A partnership between Itasca Wines and Vineyard magazine has resulted in the launch of a new Podcast series being shown on Youtube focussing on UK growers and winemakers, with the first episode available to watch from early February.
The Grapevine Podcast was conceived by Mike “MYK” Wood, a radio presenter, producer and media production specialist, in partnership with Itasca Wines founder Malcolm Walker, born from their collaboration on the TV series Cellar Rats. The idea was to produce an industry live, visual “show” instead of a generic audio podcast. The aim is to attract an industry audience as opposed to the general public. The podcast is targeted at the wine industry, vineyard owners, growers and winemakers rather than a “wine tourism” lifestyle audience. Guests will be industry insiders, experts in their chosen fields and disciplines as well as celebrities from the world of wine, steering away from promoting and tasting wine in favour of telling their stories, asking advice and discussing innovations and technology across both the UK and worldwide. Mike commented: “You can’t taste or smell wine on TV, so why would you try on a podcast?”
In the first episode – which will also be available to view via Vineyard Magazine’s website – Mike interviews Malcolm Walker, the man behind Itasca Wines. “Malcolm’s journey into wine makes a really interesting story in itself,” commented Jamie McGrorty, publisher of Vineyard Magazine. Many readers will not know that Malcolm has enjoyed a fantastic career in the film industry, starting off as a teenager when he undertook a seven year apprenticeship to work on film set design and construction for feature films. Once his apprenticeship was complete, Malcolm travelled the world searching for filming locations, and in recent years moved into the role of a Director in TV drama working with ITV and BBC. He later ventured into independent work, producing the Cellar Rats TV series. A question that will be on many readers lips is how did Malcolm go from being a film director to becoming the founder of Itasca Wines? That is a question that we are sure Mike will be asking Malcolm in his first podcast!
If you are interested in being interviewed by Mike and featured in one of The Grapevine Podcasts, please get in touch with Mike Wood via the Youtube channel where you can also view the first episode. Alternatively, please visit the website or connect via Instagram.
