The first print run of Karen MacNeil’s The Wine Bible ran to just 700 books. A wild underestimation, given it’s sold more than a million copies to date. To celebrate the publication of the magisterial third edition this week, I caught up with Karen to talk about her remarkable back story as a runaway street kid, the importance of humour in wine writing, the difference between a good and great wine and how, as a generalist, she keeps up the ever-expanding wine world.

To read more about Karen, have a look at her website. You can also follow her on Instagram @karenmacneilco. 

Don’t forget, Cork Talk is now available on Spotify. You can listen to this week’s episode, plus my back catalogue of interviews with some of the world’s most extraordinary wine figures.