Ep 278 - Oceanic Wine: Can You Taste the Sea? with Chris Howard

In this episode of Eat Sleep Wine Repeat, Janina dives into the fascinating and potentially controversial idea of Oceanic Wine with wine writer, judge and educator Chris Howard. Chris has proposed that oceanic wine should be considered a category in its own right, exploring what happens when the sea becomes one of the dominant forces shaping a vineyard and the wine in your glass. But what actually makes a wine oceanic rather than simply coastal? Chris explains why proximity alone isn't enough, and how wind, fog, salt, temperature, exposure and geography can all influence vineyards in very different ways. From California's Sonoma Coast and coastal Chile to Tasmania, Margaret River, South Africa and New Zealand, this episode explores Wine Regions where the ocean may play a defining role. The conversation also asks one of the most intriguing questions in Wine Education: when tasters describe salinity, iodine, oyster shell or sea spray, are we genuinely tasting the ocean? Chris introduces ideas including merroir and airroir, considers how wind and fog affect Wine Grapes, and explains why science, imagination and our emotional response to place can all become part of the way we experience wine. For anyone looking to learn about wine from a completely different perspective, this Wine Podcast combines viticulture, geography, philosophy and tasting with plenty of inspiration for future Wine Travel. And towards the end, Chris recommends producers where he believes the ocean can genuinely be expressed in the glass before exploring one of wine's strangest experiments: ageing bottles beneath the sea. Shownotes 03:27 – How Chris Howard found his way into wine — growing up among the vineyards of Sonoma County, surfing the California coast and eventually discovering that wine had been part of his life all along. 06:28 – Why does wine need an “oceanic” category? — Chris explains how years of writing about coastal wine regions led him to propose Oceanic Wine as an umbrella concept connecting maritime, coastal and island wines. 10:37 – Oceanic wine vs coastal wine — why simply being close to the sea isn't enough, and how Chris distinguishes geographical proximity from vineyards where the ocean becomes a dominant environmental force. 14:31 – The world's most extreme oceanic wine regions — from West Sonoma Coast and coastal Chile to Tasmania, Margaret River, Madeira, the Azores and South Africa's windswept southern tip. 18:54 – Are we romanticising the sea? — Chris explores the balance between scientific evidence and the emotional, aesthetic and poetic experience of drinking wine shaped by the ocean. 21:27 – Can you actually taste the sea in wine? — salinity, iodine, oyster shell and sea spray come under the microscope as Chris considers where these flavours might come from and why they aren't exclusive to coastal vineyards. 25:02 – Colares: vines growing beside the Atlantic — old vineyards planted in sand dunes, indigenous grape varieties and intensely saline wines offer one of Chris's clearest examples of an oceanic wine landscape. 29:28 – How far inland can an oceanic vineyard be? — why distance from the coastline alone cannot define oceanic influence and how geography can carry wind and fog surprisingly far inland. 34:11 – Introducing airroir — moving beyond terroir and merroir to consider the influence of wind, fog, light and the atmosphere surrounding a vineyard. 36:22 – What wind and fog actually do to vines — how cooling fog can preserve acidity and slow ripening while ocean winds reduce disease pressure, carry salt and place physical stress on the vine. 45:23 – New Zealand's most beautiful oceanic vineyard — Chris heads to the Bay of Islands and The Landing, connecting dramatic coastal scenery with some of the earliest history of wine in New Zealand. 48:13 – Three oceanic wines to seek out — Chris recommends producers from Sonoma Coast, South Africa and New Zealand where he believes the influence of the ocean can genuinely be experienced in the glass. 48:42 – Flowers Winery and the Sonoma Coast — why Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown just a few miles from the Pacific offer a powerful example of fog, wind and ocean exposure shaping wine. 50:00 – Hirsch Vineyards and Block 8 Pinot Noir — an extraordinary Sonoma Coast vineyard planted above the San Andreas Fault where oceanic influence meets ancient volcanic geology. 51:37 – Oceanic wine from South Africa and New Zealand — Chris highlights Trizanne Barnard of Trizanne Signature Wines, working with fruit from Elim, before travelling to te Pā and its vineyards beside Marlborough's Wairau Bar.  54:45 – Does ageing wine beneath the ocean really work? — underwater cellaring, pressure, temperature and constant movement: Chris considers whether this growing experiment can meaningfully change how wine develops. 55:26 – Putting underwater ageing to the test — Janina explores Exton Park's 60 Below project and the practical challenges, risks and additional costs involved in ageing wine beneath the sea. 58:47 – Veuve Clicquot and the science of underwater Champagne — historic bottles recovered from the sea inspire a long-term experiment exploring how darkness, temperature and pressure could affect Champagne ageing. 01:02:36 – The future of Oceanic Wine — Chris reveals plans for the inaugural Oceanic Wine Symposium on the Sonoma Coast, bringing together growers, sommeliers and writers to debate, taste and develop the idea further. 📩 Email: janina@eatsleepwinerepeat.co.uk 📸 Instagram: @eatsleep\_winerepeat 🎥 YouTube: Eat Sleep Wine Repeat 🌐 Website: www.eatsleepwinerepeat.co.uk Cheers to you 🥂 THE EAT SLEEP WINE REPEAT PODCAST Featured in *Decanter Magazine* and *Radio Times*, and ranked among the Top UK Wine Podcasts by Feedspot. RECOGNITION: Finalist, 67 Pall Mall Award for Best Global Wine Communicator in Audio (2025) Shortlisted, IWSC Emerging Talent in Wine Communication (2025 and 2026) Ranked #18 in 2024 and #22 in 2025 on *Drinks Retailing*'s Most Influential People in Drinks list