Wine Flight with Sophia & Ben

Welcome to our new drinks podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Every fortnight, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're joined by wine educator and comedian Lee Isaacs. Lee is Unity Wines' brand ambassador and previously managed The Oxford Wine Company's flagship store for five years. A wine educator and communicator by day, Lee is also a stand-up comedian and brings this talent to his wine tastings. He has even been described as the ‘Stewart Lee of wine tasting’. He has also contributed to Harpers Wines & Spirits, The Times of London, The BBC and Channel 4. Both Lee and Ben judge at the Independent English Wine Awards. We had lots of fun having Lee on the podcast as we shared some delicious wines from South Africa, Croatia, Spain and Australia. We talked about exploring flavour, mental health, performing and music amongst other topics, and Sophia's new quick fire quiz. At the end of the episode, Lee wraps up series 1 by picking the winning favourite wine. Who will triumph? You can find out what Lee is up to by following him @wineman147 on Instagram and Twitter. The Wines: Wine 1 - Saint Hills Posh Posip, Croatia (Ben) Wine 2 - Constitution Road Chardonnay, South Africa (Sophia) Wine 3 - Contino Riserva Rioja, Spain (Ben) Wine 4 - Saint Hallet Barossa Shiraz, Australia (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in February 2023.  Series 2 will return later in 2023. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to our new drinks podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Every fortnight, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're joined by entrepreneur, marathon hero and fitness enthusiast Nikki Hawkes. Nikki currently runs the fintech business Stratiphy, and previously founded an events business that launched the Ciderthon in Somerset. Having recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Nikki shares her hiking, running and fitness stories - including doing a marathon dressed as a water bottle to promote the reduction of single use plastic at events. With Mexican heritage, we chat a lot about food and travel, too. Throughout the podcast, Nikki drops tips on hangover cures, getting famous on TikTok and how to get into running, all while we drink a selection of exciting wines from New Zealand, Chile, Spain and Australia. As usual, at the end of the podcast, Nikki must choose her favourite wine and this episode's winner! Find out who wins by listening in. You can find out what Nikki is up to by following her @nikkihawkes on Instagram, or connect with her on LinkedIn. The Wines: Wine 1 - Robert Oatley Chardonnay, Australia (Sophia) Wine 2 - Field of Stones 9.5% abv Marlborough Rosé, New Zealand (Ben) Wine 3 - Errazuriz Estate Pinot Noir, Chile (Sophia) Wine 4 - Finca Constancia Castilla Tinto, Spain (Ben) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in February 2023.  ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to our new drinks podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Every fortnight, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're joined by food and drink author, entrepreneur and consultant, Mallika Basu. Mallika is one of the UK's most exciting food communicators, known for her two cookbooks Miss Masala: Real Indian Cooking for Busy Living (Harper Collins) and Masala: Indian cooking for Modern Living (Bloomsbury), and her articles in the London Evening Standard. She is a finale judge at The Guild of Fine Food Awards, has appeared as a television presenter, and writes courses for the British Library. We had a great time on the podcast with Mallika, talking about Indian cookery, food and wine pairings, diversity in writing and the food industry, and our love for pleasure. We tasted wines from Greece, South Africa, Australia and France. As usual, at the end of the podcast, Mallika must choose her favourite wine! Who will triumph this week? You can find out what Mallika is up to on instagram @mallikabasu_ The Wines: Wine 1 - Cave de l’Ormarine ‘Carte Noire’, Picpoul de Pinet, France (Sophia) Wine 2 - Barafakis Idea White Assyrtiko/Malagousia (Ben) Wine 3 - Journey's End Shiraz/Malbec, South Africa (Ben) Wine 4 - Wirra Wirra Church Block, Australia (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in February 2023.  ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're joined by wine writer, presenter and judge Aleesha Hansel. Aleesha is a fantastic guest and we're very excited to have her on our podcast! Aleesha has an impressive career in television, journalism and wine with credits on BBC Radio 4 and ITV's Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh. Alongside her prolific work in wine, Aleesha is also an advocate for diversity and gender equality, providing a platform for these issues to be talked about in the public space. What's more, Aleesha became a UN Women delegate for the 66th Commission on the Status of Women and has recently been announced as an ambassador for The Fairtrade Foundation. During this edition of Wine Flight, Aleesha joins us to drink wines from Spain, the USA, Croatia and Spain as we discuss her journey through journalism, wine, meeting people, and tasting in colours. We also have our first corked wine - eep! As usual, at the end of the episode, Aleesha must choose her favourite wine of the line-up and crown the next winner! You can find out what Aleesha is up to on instagram @aleeshahansel The Wines: Wine 1 - Tesco Finest Vinas Del Rey Albarino, Spain (Ben) Wine 2 - Bonny Doon Vineyard Cigare Blanc, USA (Sophia) Wine 3 - Saint Hills Black Dalmacija Plavac Mali, Croatia (Sophia) Wine 4 - CVNE Bela Ribera del Duero, Spain - Oops, Corked! (Ben) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in February 2023.  ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're joined by the fabulous Kimberley Murray, a physiologist for the English Institute of Sport, former rowing coach and Skeleton athlete. Kim shares her drive to be the best and to help others achieve their best, why she pursued a career in sport, and how wine and food has started to become a more exciting thing to explore. It was lovely to have Kimberley join us and this is an episode not to be missed. We share wines from Hungary, Austria, Canada and Mexico while we talk about discovering a love for exercise (that can creep up on you), pursuing a career in what you truly love, and our favourite midweek cheat meals. There's also a lot of love for Bath and Edinburgh! At the end of the episode, as usual, our guest must pick their favourite! Who will Kimberley choose as the winner of this week's Wine Flight? You can follow Kimberley on Instagram @kimberleymurray88 The Wines: Wine 1 - St Donat '5 Bar' Brut Nature Sparkling, Hungary (Sophia) Wine 2 - Eschenhof Holzer Wagram Gruner Veltliner, Austria (Ben) Wine 3 - Haywire White Label Gamay Noir, Canada (Sophia) Wine 4 - LA Cetto Reserve Nebbiolo, Mexico (Ben) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in January 2023. Wines in this episode are from Novel Wines. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight we're chatting to Simon Rollings, founder and CEO of Canned Wine Co., the UK's leading alt-format wine producer for premium wine. Simon set up Canned Wine Co. with Ben in 2019, after achieving his MBA and stints with Hello Fresh, Future Plc and Bristol+Bath Creative R+D. Simon shares his experience building the Canned Wine Co. brand (including launching a start-up during a pandemic) and why he got involved in the world of wine.  We share wines from Turkey, Germany, Austria and France while we chat about start-up culture, getting married, working out and staying curious. There's also a lot of chat about food! At the end of the episode, as usual, our guest must pick their favourite! Who will Simon crown the winner of this week's Wine Flight? You can buy and sample the Canned Wine Co. range from their website: cannedwine.co The Wines: Wine 1 - Pasaeli Yapincak, Turkey (Ben) Wine 2 - Bibo Runge Kleiner Revoluzzer Riesling, Germany (Sophia) Wine 3 - Hanna Glatzer Organic Whole Bunch Pinot Noir, Austria (Sophia) Wine 4 - Alchemy 100 Year-Old Vine Cinsault, France (Ben) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in January 2023. Wines in this episode are from Novel Wines. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight, we are joined by the brilliant Ingrid Bates - owner and manager of Somerset's Dunleavy Vineyards. Ingrid began her career in the vineyard 20 years ago, when gardening led to her maintaining a local vineyard. Discovering her true love for tending to vines, Ingrid took the plunge and planted her own vineyard on leased land at the age of 28 years old. Since planting her vines in 2008 and releasing her first wines in 2013, Ingrid has built a reputation as one of the most exciting wine producers in Somerset, leading with her flagship rosé wine and a new range of limited edition sparkling wines. Ingrid has been shortlisted as Young Grower of the Year and featured on the BBC. Her wines are stocked by critically acclaimed restaurants across the south west and in London. We chat to her about her passion for growing grapes and share some delicious wines from unusual origins, such as Japan, Canada, Hungary and Brazil. Who will triumph in this week's competition? Listen to find out! You can find out more about Ingrid Bates' vineyard and buy her wines online here: https://www.dunleavyvineyards.co.uk/ The Wines: Wine 1 - Grace Koshu Kayagatake, Japan (Ben) Wine 2 - Okanagan Crush Pad Haywire White Label Secrest Mountain Chardonnay, Canada (Sophia) Wine 3 - Bolyki Egri Bikaver, Hungary (Ben) Wine 4 - Guaspari Vista da Serra Syrah, Brazil (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in January 2023. Wines in this episode are from Novel Wines. