How do you cheat at wine? It’s a question few have thought to ask, until now. In Corked, journalist and podcast heavyweight Marc Fennell uncovers a scandal so dramatic it could make even the driest Chardonnay blush.
The latest Audible Original from the Walkley and James Beard Award-winner starts as a playful romp through the rarified world of fine wine, but quickly uncorks something much deeper and more sinister.
“Most of us just enjoy wine. It’s fun, it’s social, it’s picking something off a menu and hoping for the best,” Fennell told B&T. “But there’s this whole other level—a world that’s obsessive, elite, and honestly kind of secretive.”
The centrepiece of this world? The Master Sommelier exam, a grueling and often secretive certification process with fewer than 300 recipients globally.
“Turns out, becoming a Master Sommelier is like the Olympics of wine – there are fewer than 300 of them in the world. There are more astronauts than there are Master Sommeliers. And the hoops they have to jump through to become one are wild,” Fennell explained.
“I had no idea this world even existed”.
That elite bubble burst spectacularly in 2018 when a cheating scandal rocked the Court of Master Sommeliers. It’s this controversy that drew Fennell in, setting him on a journey through cellars, scandals, tastings, and whispered secrets. “A single exam blew up careers, exposed power plays, and changed lives,” he said. “Every step of this story was something I didn’t see coming.”
Fennell, who openly refers to himself as a “prodigious drinker of the second-cheapest wine,” doesn’t pretend to be a wine expert, and that’s part of the charm. “At one point, one of the Master Sommeliers thought it’d be funny to let me have a crack at the job,” he laughed. “I won’t say it was a total disaster… but let’s just say no one was handing me a lapel pin afterwards.”
“Most of us know the awkward dance of pretending to understand a wine list, swirling a glass like we’re in a French arthouse film, then defaulting to the second-cheapest bottle. So yes – I was definitely out of my depth. But what struck me most was that being a sommelier isn’t just about memorising facts or naming obscure grapes. It’s about reading people, tuning into what they like, and somehow elevating that experience. It’s a deeply human skill – and I’ve never respected it more,” Fennell told B&T.
But while the early episodes of Corked may swirl with wine-speak and light-hearted learning, the story deepens, and darkens, with each chapter.
“What began as a bit of fun in the wine world slowly turned into something much darker about power, gatekeeping, and the human cost of ambition,” Fennell explained. “I think the tonal balance came from letting those contradictions sit side by side. You’ve got these old-school institutions built on prestige and exclusivity, but then you’ve also got this new wave of sommeliers who are shaking things up, bringing fresh energy, and challenging the old rules. That tension is what gives the story its flavour”.
As the podcast dives deeper, it surfaces disturbing parallels with other elite institutions. “Stories of misogyny and sexual harassment start to surface,” Fennell said. “We hear directly from women who were working towards becoming Master Sommeliers, and the double standards they faced are just… absurd. The pressure, the judgement, the way they were treated– it was unfair in ways that went way beyond the exam room”.
The stakes, he added, were enormous. “When the scandal broke, it didn’t just shake the industry- it upended people’s lives. I met folks who had poured everything into this pursuit. And when it all came crashing down, the impact was so intense that some of them were literally hospitalised. That level of obsession? I’ve never seen anything like it”.
Beyond wine, Corked becomes a metaphor for how power operates behind closed doors and how tightly it is guarded. “When very few people hold all the influence, it becomes a petri dish for bad behaviour,” Fennell said. “And in this case, that behaviour had serious, lasting consequences.”
But Corked isn’t just about collapse, it’s also about disruption. “This podcast wouldn’t work without the parallel narrative of the new world of wine coming through,” Fennell said. “It’s the new, disruptive wine makers that are not afraid to go against the mould that are making this possible. There are green roots evident throughout this series, such as the wine bar- come- gas station in Nashville”.
That immersive, globe-trotting tone is no accident. It’s Fennell’s fifth project with Audible, a creative partnership he says brings out the best in his storytelling.
“Audible have always backed me to go big – to take listeners on proper, immersive adventures. They’re all about a good yarn, and Corked is exactly that. It’s my fifth Audible Original, and honestly, it’s been years in the making,” Fennell told B&T.
“What I love about working with them is how much the team cares about storytelling. That’s why I keep coming back—because they get it. They want these stories to matter”.
The audio format, too, played a key role in how Corked came together. “There’s something about taking away the screen that makes people open up,” Fennell explained. “It creates this space where you can talk about things that might be too awkward or confronting elsewhere. It’s more intimate. You’re not watching… you’re with them”.
“Audio gives you this direct line into someone’s mind. You’re right there with them as they make wild decisions. And because it’s all happening in your head, it kind of makes you feel like you’re part of it. It’s strangely immersive. Almost like you’re complicit.”
Ultimately, Corked is a story about wine, the same way Succession is a story about business. It’s not about what you know, but how far you’ll go, and what you’ll sacrifice to get there.
“You don’t need to care about wine to get into this story,” Fennell said. “Just like you don’t need to understand mergers and acquisitions to enjoy Succession. It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, it’s a wild ride through obsession and power”.
And yes, you may just think twice the next time you reach for the second-cheapest bottle.
