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What makes a modern Chinese restaurant truly great? And what wine should you be drinking with it?

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, Trent sits down with Victor Liong, …the chef behind Lee Ho Fook, for a conversation that spans food, wine, family, culture and the realities of building one of Australia’s most respected restaurants.

Victor shares stories from growing up between Brunei, Malaysia and Sydney, visiting his grandfather’s kopitiam, walking away from a business degree to pursue cooking, and the journey that led to Lee Ho Fook becoming a fixture of Australian dining.

They also dive into opening Lee Ho Fook Sydney, balancing fatherhood with business ownership, handling criticism, overcoming imposter syndrome and why great restaurants focus on refining ideas rather than constantly chasing trends.

For wine lovers, Victor discusses the wines that shaped his palate, why Lee Ho Fook champions Australian producers, and his favourite Chinese food pairings.

It’s a conversation about hospitality, identity, creativity and the philosophy of serving guests above all else.

If you love wine, food, restaurants, hospitality, entrepreneurship or Australian gastronomy, you’ll enjoy this one.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:55 Icebreakers
00:09:50 Victor’s Background Story
00:18:47 Culinary Influences
00:21:10 Li Ho Fook Story & Philosophy
00:24:43 Defining Modern Chinese Cuisine
00:33:00 Wine Journey
00:46:57 Wine of the Day – Gronju Chardonnay
00:52:06 Wine at Li Ho Fook
00:57:13 Wine Pairings with Chinese Food
01:01:28 Rapid Fire Questions
01:08:33 Proudest Moments & Future
01:12:58 Closing

👉 Subscribe to @thewinedup and tell us below:

What’s your favourite dish at Lee Ho Fook? Drop it in the comments 👇

Go check out https://www.leehofook.com.au/

🎙️ Clip from The Wined Up Podcast
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up
🌐 Visit https://www.thewinedup.com.au
📩 info@thewinedup.com.au

#leehoFook #victorliong #granjoux #drinkaustralian #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwelearnweconnect

We Drink. We Try. We Learn. We Connect. Drink Responsibly. 🍷Show More

How does Lee Ho Fook interpret modern Chinese cuisine?

What makes a modern Chinese restaurant truly great? And what wine …

How One Family Took Us Around the World in 4 Wines

What if you could travel from England to France, Tasmania and Bordeaux …

What if you could travel from England to France, Tasmania and Bordeaux without ever leaving your chair?

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, we’re not exploring a single wine …region. Instead, we’re following the story of one family that has spent more than 50 years searching the world for great wine and has delivered over a billion bottles along the way.

The journey starts with a young Tony Laithwaite working a harvest in Saint-Émilion. Surrounded by talented growers making incredible wines that rarely left France, he had a simple idea: load a van, take the wines directly to customers, and share discoveries that most people would never find on their own. Decades later, that idea became one of the world’s largest family-owned wine merchants.

To understand the philosophy behind Laithwaites, we taste our way through four very different wines.

• A sparkling wine from Windsor Great Park that showcases why English sparkling is becoming one of the most exciting categories in the wine world.
• A classic Provence rosé that delivers everything you want from southern France, freshness, minerality and effortless drinkability.
• A beautifully elegant Tasmanian Pinot Noir from Joseph Chromy that highlights why Tasmania continues to punch well above its weight.
• A mysterious Pauillac Bordeaux sourced from a secret First Growth parcel that offers a glimpse into one of wine’s most prestigious regions without the eye-watering price tag.

This episode is ultimately about discovery. The people who spend their lives searching for hidden gems. The stories behind great bottles. And why wine remains one of the few things that can transport you across continents through a single glass.

________________________________________
Chapters

00:00 How Do You Travel the World Through 4 Wines?
00:47 The Family Behind a Billion Bottles
01:13 The Bordeaux Harvest That Started Everything
02:00 The Untold Story of Barbara Laithwaite
02:30 What Actually Makes a Wine Merchant?
03:06 Four Wines. Four Regions. One Journey.
03:24 England’s Royal Sparkling Wine Surprise
05:01 Why Provence Rosé Never Goes Out of Style
06:13 Tasmania’s Pinot Noir Sweet Spot
07:55 The Secret First Growth Bordeaux
09:35 A Pauillac That Drinks Well Above Its Price
10:04 Why Wine Is the Ultimate Way to Travel
10:34 The Wines We’d Buy Again Tomorrow

👉 Subscribe to @thewinedup and tell us below:

Do you think great wine always has to come with a big price tag? Drop it in the comments 👇

Go check out https://www.laithwaites.com.au/ to find your favourite wine OR check out the wines at the https://goodfoodshow.com.au/sydney-show/

🎙️ Clip from The Wined Up Podcast
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up
🌐 Visit https://www.thewinedup.com.au
📩 info@thewinedup.com.au

#laithwaites #greatwindsorpark #josefchromy #moulindepontfract #pinot #rose #paulliac #goodfoodandwine #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwelearnweconnect

We Drink. We Try. We Learn. We Connect. Drink Responsibly. 🍷Show More

Australia’s Best Chardonnay? The Blind Tasting Shocked Us

What actually happens when you blind taste some of Australia’s most …

What actually happens when you blind taste some of Australia’s most hyped Chardonnays… against each other?

