Born Digital Awards 2019

Text written for the organisers of the 2019 edition by me as winner of the 2018 edition for Best Interview – Text, Video or Podcast: Italian Wine Podcast Episode 139: Monty Waldin interviews Joe Bastianich (Bastianich Winery). 

Monty Waldin discovered the power of audio at a young age via his father who had worked in military intelligence in North Africa recording enemy generals. Once peace returned the reel-to-reel (audiotape) recording equipment was dusted off and used to capture the lives and stories of notable local towns-people. In those days, the recordings went to the local library or archivist, as part of ‘oral history’ projects, but were unlikely ever to see the light of day. Now such recordings are digital and are called podcasts. They combine an effortless, instantaneous global reach whilst retaining a palpable sense of intimacy without being intrusive. This makes podcasting the ideal medium for the wine industry which often seems so distant and perplexing but which really yearns to be understood, by laying bare its secrets and intricacies.