Cork Talk with Dermot Sugrue

Dr Christina Makris is a philosopher, art lover and wine writer, three passions that she’s combined in her latest book, Art In Vineyards, pairing the palate and palette, as she puts it. Our wide-ranging chat covered everything from aesthetics to Damien Hirst, Pablo Picasso to fine dining, wine tasting to public galleries. “The thinking is in the drinking” is one of her mottos and Christina certainly made me reflect about the way we appreciate food, wine and art. To read more about Christina have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @christinavmakris. 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.      

Dermot Sugrue could have made a living as a professional cyclist in Ireland, but a post-university harvest job in Bordeaux led to a career making wine in England instead. After successful spells at Nyetimber and Wiston, he’s been entirely focused on his own still and sparkling wine project, Sugrue South Downs, since 2022. He’s a great storyteller as well as a gifted, intuitive oenologist, a man who loves words as much as he does chalk and bubbles. To read more about Dermot have a look at the Sugrue South Downs website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @ermosug. 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.  

Giles Cooke MW started his career at Majestic, before working for Scottish merchant Alliance Wine for 30 years. Since 2011, he’s also had his own distinctive brand in Australia, called Thistledown Wines, which is currently enjoying its most successful year ever. Giles has championed old-vine Grenache Down Under, especially from McLaren Vale, making elegant wines that are picked “on the way up” as he puts it, and he’s finally reaping the rewards. To read more about Giles have a look at the Thistledown Wines website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @giles.cookemw.  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.

Amanda Thomson was a successful TV journalist, interviewing the likes of Salman Rushdie and George Clooney, when she decided to give it all up and move to Paris to study wine. After making her name with the Skinny Champagne brand, she’s since developed a range of non-alcoholic wines under the Noughty label. I caught up with her to talk about spinning cones, bananas, Zebra striping, Steffi Graf and what makes a great entrepreneur. To read more about Amanda have a look at the Noughty website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @noughtyamanda. 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.

Andy Neather worked at Friends of the Earth in the late 1990s, and it turned him into an environmentalist. Now a freelance journalist, he’s just co-authored a very timely book about wine and sustainability with Jane Masters MW. His research took him all over the world, looking at the effects of climate change and the broader challenges facing the wine industry. There are no easy answers, he says, but Rooted In Change plots a way forward. To read more about Andy have a look at his website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @andrew_neather. 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.

Beaujolais suffers from a lot of myths that “don’t stack up”, according to Natasha Hughes MW, whose new book about the region is the most comprehensive yet. We sat down to talk about Beaujolais Nouveau, the characters of the ten Crus, the influence of the so-called Gang of Four, Gamay’s underrated diversity, the rise of Crémant de Bourgogne, the difference between semi and full-on carbonic maceration and so much more. To read more about Natasha have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram at @latashmw. 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.

Simon Farr’s career in the wine business spans 50 years, a half century that’s seen him work in vineyards, retail, wholesaling and the fine wine as well as investing in a pioneering venture in South Africa. A serial entrepreneur who says he’s a “very quick learner, eventually”, he has strong and well-founded views about Bordeaux en primeur, shifting demographics and why the younger generation is less scared of wine. To read more about Simon have a look at the Cru website.  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.

Regarded as one of the best winemakers in the world, with a particular love for Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux grapes, Chris Carpenter oversees seven different projects for Jackson Family Wines in the Napa Valley, Washington State and Australia’s McLaren Vale. Our in-depth conversation covered everything from mountain vineyards to tannin extraction, fog lines to climate change, The Beatles to Rohinton Mistry. To read more about Chris have a look at the Cardinale Winery website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @fatcarp73.  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.

Author of The Forgotten Sense, a fascinating book about smell, Jonas Olofsson is an olfactory scientist and a professor of psychology at the University of Stockholm. Our in-depth chat covered everything from retronasal olfaction to amoebas, scent marketing to human pheromones, anosmia to sour herring. Listening to Professor Olofsson will change the way you think about the most primal but least understood of our five senses. To read more about Jonas have a look at the Unversity of Stockholm's website. 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.    

Donovan Rall is one of South Africa’s gentle giants, a former second-row rugby player with the touch of a pianist. After spells overseas in New Zealand and the Rhône Valley, he came back to the Cape and started his own eponymous brand in 2008, finding immediate success. Best known for his single-site Chenin Blancs and Syrahs, he’s also a brilliant blender and a fan of lesser-known grapes such as Cinsault Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Cinsault. To read more about Donovan have a look at the Justerini & Brooks website. You can also follow him on Instagram at @ralldonovan. 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.