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, Trent is joined by the always insightful …Marc Malouf for a deep dive into Australian Chardonnay. From cult favourites and benchmark producers to the styles, philosophies, and winemaking fingerprints that shape the country’s most talked-about bottles.

It’s raw, blind, occasionally chaotic, and full of genuine moments where both of us completely rethink what we thought we knew about Chardonnay. One wine gets described as “compelling”, another divides us with intense reductive character, and at one point we genuinely question whether Australian Chardonnay might now rival the world’s top chardonnays.

If you love Chardonnay, or think you hate it, this episode might genuinely surprise you.

Chapters
00:00 The French Wine Twist Nobody Expected
00:14 What Is Australia’s Favourite Chardonnay?
01:55 Mark’s Most Memorable Wine Ever
03:14 Why Riesling Might Beat Chardonnay
04:30 The Biggest Lesson From a Life in Wine
06:23 A Vintage Year of Life, Highs & Lows
08:24 Fresh Sourdough Before Nine Chardonnays
09:14 Why Great Chardonnay Is So Hard to Make
10:09 Does Australian Chardonnay Have an Identity?
21:03 The Blind Tasting Starts Getting Serious
23:33 Reductive Chardonnay Explained
26:26 “How Bloody Good Is Australian Chardonnay?”
29:34 Final Round: The Most Divisive Wine Yet
30:46 The Wine Geek Chardonnay Debate
31:00 Which Chardonnay Actually Won?

👉 Subscribe to @thewinedup and tell us below:

What’s your favourite Australian chardonnay? Drop it in the comments 👇

Go check out http://www.iheartwine.com.au to find your favourite wine.

🎙️ Clip from The Wined Up Podcast
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up
🌐 Visit https://www.thewinedup.com.au
📩 info@thewinedup.com.au

#australianchardonnay #chardonnay #chardy #giaconda #savaterre #leeuwin #cullen #tolpuddle #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwelearnweconnect

We Drink. We Try. We Learn. We Connect. Drink Responsibly. 🍷Show More

He Turned His Garage into a Winery (And Learned Fast) With James Follent

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, we sit down with amateur …

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, we sit down with amateur winemaker James Follent to unpack what really happens when curiosity turns into a full-blown garage winery obsession.

What …started with buying wine for Qantas points somehow turned into hand-picking grapes, experimenting with sparkling Chardonnay, making raspberry mead, joining the Sydney Amateur Winemakers Club, and producing nearly 300 bottles of wine at home.

Along the way, James shares the chaos, mistakes, and happy accidents that come with learning winemaking from scratch, including dropping 23 litres of Moscato all over the kitchen floor.

This conversation dives into what home winemaking actually teaches you about wine. From fermentation and faults to sulphites, ageing, oxidation, vineyard challenges, and why cleaning might secretly be the most important skill in winemaking.

If you’ve ever wondered whether making wine would completely change the way you drink it… this episode is for you.

Whether you’re into Australian wine, home fermentation, garage winemaking, cellar culture, wine education, or just love hearing passionate people obsess over their hobby, this episode captures the messy, fascinating side of wine that most people never see.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction – Do You Really Understand Wine?
00:00:37 Meet James Fallon – Amateur Winemaker
00:01:08 Lord James & The Scottish Land Story
00:02:25 Icebreaker Questions
00:02:28 Most Memorable Wine Moment
00:04:24 Who Would You Share a Bottle With?
00:05:21 Food & Wine Pairing + Biggest Lesson
00:06:53 Bottling a Life Moment (2025)
00:08:24 James’ Wine Journey Begins
00:11:23 From Drinking to Making Wine
00:12:11 Sydney Amateur Winemakers Club
00:19:25 Sparkling Chardonnay 2025 Tasting
00:22:00 Chateau Falon – Name & Story
00:24:32 How Winemaking Changed His Perspective
00:25:40 Regenerative & Biodynamic Viticulture
00:28:44 Vermentino Mudgee 2025
00:31:25 Winemaking Mistakes & Lessons
00:33:33 Garage Winemaking Setup
00:35:15 Oak, Blending & Experiments
00:38:28 Raspberry Mead Tasting & Story
00:43:10 Regenerative Farming Deep Dive
00:47:38 Merlot Cabernet Blend
00:50:30 Future Plans – Going Commercial?
00:55:57 Final Thoughts & The Joy of Winemaking
00:57:32 Where to Find James & The Club
00:58:25 Closing & Cheers

