The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

Cork Talk with Victor Urrutia

Victor Urrutia was 29, happily living and working in Brazil, when he got the call from his father to come back and run CVNE, the family wine company that was founded back in 1879 in Haro. A reluctant appointee, he intended to stay for 12 months, but is still there 17 years later. Listen to him talk (in perfect English) about single vineyards, climate change, modern and traditional styles, Basque nationalism and what he would change in Rioja if he were king for a day.

To learn more about CVNE, see the company's website. To follow CVNE on Instagram, go to @cvnevino

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. 

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw and twitter @timatkin

All of my podcasts are now available on Spotify

 

Cork Talk with Jean-Marie Fourrier

Jean-Marie Fourrier is a Burgundian superstar, but his winemaking life hasn’t been easy. At the age of just 23, he took over a failing domaine in Gevrey-Chambertin with five unsold vintages piled up in the cellar, a state of affairs that forced him to take day trips to Belgium to sell bottles to supermarket customers. This week on Cork Talk, Jean-Marie reveals how he turned Domaine Fourrier into one of the most respected names in the Côte d’Or. Not to mention his views on flying, the price of vineyards, climate change, being married to an Englishwoman and his new partnership with Bass Phillip in Australia.

To follow Domaine Fourrier on Instagram, go to @domaine_fourrier. 

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw and twitter @timatkin

All of my podcasts are now available on Spotify

 

Cork Talk with Gaia Gaja

This week’s episode is a juicy one featuring – no hyperbole here – the amazing Gaia Gaja. Gaja is Barbaresco’s most famous winery and Gaia is the fifth generation of her family to run it. Her father, Angelo Gaia, is the man credited with changing the Italian wine scene forever, but make no mistake, Gaia is very much her own person. Funny, passionate and intelligent, she talks to me about gelato, climate change, Etna, the differences between Nebbiolo and Sangiovese and why she communicates with her father by letter rather than in person. 

To follow Gaja on Instagram, go to @giovannigaja. Or take a look at the winery's website

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw and twitter @timatkin

All of my podcasts are now available on Spotify

Cork Talk with Susana Balbo

Susana Balbo is extraordinary in many ways. Not only did she become Argentina’s first female oenologist in 1981, she’s also won countless awards for her entrepreneurism as well as her winemaking. She’s three times been president of Wines of Argentina, was a Congresswoman for the province of Mendoza, and is one of the country’s most internationally celebrated winemakers. Suffice to say, Susana is one formidable interviewee and this week’s guest on Cork Talk. She talks to me about what makes a successful businesswoman, why she loves Cabernet Sauvignon more than Malbec, and how she’s learnt about politics the hard way. An unmissable interview.

To follow Susana Balbo Wines on Instagram, go to @susanabalbowines. Or take a look at the winery's website

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw and twitter @timatkin

 

Cork Talk with Chris Alheit

My guest this week is one of South Africa's leading young guns. Chris Alheit of Alheit Vineyards is perhaps best known as the producer of cult wine Cartology, first produced as recently as 2011. Chris makes only white wines, focusing particularly on single vineyard Chenins from distinguished parcels of old vines. Together with his wife, Suzaan,he has created one of the most successful wineries in South Africa in less than a decade. These things don’t happen by accident – as you’ll discover when you listen to Chris talk about the hard work which has got them to where they are today

To follow Chris on Instagram, go to @chrisalheit. Or take a look at the Alheit Vineyards website

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw

and twitter @timatkin

Cork Talk with Christian Seely

Christian Seely is as well known for his bow ties as he is for his generosity and sense of humour. I don’t often get job envy, but I wouldn’t mind swapping with Christian. My latest guest on Cork Talk, he’s the managing director of AXA Millésimes and the man in charge of Château Pichon-Baron, Quinta do Noval and Domaine de l’Arlot, among others. Tune in to hear what inspires AXA to invest in new wineries; about his English wine venture (Coates & Seely); his love of poetry and what he thinks makes Bordeaux and Burgundy so different.

To follow Christian on Instagram, go to @cjrseely. Or take a look at AXA Millésimes' website

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw

and twitter @timatkin

Cork Talk with Jeremy Seysses

My guest this week on Cork Talk is Jeremy Seysses of Domaine Dujac in Morey-St-Denis. Raised in Burgundy, he went to university in England before returning to help run the domaine that his father, Jacques, had established in 1967. Supremely articulate – in English as well as French – Jeremy tells me what it’s like to make wine from seven different Grands Crus – including the one where he’d like his ashes to be spread – and shares his thoughts about climate change, counterfeiting, organic viticulture and the pricing of top Burgundy.

To follow Jeremy on Instagram, go to @drinkdujac. Or take a look at the domaine's website 

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw

and twitter @timatkin

Cork Talk with Peter Sisseck

My guest this week is a Dane who started his career in Bordeaux, almost made a career in California, but ended up in Spain, where he created one of the country's most famous cult wines, Pingus. Peter Sisseck also has projects in Bordeaux and now Jerez. Listen to him talking about biodynamics, climate change, Ribera del Duero and how to make the perfect Tempranillo. 

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com.

Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw www.instagram.com/timatkin

and twitter @timatkin www.twitter.com/timatkin

 

 

For more information about Peter and his wines look at https://www.corneyandbarrow.com/our-producers/dominio-de-pingus.html

 

Cork Talk with Samantha O'Keefe

My guest on Cork Talk this week is one of the best winemakers in South Africa. Born, brought up and educated in the United States, Samantha O’Keefe first came to the Cape in 1992 as a student of political science. But she moved back there for good in 2003 when she bought an old dairy farm in Greyton, in a place where there were no vines. People thought she was crazy, but she decided to make wine anyway, calling her estate Lismore Vineyards. Her story, as you can hear if you tune in, involves a life-changing meeting with Desmond Tutu and many dramatic ups and downs along the way.

For wine reviews, special reports and other articles go to timatkin.com. Find me on Instagram @timatkinmw or twitter @timatkin.

For more information about Sam and her wines look at http://www.lismore.co.za

 

 

Cork Talk with Alberto Antonini

Welcome to the first episode of Tim Atkin's Cork Talk. My guest this week is Alberto Antonini, one of the world's most famous winemakers, who works in 12 different countries and is helping to define the direction of the industry. A passionate lover of jazz (but only on vinyl), he has strong views on the similarities between music and wine as well as oak, his favourite grape varieties and the challenges of climate change.