Corked with Marc Fennell cover art

Corked with Marc Fennell

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Corked with Marc Fennell

By: Marc Fennell
Narrated by: Marc Fennell
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About this listen

 How can you cheat… at drinking wine? It turns out you can. And when you do, a whole world of power, ego and money will unravel.

Corked is the scandalous saga in the glamorous, competitive and mysterious world of fine wines. Its topmost echelons are fiercely guarded – and harder to reach than outer space.

Join James Beard & Walkley winning journalist (and prodigious drinker of the 2nd cheapest bottle on the menu) Marc Fennell as he steps into a world he patently does not belong to (but clearly enjoys the taste of). Marc will uncork this scandal with —at first— an amusing and lighthearted touch that immerses listeners in the particularities, delights, tensions, and absurdities of this world. Travel across the world as he attempts to learn the florid language of wine, attends exclusive tastings, meets colourful wine devotees in dimly lit cellars. He even takes a gallant stab at being a sommelier himself. But as the podcast goes deeper, the story takes a darker turn, and this scandal unveils a pattern of abused power and authority.

The fallout after the cheating allegations were exposed is our small doorway into a very big story playing out in institutions across the world. Culture is shifting. The old world order is being upended. Is that a change for the better? And are the unintended consequences worth exploring?©2025 Vespucci (P)2025 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. Editors Select Food & Wine Social Sciences True Crime Wine & Beverages Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing

Editorial Review

A fine-wine scandal with a sparkling host
I used to be a bit skeptical about fine wine, until I was lucky enough to spend a week in Napa Valley with some industry elites who schooled me with their blind-tasting skills and incredible knowledge. And yet none had earned the title of Master Sommelier, a distinction so rare that your odds are better of becoming an astronaut or Olympic athlete. I never much wondered why, until James Beard Award-winning journalist Marc Fennell (It Burns, Nut Jobs) did. The ever-relatable Aussie (his go-to wine is the menu’s second-cheapest bottle) investigates a cheating scandal that marred the 2018 Master Sommelier exam, and the resulting documentary uncorks a world of closely guarded knowledge, secrets, privilege and even ghosts. Once you sample this intriguing saga, you’re going to want to drink it all down.—Kat J., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
Great documentary with a down-to-earth narrator/journalist. A must if you’re into the world of wine or are just interested in how people try to grab power at every turn.

Intriguing and educational

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I love wine. I love being an enthusiast and amateur of wine. Whenever I have an opportunity to order a wine with a sommelier ( even once a MS ) I listen. I mean really listen to what you want to experience from the wine that day. They then produce such wisdom of what they have that not listening is a mistake. That certification of MS is everything that you want to have the trust.

Wow how this book blew that out of the water. Not about the sommelier but what they have to go through with a society that is rank with self worth and secrecy that seems to do nothing g for the joy of wine is evident.

Next time I meet any sommelier the only thing I will listen to is their passion and knowledge and above all the joy of wine they have. Looking for the type of badge on their top left is one that I will consciously ignore.

This book is a joy to listen to and shows that after so many years of an apparent corrupt society things I am not sure have changed

Both sides well presented even with challenges of closed doors.

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The blurb didn't really explain what you got but I urge you to listen and make your own mind up.

Informative, entertaining and a must listen.

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Totally NOT what I was expecting to get but this book is very informative, enjoyable & well worth a listen.

Very enjoyable

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so, its not only the the bottle that gets screwed!
a great insight behind the curtain of a well polished toxic culture.

well, that was an eye opener

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