The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

Cork Talk with Laura Catena

Laura Catena is no one-trick pony. She’s a global wine personality, managing director of Catena Wines in Argentina – and a trained emergency room doctor. Dividing her time between San Francisco and Mendoza, Laura is also an author, businesswoman and energetic ambassador for the wines of her country. Listen to us chat about the Italian origins of the Catena winery, her ambitions to create a Grand Cru vineyard in the Uco Valley and why Malbec is so well suited to Argentina. 

To read more about Laura's wines, look at the Catena website. You can also follow her on Instagram @lauracatenamd.

Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as on my website. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.

Cork Talk with Steve Smith

Master of Wine Steve Smith is a scarily brainy person, who seems to know a lot about almost everything, but is also a lot of fun to hang out with. One of the world’s leading viticulturists and the man who created the Craggy Range brand from scratch, he talks to me about the unrealised potential of Syrah in New Zealand, why he thinks Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is “pigeon-holing” the country’s image, his new project running Pyramid Valley and his plans for the next 15 years, which he hopes will be the “most prolific” of his brilliant career.

To read more about Steve's wines, look at the Pyramid Valley website. You can also follow him on Instagram @stevesmithmw

Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify as well as on my website. 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 Ken Forrester

Known as the King of Chenin Blanc, Ken Forrester is one of the South African wine industry’s best-loved and highest profile figures. He was originally a restaurateur in Johannesburg, but he bought a run-down farm in Stellenbosch in 1993 and has, as they say, never looked back. We talked about his Dirty Little Secret, Rhône grapes in the Cape, Ken’s upbringing in Zambia and what the acronym FMC – his most famous Chenin Blanc – really stands for.

To read more about Ken's wines, look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram @kenforrestervineyards.

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 Marcelo Retamal

Marcelo Retamal is sometimes described as the spiritual leader of Chile’s wine revolution. He’s the man who encouraged a generation of winemakers to focus on terroir, elegance and fruit purity – rather than just power. Listen to him talk about his 2011 Damascene conversion, his new project in Spain, the excitement around traditional grapes like País, Cinsault and Carignan and how he came to be involved with Viñedos de Alcohuaz, the highest vineyards in the country.

To read more about Marcelo's wines, look at their De Martino and Viñedos de Alcohuaz websites.. You can also follow Reta on Instagram @retadechile. 

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 Virginia Willcock

Virginia Willcock of Vasse Felix is one of the most awarded winemakers in Australia. She’s famous for the quality of her Chardonnays and Cabernets, as well as her sense of humour and forthright views. We chatted about what makes Margaret River such a special place to grow grapes, about her dad’s ‘hobby’ vineyard north of Perth that inspired her to make wine and about how, after 29 vintages in Western Australia, she’s learnt how to ‘let my wines be, rather than intervene’.

To read more about Vasse Felix's wines, look at their website. You can also follow the winery on Instagram @vassefelixwines

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 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