Welcome back to Wine Unfiltered! 🍷
This week, Tom sits down with a true titan of the global wine industry: David Gleave, Master of Wine and founder of Liberty Wines. This is hands-down one of the best interviews we’ve ever had on the DD channel!
David shares his incredible journey, from taking a year off university to travel, to falling into the wine trade in London, and eventually starting Liberty Wines out of his living room.
He explains his deep passion for Italian wine, why he believed Italy is “too complex to be the next big thing,” and why understanding the language and culture is absolutely vital.
We also dive deep into his Australian venture, Willunga 100. After a life-changing “wine flight of a lifetime” to Australia in 1992, David saw the true potential of regional Aussie terroir over generic “sunshine in a glass”. He discusses discovering old-vine McLaren Vale Grenache, his philosophy of unoaked winemaking, and the industry’s crucial shift from making “winery wines” to “vineyard wines”.
Finally, David shares his candid, unfiltered thoughts on the current state of Australian wine on the world stage. He explains why he believes bodies like Wine Australia are falling short for small producers, and why Aussie winemakers need to collaborate to tell their incredible regional stories to the world.
The Wines:
2017 G.D. Vajra Barolo Coste di Rose (museum from David’s cellar)
2024 Willunga 100 ‘Blind Spot’ Grenache
2025 Willunga 100 Grenache Blanc
📺 Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: David Gleave MW
01:59 – Falling into the Wine Trade & Starting Liberty Wines
08:07 – The Secret to Scaling a Wine Business
10:04 – An Obsession with Italy & Barolo
15:10 – The 1992 “Wine Flight of a Lifetime”
18:10 – Founding Willunga 100 & Discovering McLaren Vale Grenache
25:08 – From “Winery Wines” to “Vineyard Wines”
30:08 – Unoaked Grenache: “Scraping the Sauce off the Fish”34:32 – Tasting Grenache Blanc & Alternative Varieties
34:55 – The Brutal Truth: Australian Wine on the World Stage
42:09 – The Future of McLaren Vale & Working Together
#WineUnfiltered #DifferentDrop #DavidGleave #MasterOfWine #LibertyWines #Willunga100 #McLarenVale #Grenache #Barolo #ItalianWine #AustralianWine #WineBusiness #WineInterview #WineTasting