The Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast

Michael Schmelzer is a citizen of the world, brought up in Italy, France, Germany and the United States. Today, his home is the beautiful Monte Bernardi estate in Chianti Classico, a property that his family has owned since 2003. Though Australia-trained, he’s a winemaker who believes in the traditional European ways of doing things, using biodynamic farming to get the best out of his vineyards and keeping intervention in the cellar to a minimum. To read more about Michael have a look at the Monte Bernardi website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @michael_montebernardi. 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.  

Jade Gross was all set to become a human rights’ lawyer when she got a bursary to study cookery in Paris. After a very flourishing career as a chef, culminating in the top job at the world-famous Mugaritz in San Sebastián, she changed tack once more, moving to the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja to make her own wines. A serial high achiever, and a self-confessed control freak, she’s bus making a success of her new life too. To read more about Jade have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @jadegrosswines. 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.  

Martin Foradori Hofstätter is a fourth-generation producer from the Alto Adige, who also makes wine in Trentino as well as Germany’s Mosel Valley. He’s a passionate believer in terroir and has the wines to prove it, specialising in Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer and Lagrein. Not afraid of change, he launched a range of no-alcohol wines, called Zero, six years ago, believing that the wine industry needs to rethink the way it talks to younger consumers. To read more about Martin have a look at the J. Hofstätter website. You can also follow the winery on Instagram at @hofstatter.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.  

Anouck Dann was born among the vines of the Valais in Switzerland. After a spell in the hotel industry, where she was inspired by the example of César Ritz, she moved to England to study winemaking and viticulture at Plumpton Agricultural College. Today, she’s back in her native region, running Les Celliers de Vétroz alongside the Fontannaz family. Passionate and knowledgeable, she’s an ideal guide to the under-appreciated world of Swiss wines. To read more about Anouck have a look at the Les Celliers de Vétroz website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @peak_cellar. 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.  

Chiara Boschis comes from a historic winemaking family in Piedmont but she had to struggle to follow the same career as her other siblings. Taking over the E. Pira winery in Barolo in 1990, she became one of the most important members of a new, modernising group of winemakers, the Barolo girl among the so-called Barolo boys. Committed to organic viticulture and a lover of Nebbiolo, she’s a fascinating guide to Italy’s greatest wine region. To read more about Chiara have a look at the E Pira website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @chiaraboschis_pira.  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.      

María José Granier fell in love with the old vines of the high-altitude Cinti Valley at first sight. A passionate advocate of arboreal viticulture as well as historic varieties such as Negra Criolla, Moscatel de Alejandría and Vischoquena, she and her winemaking sister, Mercedes, have helped to made Jardín Oculto one of the best bodegas in Bolivia. I caught up with the two of them to learn more about the country’s increasingly exciting wine scene. My apologies for the quality of the recording at the Bolivian end. To read more about Mercedes, María José and Jardín Oculto have a look at the winery's website. You can also follow them on Instagram at @jardinocultowines. 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.      

Michael Silacci grew up on a dairy farm in the San Francisco Bay Area but didn’t discover his calling in life – wine – until he did a harvest in the Loire Valley in his mid-twenties. After jobs at Beaulieu and Stag’s Leap in California and at King Estate in Oregon, he joined Opus One in 2001. He’s been at this celebrated Napa Valley project ever since, refining the style and cementing Opus’s status as one of the New World’s most sought-after wines. To read more about Michael have a look at the Opus One website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @opus_one_winemaker. 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.      

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.