Stalin’s Wine Cellar in the Media

Press coverage and interviews

Explore broadcast interviews, reviews and international coverage of Stalin’s Wine Cellar, alongside original photographs from the 1999 investigation.

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ABC Conversations — Finding Stalin’s wine cellar

Richard Fidler’s conversation follows John Baker from the arrival of an unexpected wine list to the search for the collection in Georgia. ABC lists this episode on 18 October 2021 and notes that it was first broadcast in October 2020.

Listen to ABC Conversations

BBC Outlook — Discovering Stalin’s million-dollar wine cellar

This BBC World Service Outlook episode presents John Baker’s account of the search for the historic collection. The podcast archive lists the episode on 17 December 2020.

Listen to BBC Outlook in the podcast archive

Decanter — The book and the hunt for the cellar

Decanter’s book-release coverage introduces the search for the rare wine collection and the story behind Stalin’s Wine Cellar. It provides a wine-publication perspective on the book’s arrival.

Read Decanter’s coverage

Wine Blast — The Story of Stalin’s Wine Cellar, Parts One and Two

Susie Barrie and Peter Richards explore the story in a two-part narrative with John Baker. The episode pages include additional context, archive photographs and transcripts. Check the show’s current access options for each part.

Part One · Part Two

Coverage by country

Australia

• ABC Radio Sydney — John Baker & Stalin's Wine Cellar (21 August 2020)

• ABC Radio National, Saturday Extra — Finding and tasting Stalin's wine cellar (23 January 2021)

• ABC Conversations — Finding Stalin's wine cellar (18 October 2021)

• Penguin Random House Australia — official book page and synopsis

• Penguin Random House — in-conversation event with both authors

United Kingdom

• BBC World Service, Outlook — Discovering Stalin's million-dollar wine cellar

• Decanter — New book tells of hunt for Stalin's wine cellar

• Wine-pages.com — discussion and podcast recommendation

United States

• For Keeps Podcast — Stalin's Wine Cellar, with John Baker

• Kitchen Arts & Letters review excerpt, via Penguin Random House Australia

Hungary

• HEOL — report on the Eger library book event and tasting (2 March 2022; Hungarian)

• Kultúrpara — review of Sztálin borospincéje (Hungarian)

France

• Hachette Pratique — French bookseller feature on La cave à vin de Staline

Belgium

• Soirmag / Le Soir — Les trésors de la cave à vin de Staline (4 August 2022)

• Eric Boschman — À lire… La Cave à vin de Staline (review, 2022)

• The Brussels Magazine — La cave à vin de Staline (September 2022)

More interviews and podcasts

• ABC Radio National, Saturday Extra (26 September 2020 original broadcast)

• The Wine Show Australia (2022)

• Wine Blast — The Story of Stalin's Wine Cellar, Part One

• Wine Blast — The Story of Stalin's Wine Cellar, Part Two

• InVintory — Stories: Stalin’s Wine Cellar with John Baker (2023)

• ABC Nightlife — A dictator, a Tzar, and many, many bottles of wine (10 September 2020)

• WRITER 346 — Meet Nick Place, co-author of Stalin's Wine Cellar

• Kambri — A Conversation with John Baker & Nick Place

Original photographs and media enquiries

The photographs above come from the original investigation archive. Browse the full original photograph library on Dropbox.

For permission to reproduce photographs, interviews or historical records, contact us at media@stalinswinecellar.com.

Explore the book and all six international editions · Read the cellar’s true story

Explore the original records

The 1999 investigation explains the visit and the work undertaken. Historic Wines brings together searchable producer names, dates and the inventory photograph. The timeline separates the original account from dated 2026 announcements.