Deep in the Weeds - A Food Podcast with Anthony Huckstep · A Deep in the Weeds Production

Over a Glass: Dan Sims (Chair of Wine Victoria) - a good news story.

·46 min·3 clips

Dan says the sector should “unsubscribe from the negative rhetoric” and stop treating wine as a binary.

Shantae Whale opens by acknowledging Australia's First Nation people and then introduces Dan Sims as the show's first returning guest. He is back in a new role as chair of Wine Victoria. The conversation sets a hopeful tone right away. Dan describes the job as a kind of cheerleading for the Victorian wine community, while also making clear that Wine Victoria is an advocacy body with a practical purpose. The discussion stays close to the ground. It keeps returning to what wine regions actually do for the people who live and work in them. Dan argues that bringing more visitors into the regions has a direct economic effect. He ties that to jobs, business profitability, and a more sustainable Victorian wine community. The show spends time on a simple idea: place matters. Seeing the grapes, the soils, the aspect, and the hospitality changes the experience in a way a city or coast setting cannot. That becomes the backbone of the episode. Shantae pushes on how regions can attract more people without putting every burden on wineries themselves. Dan points to support from Global Victoria and Agriculture Victoria. He also mentions programs that help with export and promotion, including Drink Victorian. The conversation widens to trade events in Singapore. It also touches on work with 67 Pall Mall and the value of giving sommeliers and trade buyers more access to wine regions. Dan and Shantae discuss the common complaint that younger people are not into wine. Dan pushes back on the lazy version of that story. He says younger drinkers are still there, just engaging in different ways. That keeps the tone open rather than defensive. The episode never sits in negativity for long. Instead, it keeps coming back to what is working. It is strongest when it connects advocacy to lived experience on the ground. It leaves you with the sense that Victorian wine has plenty to say when the conversation stays rooted in regions, people, and practical support.

As heard by us

A regional wine conversation that keeps its focus on people, places, and practical work.

This episode finds Dan Sims back as the first returning guest, now in his role as Chair of Wine Victoria. It treats Victorian wine as a regional story, with people, places, jobs, and community tied together, and keeps coming back to a simple point: more visitors in the regions…

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Why you'd press play

For a hopeful wine conversation that still understands regional economics.

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