The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

After spells in accountancy and advertising, Beverley Blanning decided that what she really wanted to do was write about wine, specialising in the Loire Valley, where she also has a house. She’s the ideal person to explain what makes this diverse, appealingly complex region so special, talking me through soil types, grape varieties, climate change, organic viticulture and the definition of what the locals call “vins ligériens”. To read more about Beverley have a look at the the Institute of Masters of Wine's website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @bevblanningmw. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Eduardo Chadwick is one of the most significant figures in the Chilean wine industry. He’s the man behind such famous brands as Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve, Seña, Las Pizarras and Viñedo Chadwick. A serial entrepreneur who’s never been afraid to take a few risks, including planting a vineyard on a former polo field, Eduardo is passionate about his native country and is always keen to compare his wines against the best of the world. To read more about Eduardo have a look at the Errázuriz website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @Eduardo.chadwick. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Robin Copestick got into the wine industry by accident when he saw an advert in the window of a wine merchant in Maida Vale. That led to a 19-year-career at Moreno Wines, before he set up his own business, Copestick Murray, in 2005. A strong believer in wine brands, Robin developed I Heart Wines, which sells more than 30 million bottles around the world. But as he told me in the course of our chat, he’s had some failures along the way, too. To read more about Michael have a look at the Freixenet Copestick website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @robin.copestick. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Michael Zaccagnini is a second-generation producer in Ribera del Duero, who trained under the legendary Mariano García, formerly of Vega Sicilia, as well as his late father, Javier. A lover of music and elegant expressions of Tempranillo, he’s a person who questions everything in the vineyard and cellar, constantly striving to make better wines. His talent and dedication have made him one of the best young winemakers in Spain. To read more about Michael have a look at the Sei Solo website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @seisolo_bodegas. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Pierre Mansour caught the wine bug after drinking a bottle of 1982 Château Léoville-Las-Cases with his Lebanese dad while he was at university. After jobs at the Antique Wine Company, Berry Brothers and Vinopolis, he moved to the Wine Society in 2000, where he's been ever since. Now Director of Wine, he’s in charge of a team of buyers who are responsible for one of best – and best value – ranges on the planet. A passionate Hispanophile and music lover, Pierre is a fascinating, insightful interviewee. To read more about Pierre have a look at the Wine Society's website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @pierrethewinebuyer. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Dr Christina Makris is a philosopher, art lover and wine writer, three passions that she’s combined in her latest book, Art In Vineyards, pairing the palate and palette, as she puts it. Our wide-ranging chat covered everything from aesthetics to Damien Hirst, Pablo Picasso to fine dining, wine tasting to public galleries. “The thinking is in the drinking” is one of her mottos and Christina certainly made me reflect about the way we appreciate food, wine and art. To read more about Christina have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @christinavmakris. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Dermot Sugrue could have made a living as a professional cyclist in Ireland, but a post-university harvest job in Bordeaux led to a career making wine in England instead. After successful spells at Nyetimber and Wiston, he’s been entirely focused on his own still and sparkling wine project, Sugrue South Downs, since 2022. He’s a great storyteller as well as a gifted, intuitive oenologist, a man who loves words as much as he does chalk and bubbles. To read more about Dermot have a look at the Sugrue South Downs website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @ermosug. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Giles Cooke MW started his career at Majestic, before working for Scottish merchant Alliance Wine for 30 years. Since 2011, he’s also had his own distinctive brand in Australia, called Thistledown Wines, which is currently enjoying its most successful year ever. Giles has championed old-vine Grenache Down Under, especially from McLaren Vale, making elegant wines that are picked “on the way up” as he puts it, and he’s finally reaping the rewards. To read more about Giles have a look at the Thistledown Wines website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @giles.cookemw.  Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Amanda Thomson was a successful TV journalist, interviewing the likes of Salman Rushdie and George Clooney, when she decided to give it all up and move to Paris to study wine. After making her name with the Skinny Champagne brand, she’s since developed a range of non-alcoholic wines under the Noughty label. I caught up with her to talk about spinning cones, bananas, Zebra striping, Steffi Graf and what makes a great entrepreneur. To read more about Amanda have a look at the Noughty website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @noughtyamanda. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Andy Neather worked at Friends of the Earth in the late 1990s, and it turned him into an environmentalist. Now a freelance journalist, he’s just co-authored a very timely book about wine and sustainability with Jane Masters MW. His research took him all over the world, looking at the effects of climate change and the broader challenges facing the wine industry. There are no easy answers, he says, but Rooted In Change plots a way forward. To read more about Andy have a look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @andrew_neather. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Beaujolais suffers from a lot of myths that “don’t stack up”, according to Natasha Hughes MW, whose new book about the region is the most comprehensive yet. We sat down to talk about Beaujolais Nouveau, the characters of the ten Crus, the influence of the so-called Gang of Four, Gamay’s underrated diversity, the rise of Crémant de Bourgogne, the difference between semi and full-on carbonic maceration and so much more. To read more about Natasha have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @latashmw. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Simon Farr’s career in the wine business spans 50 years, a half century that’s seen him work in vineyards, retail, wholesaling and the fine wine as well as investing in a pioneering venture in South Africa. A serial entrepreneur who says he’s a “very quick learner, eventually”, he has strong and well-founded views about Bordeaux en primeur, shifting demographics and why the younger generation is less scared of wine. To read more about Simon have a look at the Cru website.  Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Regarded as one of the best winemakers in the world, with a particular love for Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux grapes, Chris Carpenter oversees seven different projects for Jackson Family Wines in the Napa Valley, Washington State and Australia’s McLaren Vale. Our in-depth conversation covered everything from mountain vineyards to tannin extraction, fog lines to climate change, The Beatles to Rohinton Mistry. To read more about Chris have a look at the Cardinale Winery website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @fatcarp73.  Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Author of The Forgotten Sense, a fascinating book about smell, Jonas Olofsson is an olfactory scientist and a professor of psychology at the University of Stockholm. Our in-depth chat covered everything from retronasal olfaction to amoebas, scent marketing to human pheromones, anosmia to sour herring. Listening to Professor Olofsson will change the way you think about the most primal but least understood of our five senses. To read more about Jonas have a look at the Unversity of Stockholm's website. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.    

