Cork Talk with Adam Brett Smith

A lover of Dickens, Nelson and large motorbikes – how’s that for a combination – Adam Brett-Smith runs Corney & Barrow, one of the world’s most profitable wine companies. Amusing, urbane, articulate and appealingly self-deprecating, he’s way less conservative than he seems, a man who enjoys leading teams, discovering new wines, representing world-famous estates and backing his hunches, wherever they may take him. To read more about Adam have a look at the Corney & Barrow website. You can also follow the company on Instagram at @corneyandbarrow. 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.  

Irakli Peradze developed a successful career in telecommunications after university, but always wanted to be a wine producer at heart. After a Saperavi he’d made as a hobby won a competition in France, he decided to set up his own winery. Today he buys grapes from small growers in all of Georgia’s main wine regions, turning them into 46 different bottlings. He’s the ideal guide to the country’s history, wine styles and indigenous grapes. To read more about Irakli have a look at the Peradze Winery website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @peradze_winery. 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.  

The daughter of a vet and an author, Margaret Rand started her life in publishing, but moved into wine after meeting Serena Sutcliffe MW. After spells editing various magazines, including one about opera, she has established herself as one of the wittiest and most intelligent wine journalists of her generation as well as the General Editor of Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary edition. To read more about Margaret have a look at the Hachette website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @margaret_randpocketwine. 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.  

Noelia Orts was born and brought up in Benidorm, but after studying viticulture and oenology and Spain, and an overseas harvest in New Zealand, moved to Chile in 2009, where she is in charge of the premium wine portfolio at Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana. Our chat covered her love of travel, cover crops, the art of blending, climate change and what it’s like being involved with the largest organic and biodynamic estate on the planet. To read more about Noelia have a look at the Viñedos Orgánicos Emiliana website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @noeliaorganicwine. 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.  

Guy Woodward has spent his working life as a journalist, writing about food, travel, sport and even casinos before turning his attention to wine when he moved to Decanter magazine. As an editor, columnist and content provider, he can look back over more than two decades of achievement. Our chat covered music, fine wine, competitions, the changing media landscape and what it’s like to exchange legal letters with Robert Parker. To read more about Guy have a look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @guyawoodward. 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.  

Cristina Mercuri had a successful career as an international lawyer in Milan but gave it all up to study and create a second career in wine, becoming Italy’s first female Master of Wine within a decade. A consultant, educator and journalist, Cristina likes to describe herself as a “cultural bridge” between Italy and the rest of the world. She’s also on a mission to bring more women into the wine industry and make wine less “self-referential”. To read more about Cristina have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @cristinamercuri_wine.  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.  

Dr Peter Stanbury has spent most of his working life in international development, advising multinationals and intergovernmental organisations, sometimes in some distinctly scary places. He is now the research director of the considerably less dangerous but equally important Sustainable Wine Roundtable, driving change and best practice in the wine industry, with a particular focus on reducing bottle weights and carbon footprints. To read more about Peter have a look at the Sustainable Wine Roundtable's website. You can also follow the SWR on Instagram at @sustainable_wine_roundtable. 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 former professional volleyball player and fashion model, Sandra Tavares feL in love with the wine world at a young age, treading grapes at her grandfather’s wine estate near Lisbon. Since 2001, she’s run Wine & Soul, one of Portugal’s best wineries, with her oenologist husband, Jorge Serôdio Borges, helping to redefine the Douro Valley. Focused almost entirely on field blends of very old vines, Sandra is a brilliant, globally recognised superstar. To read more about Sandra have a look at the Wine & Soul  website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @sandratavareswineandsoul. 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.

Victoria Mason was working as a plant buyer at Waitrose when she heard about a vacancy in the wine department. She got the job and has never looked back. A long-distance runner and serial high-achiever, she has the energy and enthusiasm of three people. Victoria is a Master of Wine, an expert on regenerative viticulture and a buyer at the Wine Society, where’s she’s currently in charge of South Africa, Beaujolais, Chablis and the Mâconnais. To read more about Victoria and her South Africa offer have a look at the Wine Society's website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @victoriathewinebuyer. 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.

José Vouillamoz is a botanist, ampelographer and grape geneticist who has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the past, present and future of wine. Co-author of the monumental Wine Grapes, as well as books on France and his native Switzerland, he’s a scientist who can convey his knowledge to a wider audience, combining expertise and charm with a journalist’s eye for a good story. He’s a truly fascinating interviewee. Photo by Louis Dasselborne. To read more about José have a look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @josevouillamoz. 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.