Episode
Vininspo! Podcast Episode 32: Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix
- Podcast
- Vininspo! podcast
- Published
- Dec 18, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 4136
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Summary
I first heard Ginny Willcock speak about wine in Adelaide back in 2013 when I attended Savour Australia as a freelance journalist for Business Insider. This event courted wine-buyers, writers and opinion-shapers from across the globe in an attempt to reset the image of Australian wine. On an afternoon where delegates were assigned breakout sessions, I ended up in a fancy Cabernet Sauvignon tasting fronted by Gin, with Sue Hodder of Wynns also on the panel. Sue was great value, too, but Gin blew me over like a gust of fresh air. We were there, after all, because the world’s affection for Aussie wine had dimmed, and its essential, endearing Aussieness had retreated into itself. When Ginny spoke, that essential, endearing Aussieness came rollicking back like a wave rolling in from the Indian Ocean. Vininspo! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The fact that we were discussing Cabernet—that most refined and distinguished of noble red grapes—with unfettered, infectious enthusiasm rather than the pomp and guff ordinarily de rigueur in these soulless dissections, heightened the effect. And Gin’s wines are immaculate. Like her, they are also brimming with energy, personality and emotion. Gin is chief winemaker at Vasse Felix, where she began working back in 2006. During that time, she’s won countless awards, including being crowned 2026 Winemaker of the Year by Halliday Wine Companion. Vasse Felix was the first estate to be planted in Margaret River, back in 1967, by Dr Tom Cullity. The Holmes à Court family now owns it, and Gin speaks warmly about her partnership with Vasse Felix owner and chief executive Paul Holmes à Court. Bart Molony, chief viticulturist and 2025 Halliday Wine Companion…