Today on not serious wine chats, Pete and I have the pleasure getting down with two deeply motivated mates who started a wine brand, fittingly called Deep Down.

Clive Dougall and Peter Lorimer united over the shared love of the same style of wines and the desire to make something that spoke a little differently about what Marlborough might have to say.

Both these chaps bring a breadth of experience to the partnership, and one carefully and perfectly complements the other. Clive’s based in Boomtown making the stuff, while Peter travels to market from Tāmaki Makaurau, to share and sell their super tasty organic wines.

The timing of our chat couldn’t have been better placed, as Clive and Peter have been working on something on the down low for the last three years and our chat coincided with its release. Something new, I hear you say? What could it be? Why it’s a low alc number called Down Low of course!

The wine has a hot new look, thanks to Toby Curnow who was part of the team behind the eye-catching design of the hero label, Deep Down. What I loved the most about this wine as soon as I saw it, was how wickedly classy it looks, losing nothing to a world where some of the departure in winemaking tries way too hard to get down with the kids. When that sort of fuckery is featured, the gimmick gets loud and the wine gets lost. Not with Down Low. At 3.8% alc, less than most beers, Clive and Peter have made an absolute cracker. It’s fresh, its yummy and it means you can partake knowing you’re putting less alcohol in the tank.

During our chat, Clive and Peter talk through how it took a lot of time and patience to get this wine utterly right.

So, tell your mates you’ll be at that drinkies sesh, but pop the running shoes by the back door coz you’ll be fresh as a daisy in the morning. Pour yourself something to really get down to. This is the not serious Clive Dougall and Peter Lorimer chat.

not serious wine chats would like to thank our supporters:
Funded by Tradecraft
Supported with time and a place to record By the Bottle
Palate refreshing mineral water supplied by Antipodes Water Co.
Special thanks to my pal, Benj Brooking of Popular.nz for his help with the editing. An expert filmmaker, editing these chats is being done as one mate helping another. Thanks Benj. You're a legend.

join the chat > notseriouswinechats.nz
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If you're struggling to put that glass down, perhaps our chats aren't the right ear candy for you. While the chats are not serious, living your best life is a very serious matter indeed and a life fuelled by addiction doesn't sound dreamy at all.
If you think you need a hand, visit the Ministry of Health site for platforms that might help you take the first step towards taking control back. Our warmest wishes for success on that journey.

For this Not Serious Wine Chats, I sat down with two generations and three Gilmour Girls — a family synonymous with service and who have helped pour more than their share of fine wine.

Emerald Gilmour, the Madre of this magnificent trio, shares stories from her #hospolife when she straddled her roles as Air New Zealand flight attendant one minute and Clichy and Club Mirage owner the next. Emerald, precious gem by name, should be declared a precious gem and OG of our restaurant scene as she opened Clichy in 1972 — a moment in dining history when not a lot was on offer, but when some of our stalwart chefs and waiters were cutting tracks upon which the rest of us would follow.

It’s fair to say Emerald has a thing for keeping things shipshape — a skill, and quality she’s instilled in her two daughters, Sophie and Mimi Gilmour.

Sophie, who has a consultancy agency called Delicious Business, and is involved with Fatima’s, was part of the team responsible for bringing the “hot chook and a salad” standard to Ponsonby Road, with the eatery business Bird On a Wire.

And, if you’ve ever parked up for a bunnace and a short bottle of Veuve Cliquot at Burger Burger, or tipped back a tequila over a taco at Mexico or more recently indulged in a plate of pasta at Mama’s then you’ve experienced Mimi’s work.

On this chat, there are debates, there are giggles, and there is quite a bit of wine. When I asked the Gilmours to rock up with their favourite vino, they turned with a bottle each, one of which included the fine wine made by their Uncle Pete. You’ve probably heard of it – Te Mata.

This family has long engaged in adding the brightest of threads to the tapestry of Auckland’s hospitality scene and I was grateful we could coordinate diaries for this delectable date where we dined out on wine stories and lives shared in the pursuit of service.

So, grab a sibling who likes a sip, sit down somewhere comfy and cozy and fill the flute with a fizz. This is the not serious Gilmour Girls chat.

not serious wine chats would like to thank our supporters:
Funded by Tradecraft
Supported with time and a place to record By the Bottle
Palate refreshing mineral water supplied by Antipodes Water Co.
Special thanks to my pal, Benj Brooking of Popular.nz for his help with the editing. An expert filmmaker, editing these chats is being done as one mate helping another. Thanks Benj. You're a legend.

join the chat > notseriouswinechats.nz
instagram | facebook

If you're struggling to put that glass down, perhaps our chats aren't the right ear candy for you. While the chats are not serious, living your best life is a very serious matter indeed and a life fuelled by addiction doesn't sound dreamy at all.
If you think you need a hand, visit the Ministry of Health site for platforms that might help you take the first step towards taking control back. Our warmest wishes for success on that journey.

When I first met Katie – it was at Hello Beasty — I was with one of my favourite lunching sidekicks, Courteney Peters and we both felt sure we’d met her before. Turns out we hadn’t but instead, had just witnessed what true hospitality looks like. That sort of soft but confident, personable service that makes you feel right at home and cared for in an absolute instant. Sort of like if your Mum has grabbed your onesie from the dryer and popped you into a bed made of freshly cleaned flannel sheets, turned the night light on and sung you your favourite song. You know…familiar reassuring comfort. Look, Katie’s not your Mum, but her style of service is similar to being guided through the next two hours of your life by someone who has your best interests at heart and wants your dining experience to get the very best report card possible.
It’s fair to say, Katie Woodhead had made an impression.

That was PCT (pre-covid times) and Katie had been hired by Emma and Stu Rogan to help them establish some structure so their new restaurant could kick off with the best systems in place to perform well in the highly competitive world of making other people’s dinner. Katie earned the gig as her reputation for running a slick operation had preceded her. She was instrumental in setting up systems that made the likes of Scopa, The Bresolin, Madame Woo and others run like a tighter than tight ship where the people who worked there felt empowered by education.

It was DCT (during covid times) that Katie headed back home to meet a very important wee man named Stanley and where she had a crack at making English wine and also worked the floor at Noble Rot (the London version – not the one located in our own lovely capital).

This chat crosses continents, it includes high-risk travel hijinks, a delicious Marlborough Riesling, a robbery and a who dunnit and a story about a winemaker with one eye that saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge want a lot more of the Woodhead wine storytelling magic.

All that before we even get to the brilliant business that Katie has just started. It’s called Wineheads and it’s designed to share the wonder of wine and how to make it profitable for punters intent on living a life in hospo.

Hell bent on breaking the mold this wahine grabs life by the gonads and I’m here for it. You should be too.

So, drag the backpack from the back of the closet, grab a dog-eared copy of a Lonely Planet New Zealand styles and sip on something super fresh and fly, this is the not serious Katie Woodhead chat.

not serious wine chats would like to thank our supporters:
Funded by Tradecraft
Supported with time and a place to record By the Bottle
Palate refreshing mineral water supplied by Antipodes Water Co.
Special thanks to my pal, Benj Brooking of Popular.nz for his help with the editing. An expert filmmaker, editing these chats is being done as one mate helping another. Thanks Benj. You're a legend.

join the chat > notseriouswinechats.nz
instagram | facebook

If you're struggling to put that glass down, perhaps our chats aren't the right ear candy for you. While the chats are not serious, living your best life is a very serious matter indeed and a life fuelled by addiction doesn't sound dreamy at all.
If you think you need a hand, visit the Ministry of Health site for platforms that might help you take the first step towards taking control back. Our warmest wishes for success on that journey.