Yalumba's Kevin Glastonbury Talks Red Winemaking ... and so much more!
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
, affectionately known as KG, is Senior Red Winemaker at in the Barossa Valley of South Australia. The Barossa is one the world's premier red wine making regions and Yalumba one of its most respected wineries. Back in 2019 we had the honour here on the podcast to chat with Yalumba owner (Barossa legend) Robert Hill-Smith. () His family has owned and operated Yalumba for over 170 years! The Hill-Smiths are proud members of , have pioneered Viognier beyond what anyone thought possible and brings us The Caley one of finest expressions of red wine making anywhere. In this podcast recorded...
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Maximilian Riedel: Glassware Perfection
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
has a special place in the world of wine. It is one of Respect for a family that has worked tirelessly to perfect how we can further our ability to taste many types of drink but especially that of wine. Riedel stemware is known the world over as being completely brilliant. It is also a family that firmly believes in designing and producing glassware to perfectly suit individual grape and wine styles. To emphasise this Maximilian Riedel spends a lot of his time touring the world with a quite fabulous roadshow. At these he presents, through interactive tastings, how to capture the very best...
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Orin Swift and Dave Phinney: The Very Best
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
we were very fortunate to have had a zoom podcast chat with and the remarkable wines he has created, most notably under the label. Dave is a very busy man! So how cool was it to meet him in person in London and spend a further 30 minutes chatting. Very cool indeed! Orin Swift is one of the great wines from the Napa Valley in California. Fruit expression in Orin Swift has been elevated to an art form. Just as well then that the labels Dave Phinney designs are among the funkiest and most personal in the world of wine. Orin Swift wines are collectable, age worthy and very, very...
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Olly's Farm Honey.
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
I met Olly Nolan at the Gifted Fair in the RDS last Christmas. He was showing a range of honeys. I was captivated. Each honey had a captivating scent. Intoxicating even. had taken me prisoner! Wine, Tea, Honey, Whiskey, Stout, and on and on can only stand out as being exceptional if they attack our senses in a visceral way. This should be immediate, lasting and memorable. I just had to find out more about Olly's Farm. I paid Olly a visit recently and we recorded in his Honey House up on the edge of the Dublin hills. What a view! My knowledge of bee keeping and honey production is, to...
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HEIMANN & FIAI : Winemaker Specialist in Hungary
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
In this podcast we talk with Zoltán Heimann whose family, , has a long and distinguished history of quality winemaking in the southern Hungarian wine region of Szekszárd - on the border between the Large Hungarian Plain and the beginnings of the Transdanubian Hills. Zoltán likes to refer to himself as the 'Kadarka Man'. After this tasting and podcast I'll always be in his debt as knowing my Kekfrankos from my Kadarkas! Each grape is brilliant. Each is unique and completely different to one another. This podcast was recorded at where Zoltán gave a masterclass food and...
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MASI and its 250th Harvest - Giacomo Boscaini of Masi Agricola
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
It's a sobering thought to many winemakers that they work at companies and enterprises that, in many cases, are younger than they are themselves! For those lucky enough to work in wineries where age and tradition has seen decades upon decades of continual success they might only contribute to a very limited number of vintages. It is very unusual that a family can trace its lineage back over 250 harvests. That's a very big number. 1772 - Captain Cook sets sail to find the Anti Arctic: Rutherford discovers Nitrogen gas: The American Revolution begins: The Boscaini family gather in grapes...
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Lusca: an Exceptional Irish Wine
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
Recently I met with David Llewelyn at his farm in Lusk, north County Dublin. It's a small holding where he grows a fantastic collection of fruits that include, pear, apple, cherry and grape. It's also a business where David makes truly interesting products. Try his Perry (sparkling pear wine). It's really very good! David has a wine label called LUSCA. It's a collection of red wines and a new sparkling wine. They are genuine finds. In this podcast David tells us his story. Why does he not grow any white grapes? Where did his love of the RONDO grape come from? This a unique story where...
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Bruce Tyrrell: The Exceptional Hunter Valley Vigneron
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
was in Dublin recently. His fame and expertise in the world of wine is well known. His wines are among the most awarded. His Semillon considered as among the best ever produced. He was in Dublin behind the stand at the Portfolio tasting serving the wines himself. There are many who would have passed this along to an agency, a distributor or to whoever else. This is Bruce Tyrrell. He tells a fabulous story and continues to work hard at what matters - his customers. is family owned since 1858 and its website tells us that, 'Having lived and breathed wine growing and winemaking in the Hunter...
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Phil Crozier: Wines of Argentina Ambassador
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
April the 17th 1853. Who'd have thought back then that it would be a date celebrated the world over as . After all, back in 1853 it was just an idea presented to the national legislature of Argentina that it might be a good plan to establish a 'Quinta Normal and Agricultural School'. Up to then the wine industry in Argentina didn't have any great focus. As it happens it wasn't until September 1853 that the idea was given the green light and even then it was for the project and had nothing in it specific to Malbec at all!! Fast forward. Malbec today is to the wine industy in Argentina...
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La Kav Wines has a Fabulous Vineyard and Winery - in Ireland.
Kevin Ecock's WinePod
La Kav Wines is the brainchild of Arnaud Clopin. It sells a selection of well sourced wines from France at . Arnaud's wife is a Kavanagh and he is French - hence La Kav. All straight forward so far! La Kav Wines also has a vineyard on the East coast near Gorey in Co. Wexford. Visit the La Kav website and fly over it in a drone. It is spectacular! When I visited Arnaud at his vineyard the weather wasn't as good as it was for the drone. It was winter. Have a look at what 5,000 vines in Ireland on a couple of hectares looks like. Fabulous. Afterwards we visited the La Kav winery in Gorey...
info_outlineAt the recent SuperValu Spanish Wine Sale Wine Fair I met up with Bernardo Hualde from Gonzalez Byass. Our 'studio' was a piece of a corridor. Thanks for putting up with me Bernardo!!
In my head when I hear the name Gonzalez Byass I still think 'Sherry and only Sherry'. I also think Top Class, Quality and Tio Pepe.
Image shows wine journalist Leslie Williams attempting to hone his Tio Pepe venenciador skills at the SuperValu Spanish Wine Fair.
Nothing wrong with this other than its 'old thinking' and way behind the cue ball! Today Gonzalez Byass is, of course, Gonzalez Byass Sherries but IS ALSO the owner of a host of additional wineries both in Spain and abroad. See HERE for the full list that includes incredible names as Jackson Estates, Domain Wachau and Neil Ellis.
In this podcast Bernardo focuses on the Gonzalez Byass wines that are available at this SuperValu Sale. They include a fabulous Gewurztraminer from Vinas del Vero in Somontano and an intriguing ACE Kicker Big Bet Blend from Tierra de Castilla.
Along the way Bernardo also guides us through Gonzalez Byass Sherries - sure we wouldn't have it any other way!
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Kevin Ecock's WinePod is brought to us with the assistance of the Santa Rita Wine Room at Monty's of Kathmandu - an excellent place to host your next event or celebration.
Contact Shiva at 01 -6704911 or HERE at the Santa Rita Wine Room web page.