Donovan Rall is one of South Africa’s gentle giants, a former second-row rugby player with the touch of a pianist. After spells overseas in New Zealand and the Rhône Valley, he came back to the Cape and started his own eponymous brand in 2008, finding immediate success. Best known for his single-site Chenin Blancs and Syrahs, he’s also a brilliant blender and a fan of lesser-known grapes such as Cinsault Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Cinsault. To read more about Donovan have a look at the Justerini & Brooks website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @ralldonovan. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.  

Jason Lett is a second-generation Oregon winegrower, who took over from his father David, one of the region’s pioneers in the 1960s. After a degree in plant ecology, he completed his studies at what he calls UCD – the University Close to Dad. The relationship wasn’t always easy, but Jason has pushed Eyrie Vineyards to new heights of quality since 2005, producing some of America’s finest cool climate reds and whites. To read more about Jason have a look at the Eyrie Vineyards website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @eyrievineyards.  Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.    

Adriana Ochoa is the sixth generation of her family to make wine in Navarra, but the first to have studied in Bordeaux and worked in Australia. Since she took over from her father, Javier, in 2004, she’s been responsible for moving Bodegas Ochoa towards organic farming, harnessing technical progress in the vineyard and winery to understand and improve on the past. She’s the perfect person to talk about one of Spain’s most exciting regions.  To read more about Adriana have a look at the Ochoa website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @adrianaochoa8a Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.    

Does listening to music affect our impression of wine? Some professional tasters argue that only silence will do. Susan Lin is the ideal person to give us some answers, as she’s both a professional pianist and someone who wrote her Master of Wine Research paper on classical music and the sensory perception of Non-Vintage Champagne. Our chat provided a deep dive into the world of cross-modal correspondences – and so much else besides. To read more about Susan have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @susanrlin. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.    

Antonio Amorim runs the biggest natural cork company in the world. He took over the reins in 2001 at a time of existential crisis for the industry because of TCA - cork taint - and the rise of alternative closures, but has overseen important changes, not least the creation of a cutting-edge Research & Development department. He knows the cork industry as well as anyone and is very happy to share his knowledge of what he calls a "noble material”. To read more about Antonio have a look at the Amorim website. You can also follow the company on Instagram at @amorimcork. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.    

Cliff Roberson has had an eventful and very successful career in the wine trade, spanning 60 years and taking him to New York, Bordeaux, Chile and back to his native London, where he runs the city’s original urban winery. Stylish, outspoken, funny and never afraid to try new things, he insists that most of the good things in his life have happened by him by accident. Still very active as he approaches his 85th birthday, he’s the perfect podcast guest. To read more about Cliff have a look at the Roberson website. You can also follow is urban winery on Instagram at @londoncru. Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts, where you can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.