Sir Ian Botham, cricket legend turned winemaker, on his venture Botham Wines

A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.Sir Ian Botham is deadly serious about his new winemaking venture, Botham Wines.Celebrity-branded drinks have had a chequered history, to say the least. Look no further than Shane Warne's ill-fated forays into wine (Shane Warne Collection) and craft beer (99 Not Out).It was for this reason that I approached the launch of Botham Wines with a healthy scepticism.But Sir Ian is deadly serious about his new career, as he was at pains to stress when we caught up the SCG for a quick interview.He has spent over 40 years playing and commentating on international cricket. During this time, he has travelled the world and off the field, spent time nurturing his other passion; wine.The new range of Sir Ian Botham Wines were made working closely with Australian winemakers, including Nick Badrice, Chief Winemaker at Dorrien Estate in the Barossa, Marty Edwards, Head Vigneron at The Lane in Adelaide Hills and his old friend, Geoff Merrill of Geoff Merrill wines.The wines also bear homage to Sir Ian’s legendary sporting career, from design – stumps and cricket balls feature on the labels – to the names of the individual wines.I hope you enjoy this short chat with Sir Ian ahead of Drinks Adventures' return to normal programming in 2019.All other Drinks Adventures episodes, show notes, transcripts and many helpful links are available on the podcast website, DrinksAdventures.com.au, and you can contact me here.Follow James Atkinson on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Cameo Culture. You can listen to more from Cameo Culture at https://soundcloud.com/cameoculture.