people you are desperate to impress through the medium of a shiny thing?   What is a wine competition? Just who is being awarded and for what purpose? Do you wish you could achieve 100 points out of a maximum of 5 stars?   None of this, and less, in our next episode: The Komax Biokips Sandwich Containers (Set of 3) available to pilot your advisor from Thursday morning.   This episode is (not in any way) sponsored by The IEWA, for whom Ferg and Lee were judge and a panel chair respectively and Bristol's IMMENSE Pasture Restaurant; purveyors of the finest steak this side of Argentina.

That's it folks. The history books will need to be rewritten. They will now just say 'Ferg bought a Volvo.' Everything else will just be a footnote.   Included in that footnote will be an intricate and detailed précis of how Ferg also fell into the world of Low and No Alcohol. And how he fell into the world of Rosé. It's like Ferg has set out to make something specifically to annoy Lee. That's all too easy to do these days.   Ferg gets technical, Lee asks a combination of useful, insightful questions alongside some utter nonsense. But it's genuinely interesting.   More interesting than a Volvo. Wow, as I write that I realise exactly what TM&TM has become.   We need to rewrite the history books indeed.   TM&TM: So I Bought A Volvo, reversing into your cul de sac on Thursday morning.   #wine #podcast #winecast #lowandno #rosewine

Many industry commentators have not suggested how Ferg & Lee have been known to wander off on existential tangents. Literally millions of global wine drinkers have not noticed Lee's predilection for both dismissing the very concept of time, and his deep love of the one true sport, the sport upon which all others are based: snooker. In a similar instance of 'somebody not noticing something' Ferg had not heard the news about the Snooker World Championship staying at the hallowed Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.   What's this got to do with wine, and a wine podcast? Lee has rare talent. Rare in that it has not been seen and is likely non-existent. In one swift move he can turn ANY conversation to snooker. Yep, it's one of those episodes.   What is the true nature of wine? What is its value? How does one 'truly enjoy wine?'; this is a selection of questions asked and not necessarily answered.    In a shocking twist, Ferg wants to learn more about not just Claret, but also the green baize. In a past life on social media (before he grew up and shut it all down) Lee was particularly not well known for interacting with Triple Crown Winner Shaun Murphy AND MC extraordinaire Phil Seymour. Think we can do a collab of snooker meets wine? We can off The Onefourseven podcast a tour of a winery and vineyards with a man known as 'Former England's Youngest Winemaker' and his cohost who 'Once made a 47 break'. We're sure they have FAR better things to do than bother with this nonsense though. And who can blame them.   Anyway...there's an episode out Thursday morning; keen-eared listeners may notice some callbacks to an episode that hasn't aired yet. WE GOT BEYOND META.   So, rack them up, chalk your cue, and the clock will start the next time you press play.

Birds, birds, birds. How do they know? What do they know? What have they got to do with this podcast? Nothing actually. Nada.   What does concern this episode is Ferg's visit to the incomparable Shaw & Smith. You may know for making awesome wine. Ferg knows them for both this, and their charcuterie. Please let it be noted that this was not an officially sanctioned TM&TM Beano and was entirely self-funded by Ferg. Nor was an invitation extended to the man often referred to as 'The Lesser Of The Two TM&TM Hosts.'   So yeah. That's what this one is about.   Set your toast to medium/light and get ready to barrel ferment.    Episode live in aisle five from Thursday morning.   #podcast #wine #winecast #firstnotsecond #Australianwine 

Here's some blurb...   You may have noticed we write quite a bit of copy to highlight our episodes and what they're about. This takes literally minutes out of our day and well, we can't be bothered. Does anyone read it? Do you just look at the expertly photoshopped pictures? Do you even listen to the audio bit? Research suggests not.   TM&TM: 182007 out from Thursday morning.   #podcast #wine #winecast #originalsnotcopyists #upwithoriginalthoughtdownwithbullshit

We're not afraid of the big questions here at TM&TM. Questions like “will you stop that?”, “In which aisle will I find the quince paste?” And “is this your rootstock sir?” Today however we tackle possibly the biggest of all big questions: what IS Lee? Specifically what does he actually do? If you've ever heard Lee speak (for which we do profusely apologise but we accept no responsibility, liability, or culpability) he does his best to not answer. This leads us down a winding path of the nature of his work, but also a deeper look at the nature of the charity for whom he works. There may be tangents, there could possibly be non sequiturs, and some of you may not make it...but it is a sacrifice we are prepared to face. So get your textbooks out, put your phones on silent, and face the front as we delve into the world of an educator educator. #wine #podcast #winecast #waitwehavesomethingtosay #wineeducation