sp#09 - christelle guibert: messing with wine judges and judging sommeliers

this week we sit down with christelle guibert, who shares her brilliant journey from decanter tasting panels to stepping away as chief executive of the iwsc to focus on direct hospitality mentorship.

we chat about running unvarnished experiments on expert judges, the scientific reality of palatal fatigue, and why she decided to personally buy out the uk sommelier of the year competition. stay curious, but perhaps don't get up on stage to compete unless you're really ready.

we're also joined by alexandre ambassador for aop picpoul de pinet, to talk about their upcoming trade tasting on june 8th in london. link to register is over on the substack.

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00:35 - brad and dan recap a relentless week and outline the bumper double-interview show.

00:53 - trade news: analyzing the commercial impact of the c&c bibendum and matthew clark merger.

01:56 - industry push: winegb's campaign to embed independent merchants into english wine week.

02:57 - trade logistics: expectations and plans for the upcoming london wine fair.

03:15 - international news: taittinger launches its official 2026 world cup champagne.

04:16 - interview: welcoming christelle guibert to the second press studio.

04:26 - a casual sidebar into the acoustics of dan’s ancient wooden accordion.

05:03 - christelle’s backstory: moving from france to boodles and the early mentorship of steven spurrier.