The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

Richard Kershaw MW started out as a chef, but then switched to wine instead. After a spell at La Réserve in Hampstead, where the comedian Peter Cook was one of his clients, he worked as a cellar hand in various countries before moving to South Africa, perfecting his skills at Mulderbosch and Kanu before establishing his own eponymous label in 2012. He’s deep thinker as well as a passionate advocate of cool climate wines.

To read more about Richard have a look at his website. You can also follow the winery on Instagram at @kershawwines.

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

A musician by training, Ben Witchell moved into winemaking after a career in IT, working first in Beaujolais before setting up in his own venture, Flint Vineyard, with a tenant farmer in Norfolk’s Waveney Valley. He’s a person who likes to take a few risks, as well as being what he calls “bloody minded”, which may explain his success with the underrated Bacchus grape, Prosecco-style English sparkling wines and his boundary-pushing Labs Project.

To read more about Ben have a look at the Flint Vineyard website. You can also follow the winery on Instagram at @flintvineyard.

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

A talented singer and linguist, Anne McHale is a northern Irish Master of Wine who’s one of the best teachers in the business as well as gifted story teller. Our amusing, in-depth chat covered everything from tasting skills to religion, the joys of eating out in Lyon to what the Romans and Ancient Greeks liked to drink. No wonder so many students trust her to guide them through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s notoriously trick exams. 

To read more about Anne have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @annemchalewine. 

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

Pierre-Henry Gagey is a passionate Burgundian who believes that his region is a “kind of miracle”, working at top négociant Maison Louis Jadot since 1985, including a 30-year stint as its president. Our extensive chat about what he calls “Big Burgundy” from Chablis to Beaujolais covered everything from wine prices to climate change, recent vintages to his love of Oregon. He’s a man with a sense of history and a vision of the future.

To read more about Pierre Henry have a look at the Résonance Wines website . You can follow Louis Jadot on Instagram at @louisjadot.

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

Matt Thomson and Sophie Parker-Thomson MW set up Blank Canvas Wines together in 2012, focusing on terroir-driven wines from single sites in the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Now numbered among the country’s top producers, they are something of a power couple, drawing on Matt’s extensive overseas experience and Sophie’s legal training and background as a journalist to produce world-class wines.

To read more about Matt and Sophie have a look at the Blank Canvas Wines website . You can also follow them on Instagram at @blankcanvaswines.

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