The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

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...

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 h...

João Portugal Ramos went to a German school in Lisbon, an education that has helped him bring a bit of organisation to his subsequent career. Among the key figures in the modern Portuguese wine revolution, he’s a champion of the Alentejo, Portugal’s largest region, and the Douro Valley, as well as native grapes such as Arinto and Touriga Nacional. Our conversation covered his remarkable, ground-breaking...

Charlie Melton was on a road trip across Australia when he got a part-time job as a cellar hand in the Barossa Valley. More than 50 years later, he’s still there, having created his own winery in 1984 and turned it into one of Australia’s most iconic producers. A lover of Grenache, dry-farmed, historic vineyards and wines that “take you to a place”, he’s benefitted from hard work, talent and what he cal...

Willy Pérez originally wanted to be a musician, but after surviving cancer in his late teens, he decided to follow his father, Luis, into the wine business. A passionate defender of traditional Sherries and vinos de pasto based on vineyard origin rather than maturation and fortification, he’s one of the key figures in Spanish wine, a profound thinker about climate change, as well as singing the praises ...

Marquis Sauvage got into wine when he was at college in Colorado, beginning with White Zinfandel of all things. After opening Denver’s first wine bar, he moved into distribution before creating his own winery, Burn Cottage in Central Otago in New Zealand. A lover of hearty food, heavy metal and fine Burgundy, Marquis is passionate about biodynamics, basketball and attention-grabbing labels.  In short, h...

Spyros Zoumboulis is a Greek winemaker with an international perspective, having worked in France, Argentina and Bulgaria as well as his native country. Following his motto of “maximum nature, minimum intervention”, he’s a specialist in biodynamics and natural wines. A fan of great rosés, old vines and Greece’s fund of indigenous grapes, he’s a man with passion, good taste and a belief that sustainabili...

Cherie Spriggs was born in Canada, but has made her name in England at Nyetimber as one of the world’s leading sparkling winemakers. A classically trained pianist, she says she likes to think of blending her wines in musical terms. Our fascinating conversation covered her love of running, her drive for perfection, the differences between grapes from West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire and why she feels sorr...

Sam Harrop MW is an Auckland-based consultant winemaker with a cosmopolitan outlook, a man who has been influenced by the time he’s spent in Spain, Japan and the United Kingdom. An advocate of what he calls “beautiful simplicity” in wine, Sam is as happy discussing Frank Lloyd Wright, Sake and the Zen aesthetic as he is talking about Brettanomyces, palate training and the potential for premium no-alcoho...

Paul Clüver’s family has owned De Rust Estate in Elgin since the 1890s, but it wasn’t until 1987 that his neurosurgeon father, also called Paul, planted the first vines there. Now regarded as one of the leading cool climate producers in South Africa, Paul Clüver Family Wines has grown and prospered under his stewardship, specialising in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. As smart as he is articulate, Paul is a ...

Musician, Oscar winner and wine lover, Jorge Drexler was a successful doctor in Montevideo before he became a celebrated singer songwriter, or cancionista as he puts it. Our in-depth, hour-long chat covered some profound themes – identity, immigration, inspiration, Artificial Intelligence and the effects of the pandemic – as well as more personal stuff, such as his favourite wine regions, fellow musicia...

Adrianna Catena is a distinguished historian specialising in the expansion of the Spanish empire in the 15th and 16thcenturies, as well as a partner in two wine projects: El Enemigo in Mendoza and El Reventón in Gredos. Our fascinating discussion covered lots of topics: empowering women in the vineyard, the origins of the conquistadors, Das Kapital and how she and Ale Vigil came up with an award-winning...

Felipe Müller’s dad has never drunk alcohol, but that didn’t stop his son studying viticulture and oenology. After a formative spell working alongside Marcelo Retamal at De Martino, he moved to Viña Tabalí in the limestone-rich Limarí Valley in 2006, where he’s built areputation for making some of Chile’s best reds, whites and fizzes. Among the leading winemakers in South America, Felipe knows his country’s terroirs as well as anyo...

Sam Caporn got into wine by accident at university when a friend of her twin sister suggested she run what amounted to a drinking club. Her subsequent career has included jobs in retail, wine buying and journalism. She passed her Master of Wine at the first attempt in 2005, winning the Bollinger award for the best taster. Author of The Wine Flavour Guide, Sam has informed views on everything from food p...

Marco Ventrella ran restaurants and nightclubs as a young man, but switched to a very successful career in wine in his late twenties. Now established at the KWV as one of the best viticulturists in South Africa, he claims, with considerable modesty that “with each vintage, I feel I know less rather than more”. He’s a fascinating guide to the different climates and terroirs of the Western Cape, as well a...

Fernando Mora MW originally trained as a mechanical engineer, but decided he wanted to become a winemaker after visiting Rioja as a tourist. A passionate defender of old vines and local varieties, especially Garnacha, he’s become one of the key figures in the renaissance of the wine scene in his native Aragón. Entirely self-taught, he says that the most important ingredient of his success has been to ha...

Bryan MacRobert grew up on a farm near Cape Town and always wanted to be a winemaker. Working for Eben Sadie in Priorat gave him the chance to travel to Spain, where he’s lived with his oenologist wife Clara Canals since 2012. One of the new generation of vineyard-focused Rioja producers, he has strong view about good farming, the wisdom of old ways, the potential of the region’s white wines and the way...

Kate McIntyre MW’s parents were pioneers in the cool climate of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, but her initial intention was to be a theatre director rather than join the family business. Now she’s an essential part of Moorooduc Estate, working alongside her dad, Richard. A passionate Europhile, experienced show judge, wine writer and educator, she’s the ideal person to chat to about Australian Chardo...

Christopher Cannan has worked in the international wine business for more than 50 years, representing some of the greatest producers through his company Europvin as well as making his own wine, Clos Figueras, in the Catalan region of Priorat. Fluent in at least four different European languages, he’s a Bordeaux-based citizen of the world, who can look back over the last century with a sharp eye and pala...