July 1, 2022
Max Allen moved from the UK to Australia in 1993 and has since become one of that country’s most outstanding drinks’ writers. His most recent book, Intoxicating, is a personal history of booze in Australia, told through the prism of ten very different drinks. We discussed the myth of the “dry continent”, how the arrival of rum changed the country for ever, why Aussies really love Champagne and what Aboriginal people were really drinking before the First Fleet arrived.
To read more about Max, have a look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram @maxallendrinks.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
June 24, 2022
After studying French Lit at university, Ted Lemon ended up in Burgundy working in vineyards. He subsequently trained as a winemaker in Dijon, then worked at some of the most prestigious domaines in the Côte d’Or before returning to the US to set up his own project, Littorai, in California. Articulate, passionate and opinionated, Le Comte de Citron, as he’s known to his Burgundian friends, likes to trust his own intuition and is an advocate of what he calls “wines of place, not process”.
To read more about Ted, have a look at the Littorai website. You can also follow him on Instagram @littorai.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
June 17, 2022
Kevin Judd may have been born in England, but he made his name on the other side of the globe at Cloudy Bay in New Zealand’s South Island. During his tenure, he produced a series of Sauvignon Blancs that changed vinous history – and forged a nice side line as a skilled landscape photographer. Now running his own Greywacke winery, he’s a wonderfully dry, laconic interviewee. Listen to us chat about hyperfocal distances, Marlbourgh’s maritime climate, how to get the best out Chardonnay and why he hates being called a twitcher.
To read more about Kevin and see some of his magnificent photos, have a look at the Greywacke website. You can also follow him on Instagram @greywacker.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
June 10, 2022
Since his first vintage in 2000, Eben Sadie of Sadie Family Wines has personified the spirit and success of the South African new wave. Listen to us chat about growing up in Kwazulu-Natal, how he got the job at Spice Route and two tickets for the rugby after a five-minute interview with Charles Back, the new Greek and Italian varieties he’s planting to deal with climate change in the Western Cape, why he likes to sell his wines to the local electrician and what he does to get away from all the noise.
To read more about Eben, have a look at the The Sadie Family Wines website. You can also follow him on Instagram @sadiefamilywines.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
June 2, 2022
Brought up and educated in Italy, Zorik Gharibian is part of the Armenian diaspora. When he went back to the land of his parents in 1998, he decided he wanted to make wine there. Listen to us chat about the country’s ancient winemaking traditions, including the use of partially buried amphoras, his mission to preserve and promote native grapes and why he chose to launch his top red wine, Yeraz, on top of Mount Ararat. (I know because I was there!).
To read more about Zorik, have a look at the Zorah website. You can also follow him on Instagram @zorahwines.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
May 27, 2022
Viviana Navarrete is one of the most awarded winemakers in Chile, famous for the quality of here cool climate wines from the coastal Leyda Valley. Listen to us chat about why Sauvignon Blanc, not Pinot Noir, is her favourite grape, what it’s like being a female oenologist in a conservative country, her inspirational project in Malleco with the native Mapuche community and why she’s so tough on herself.
To read more about Viviana, have a look at the Viña Leyda website. You can also follow her on Instagram @viviananavarrete.enologa.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
May 20, 2022
Steve Browett leads a double life. As chairman of Farr Vintners, one of the world's leading fine wine dealers, he’s in charge an annual turnover of £100 million. And he’s also part owner of Crystal Palace, a football club he’s supported since he was a boy. Listen to us chat about the price of top Bordeaux, where to find good value fine wines, the influence of critics, how to guard against fakes and the BYO policy in the directors’ box at Selhurst Park.
To read more about Steve, have a look at the Farr Vintners website. You can also follow him on Instagram @stephenbrowett.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
May 13, 2022
Lenz Moser is a fifth-generation Austrian winemaker who is every bit as dynamic as his famous grandfather, also called Lenz, the inventor of the vineyard trellising system that bears his name. Listen to us chat about his love of Grüner Veltliner and his new joint venture with Markus Huber, his Chinese project in Ningxia, his decision not to own a car or a television set and how getting older is teaching him patience.
To read more about Lenz, have a look at the New Chapter Grüner website. You can also follow him on Instagram @new_chapter_gruener.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
May 5, 2022
In little over a decade, Stephen Cronk has built Maison Mirabeau from nothing into a global Provence rosé brand, using what he calls the “OVP method”, or “Other People’s Vineyards”. Listen to us chat about his lowly beginnings as a van driver in the wine trade, his useful spell in telecommunications, his comparatively recent decision to acquire an estate of his own, what makes the colour pink cool and why rosé should never be a pretentious drink.
To read more about Stephen, have a look at the Maison Mirabeau website. You can also follow him on Instagram @maisonmirabeau.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
April 29, 2022
Matteo Ascheri is a person who spreads happiness and good humour. Based in the town of Bra, where his family winery has been located since the 1880s, he’s responsible for a series of outstanding and great value Piedmontese whites and reds. Listen to us chat about Nebbiolo clones, his short career as a chartered accountant, his political career and why he prefers to make his own mistakes.
To read more about Matteo, have a look at the Ascheri website. You can also follow him on Instagram @ascheri.vineyardsandcellars.
Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.