👉 Subscribe to @thewinedup and tell us below:

Have you ever thought about making your own wine? Drop it in the comments 👇

Go check out James Follent and his journey with amateur wine making at https://chateaufollent.com.au/ and his insta https://www.instagram.com/j.fol/. Alternatively if you want to be pursue the journey yourself, check out the Sydney Amateur Winemakers Club https://www.sydneyawc.com/

🎙️ Clip from The Wined Up Podcast
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up
🌐 Visit https://www.thewinedup.com.au
📩 info@thewinedup.com.au

#jamesfollent #chateaufollent #sydneyawc #amateurwinemaking #winemaking #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwelearnweconnect

We Drink. We Learn. We Connect. Drink Responsibly. 🍷Show More

What Does 500 Years of Wine History Taste Like? With Roman Aujoulat from Chateau La Nerthe

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, we sit down with Roman …

In this episode of The Wined Up Podcast, we sit down with Roman Aujoulat from Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. One of the Rhône Valley’s most historic estates to unpack …what tradition really means when you’re the next generation helping carry it forward.

Roman grew up in the Rhône surrounded by wine at the dinner table, but stepping into a role representing one of the region’s benchmark estates still came with challenge and trepidation. From that first emotional Loire Valley Chardonnay moment that pulled him into wine, to travelling the world pouring Châteauneuf-du-Pape in places like Sydney, this conversation moves between personal story and deep regional insight in the best possible way.

Along the way we explore why Châteauneuf-du-Pape allows up to 18 grape varieties, how blending gives growers freedom in a changing climate, and why Grenache still quietly shapes the identity of the region. Roman also shares the lesser-known history behind Château La Nerthe itself, including Roman amphitheatre stones hidden in the cellar walls and sealed wartime cellars rediscovered decades later.
We taste through Rhône whites, Beaujolais Gamay, Châteauneuf-du-Pape whites and mature Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds while talking about ageing windows, vintage expression, and what it means to evolve a historic estate without losing its soul.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – “You don’t need to be a pro to enjoy wine”
00:00:18 – Ice Breaker
00:04:00 – What Châteauneuf-du-Pape pairs best with at the table
00:05:42 – First tasting: Rhône white blend from La Nerthe
00:08:02 – Growing up with wine in the Rhône Valley
00:10:00 – Getting the call to represent La Nerthe
00:10:36 – What makes Rhône… Rhône?
00:12:39 – Robert Parker and global fame for Châteauneuf-du-Pape
00:13:00 – Why Châteauneuf-du-Pape allows 13 (or 18) grapes
00:16:27 – Why vintage variation matters more than consistency here
00:17:03 – The Richard family story: wine in Paris 140 years ago
00:20:25 – Second tasting: Beaujolais Gamay surprise
00:23:59 – How Château La Nerthe survived five centuries
00:26:21 – Phylloxera, rootstocks and saving the vineyards
00:29:22 – Hidden Roman stones and sealed WWII cellar stories
00:34:54 – What goes into white Châteauneuf-du-Pape
00:36:18 – How white Rhône wines age (and when to drink them)
00:48:58 – Modern vs old-school La Nerthe winemaking styles
00:49:06 – Mature Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds and ageing windows
00:57:22 – Final reflections + visiting Château La Nerthe

👉 Subscribe to @thewinedup and tell us below:

What’s your favourite Châteauneuf-du-Pape? Drop it in the comments 👇

Go check out Chateau Le Nerthe https://www.domainesrichard.fr/chateau-la-nerthe/en/

🎙️ Clip from The Wined Up Podcast
📺 Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up
🌐 Visit https://www.thewinedup.com.au
📩 info@thewinedup.com.au

#chateaulenerthe #domainesrichard #cdp #chateauneufdupape #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwelearnweconnect

We Drink. We Learn. We Connect. Drink Responsibly. 🍷Show More

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About Us

The Wined Up Podcast is hosted by two Australian mates on an unfiltered, unapologetically, unprofessional wine journey. Trent is a long-term wine enthusiast inspired through by his families love of wine and trips to wineries whilst living in the UK. Jason is a more recent wine lover who wants to make wine more accessible, less complicated, and less snobby.

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