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight, we're chatting to the musician Ben McGowan. Explorer, tour guide, fire breather and Irish music aficionado, we were taken on a journey through the times and all over the world in this episode of Wine Flight. Ben shares stories from his travels, events from history, and his love for music and performing. We're pretty sure you're going to love hearing from him! Alongside the stories, we open a few different wines and, as always, our guest Ben must pick their favourite from the line-up and crown a winner! Have a listen to find out.  You can listen to one of Ben's covers on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ben-mc-gowan/galway-girl The Wines: Wine 1 - Vila Nova Vinho Verde, Portugal (Ben) Wine 2 - Cave de Turckheim Gewurztraminer, France (Sophia) Wine 3 - Don Guerino El Gaucho Tannat, Brazil (Ben) Wine 4 - Masi Costasera Amarone Classico DOCG, Italy (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in January 2023. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight, we're chatting to Dan Kirby. Dan is taking on the Master of Wine qualification, the world's most prestigious professional wine title, in the hope to join its ranks of only 414 MWs globally. He crowdfunded his first year's fees after calling out the MW course for its pricey fees, with his crowdfunder backed by Miles Beale, chief exec of the Wine & Spirits Trade Association (WSTA). Dan is a thinker, writer and drinker - as he describes himself on Twitter - and has experience in buying wines, selling wines, and working in a vineyard. We chat to Dan about how he got into the wine trade, his love for music and time in a band, and the exciting new natural wines entering the market. While we open a series of wines for him to try, we cover all sorts of topics from social media to personality traits.  As always, at the end of the episode Dan must pick a favourite wine from the line-up and one of us will be crowned the winner of episode 8! If you would like to learn more about Dan's journey and sign up for his newsletter, visit Dan Kirby's website here. The Wines: Wine 1 - Wine Not? Alsace, France (Sophia) Wine 2 - Peter Pince Kabar, Hungary (Ben) Wine 3 - Bojt Egri Bikaver Superior, Hungary (Ben) Wine 4 - Artisans Vignerons de Naoussa Xinomavro, Greece (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in November 2022. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.

Welcome to your favourite new podcast, Wine Flight! Hosted by Sophia Longhi and Ben Franks. Each week, we interview a new guest with a shared love for wine. Sophia and Ben face off with a flight of wines and we ask each guest to pick a winner at the end of the podcast. In this episode of Wine Flight, we talk to social media wine expert Leandro Cabrini, who founded the digital marketing drinks business Brisc in 2017. Leandro, who is also the fifth generation at his family's winery Cabrini Wines, talks about setting up his own business, importing his family's Malbec to the UK market, and how great wine brings people together. As usual, at the end of the episode Leandro must pick his favourite wine of the flight and announce the winner. Who will win this week's face off? Listen now. Find out more about Leandro's company Brisc here, or look out for his family's Cabrini Malbec - available now in the UK! The Wines: Wine 1 - Waldschütz Fels am Wagram Grüner Veltliner, Austria (Ben) Wine 2 - Tenuta Montauto Gessaia Maremma Sauvignon Blanc, Italy (Sophia) Wine 3 - Domaine Fiumicicoli Rouge Corse Sartene Organic, Corsica (Ben) Wine 4 - Viñedos del Contino Rioja Reserva, Spain (Sophia) Listen on your favourite app, or visit wineflightpod.com for the full series. This episode was recorded in November 2022. ---- Ben Franks FRSA is the Managing Director of the international drinks consultancy Ben Franks Wine, helping bring brands to the UK market. He is also the co-founder of the multi-award-winning wine merchant Novel Wines and Canned Wine Co., a sustainability-focused alt-format wine business putting Europe's best wines in can. Sophia Longhi is the owner of wine blog skin+pulp, winner of the IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication Award 2022 and was named one of Wine GB’s Great British Wine Industry Women of 2021. She is an acclaimed wine writer, wine judge and tastings host. Wine Flight is produced by Ben Franks Wine Ltd and edited by Kat Agg. Follow @BenFranksWine on Twitter, or Instagram. Read all of the latest insights from Ben Franks Wine online.