Welcome to Book Club and Episode 2492 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. Today Richard is in conversation with Sunny Hodge to discuss his new book, The Cynic's Guide to Wine. In this in-depth conversation, Richard and Sunny discuss Sunny’s varied career in hospitality, the ups and downs of the London wine scene, the philosophies behind his award winning wine bars, and the science behind his book, The Cynic's Guide to Wine.
On the bookshelf:
Sunny shared his passion for journals articles on mycorrhizal networks, while currently on Richard’s bookshelf is Question 7 by Richard Flanagan.
The Cynic’s Guide to Wine is published by The Académie du Vin Library and is available to order at: https://academieduvinlibrary.com/products/the-cynics-guide-to-wine-sunny-hodge.
About today’s guest:
Sunny Hodge is the founder of two renowned London wine bars and a recognised disruptor in the wine trade. With a background in hospitality and a passion for truth-telling, Hodge has built a reputation for making wine approachable, exciting, and rooted in reality.
Sunny Hodge completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering before embarking on a career in hospitality. He worked his way up from fast food restaurants to become a founding team member at Paulo de Tarso and Nicholas Jaouën’s London restaurant, Margot.
His scientific training has always led him to look for the how and why behind food and wine, and he currently runs science-based wine tastings and is developing programmes to provide wine education based on science and functionality.
Hodge is the founder and owner of two wine bars in south London, Diogenes the Dog and Aspen & Meursault, for which he was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the Southwark Business Awards. Both wine bars showcase unusual and lesser-known wines and share a mission to educate customers about wine. Sunny is an annual wine judge for the IWSC awards and has commentated on wine for the Evening Standard, The Times and The Guardian.
Connect:
Website: https://www.diogenesthedog.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunnyhodgewine/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunny-hodge-wine/
More about the host:
Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind The Art of Wine Storytelling, Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine, including Verona Campione, published in May 2025. With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.
Connect:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rickhough.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verona_campione
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/
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