The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

Cork Talk with Miguel Torres

Miguel Torres Maczassek is a fifth-generation winemaker running one of the most important bodegas in Spain. He oversees projects in Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas, Rueda and Priorat – as well as his native Catalonia. We chatted about recovering ancestral grapes, Torres’ ground-breaking initiatives to combat global warming, what Miguel learnt from three years hard graft in Chile and why he doesn’t want to go to Hell by selling the family winery.

To read more about Torres' wines, look at their website. You can follow Miguel Torres on Instagram @miqueltorresm

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 winemakers. 

Cork Talk with Jacques Lurton

Jacques Lurton is the scion of an extended family that dominates the Bordeaux wine trade and is informally known as Les Lurtons du Vin. But Jacques has always been the most internationally-minded of Frenchmen. Jacques was one of the very first flying winemakers in the early 1990s and still has his own project in Australia as well as running Les Vignobles André Lurton back home in the Gironde. We talked about Kangaroo Island, why he loves Semillon and Cabernet Franc and how climate change is affecting Bordeaux.

You can follow Jacques on Instagram @jacqueslurton. For more details about the Vignobles André Lurton wines, look at the company's website. 

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 winemakers. 

Cork Talk with Iduna Weinert

Brazilian Iduna Weinert is the youthful face of Bodega y Cavas Weinert, one of the most traditional wineries in Argentina, and an acute observer of the ups and downs of her adopted country. Listen to her talk about the “European” Weinert style, about its legendary winemaker, Don Raúl de la Mota, about the virtues of patience and the advantages of maturing wines in large wooden casks.

For more information about Weinert's wines have a look at his winery's website. You can follow Iduna on Instagram at @iweinert

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Sir John Hegarty

Sir John Hegarty is an advertising legend famous for his work on Levis and Audi among many other brands. He’s also a winery owner, having created Domaine Hegarty Chamans with his wife Philippa in the Minervois. Listen to us talk about biodynamics, terroir, creativity and how COVID-19 will change the way wine is sold and consumed.

For more information about Sir John's wines have a look at his domaine's website. 

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Alvaro Palacios

It’s impossible to think of a winemaker who’s more quintessentially Spanish than Álvaro Palacios, a man who has established his global fame with wines from three different regions – Priorat, Bierzo and his native Rioja. A lover of flamenco, bullfighting and his classical guitar, he talks to me about monks, Garnacha, the magic of old vines, his eight brothers and sisters, and why he thinks he’s really a “nobody”.

For more information about Alvaro Palacios' wines have a look at his winery's website. 

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Daniel Pisano

Daniel Pisano is a fifth-generation Uruguayan winemaker – wine personality, really. He’s famous for his big moustaches, love of vintage motorbikes, barbecues and, of course, Tannat. Tune in to listen to him talking about the influence of the Atlantic on this as yet relatively unknown winemaking country, the potential of Uruguayan Albariño, selling wine in Antarctica, and the secret of a happy life.

You can follow Pisano Wines on Instagram @pisanowines. For more information about the family's wines have a look at the winery's website.  

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Adi Badenhorst

Adi Badenhorst was brought up on a wine farm in Constantia and made his first wine when he was 13. An absurdly young age, even with his background. After a spell working at Rustenberg in Stellenbosch, he bought a semi-abandoned property on the Paardeberg and has since become a key figure in the Swartland wine Revolution. We talk about Cinsault and Chenin Blanc; about music, coffee and mezcal – and the thrill of working with old vines.

You can follow AA Badenhorst on Instagram @aabadenhorst. For more information about Adi's wines have a look at the winery's website. 

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Michael Seresin

Michael Seresin is a celebrated cinematographer, famous for his work on Bugsy Malone, Gravity and Midnight Express among many other movies. He also owns an award winning, biodynamic winery in Marlborough called Seresin Estate. Listen to him chat about what makes a great film director, about light and darkness, his enduring love of all things Italian, about the late Alan Parker and why Pinot Noir is his favourite grape variety.

You can follow Seresin Estate on Instagram @seresinestate. For more information about the estate's wines have a look at the Seresin website. 

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Faouzi Issa

Faouzi Issa is one of the superstars of the Lebanese wine industry, often talked of as the natural successor to the late Serge Hochar of Château Musar. Trained in France, where he worked at Château Margaux, no less, he took over his family winery Domaine des Tourelles at the age of 25. I caught up with him to talk about Cinsault, his favourite variety, about why the Bekaaa Valley is the “sexiest place in the world” to make wine and about the aftermath of the terrible explosion in Beirut on August 4^th.

You can follow Faouzi on Instagram @domainedestourelles. For more information about his wines, have a look at the domaine's website. 

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 winemakers

Cork Talk with Emily Faulconer

Emily Faulconer of Viña Carmen is one of the most talented and well-travelled young winemakers in Chile. Listen to her talk about why she speaks English with a cut-glass accent, the women that have inspired her, her exciting DO project focused on old vines and how she coped with the solitude of living in the Andes at Viñedos Alcohuaz for a year and half.

You can follow Emily on Instagram @efaulconer. For more information about Viña Carmen's wines, go to the company's website.

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 winemakers