Kevin Ecock's Winepod

Springfield Estate has been one of my favourite 'go to' places for a long time now. Why? Because it makes fabulous wines that have shown a profound respect for the land long before 'Sustainability', 'Organic', and other trending monikers were in use across the wine trade at all.   The Bruwer family has farmed at Springfield since 1898. They are ninth generation Huguenot settlers many of whom brought wine making to this part of South Africa way back in the 1700's. Today Abrie Bruwer with his sister Jeanette and daughter Jenna run the farm and the business.  In this podcast Jeanette brings us on a journey through the Robertson wine growing region of South Africa and into its Springfield Estate where the Bruwers practice a very traditional way of making wine. This is natural wine making at its best where wild yeast and whole bunch fermentations take on a whole new meaning! The wines speak for themselves and pay homage to the family motto: Made on Honour Many of the Springfield labels have a dedicated following

In this podcast Francesco Ricasoli corrects me with my pronounciation of his surname and the fact that vineyards around Brolio were not destroyed in WW2 - Isn't this what a proper chat is all about!! Brolio Castle at the heart of the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany is surrounded by vineyards that can best be described as the beating heart of Italian wine. This is where the Ricasoli family have been making news and wine since 1171.  News? Well, in 1872 Baron Bettino Ricasoli originated the formula for Chianti wine, now called Chianti Classico. While this has long since been discarded as a formula it was an extraordinary innovation for its time. Francesco Ricasoli, current owner and President of the company, has generated new ideas and concepts to render his vineyards sustainable. An ongoing study of soil types and a clonal selection of the Brolio Sangiovese are among his greatest passions. Francesco has totally renovated the vineyards and completely mapped them.  Wines? Attention to detail pays off for R

Every time I try one of the wines produced by Villa Huesgen on the banks of the Mosel river in Germany I am captivated by their crisp, clear, character. Their website tells us that they believe in Origin. Tradition. Home. Family. Wine Culture. In this podcast (a bit 'warbly' due to the Zoom connection) owner and winemaker Adolph Huesgen guides us through his extraordinary vineyards where aspect and steep  slopes of slate are unique and extreme within the world of wine. He gives us a glimpse into what drives his family to produce such brilliant wines. 'To enjoy means to show attitude. It is the aim of VILLA HUESGEN to satisfy the taste of our clients ... To enjoy means to take one‘s time, for each other and together. Everything that has to do with great wines needs time. And we take the time to create culinary experiences'. This is where Riesling shines as the one of the most incredible grapes in the world. It also shows that terroir really does make a difference and that when a family, such as the Huesgens,

I was fortunate to visit the vineyards of Navarra in northern Spain a couple of years ago. I was doubly fortunate that one of the wineries we visited is owned and run by the Ochoa family. These days Bodegas Ochoa, near the fabulous town of Olite, is run by sisters Adriana (winemaking) and Beatriz (Sales and Marketing). It is quite brilliant to see how professional each sister is, how well they work together and and yet how independent they are one from the other. Ochoa is a true family team that makes very good wine. Adriana and Beatriz Ochoa Javier Ochoa spent many years as a qualified wine maker and director at the wine research station for Navarra - EVENA. When he left to begin his own winery he was joined in the venture by his wife Marivi Aliman. Kevin Ecock at the fabulous Ochoa vineyards  In this podcast we hear both Adriana and Beatriz tells us of how the Ochoa winery has from day one been experimenting and researching into many groundbreaking ideas. They have, along the way, recorded many firsts wit

Wachau in Austria is one of those places that should be on everyones bucket list to visit. I've not been there but it truly looks stunningly beautiful. Domäne Wachau makes wine that should  be on everyones bucket list - to taste.       I have been there! The vineyards of Wachau lie on the banks of the Danube in Lower Austria slightly NE of Vienna. The Wachau is a 33 km long gorge listed as a Unesco Cultural Landscape. Within this the slopes, aspect and soils of the valley provide a unique setting for vines to flourish. To cap it all the vineyards owned and managed by Domäne Wachau have been awarded the extraordinary title of 'Best Vineyards in Europe' and 'Third Best in the World'!   Of course great vineyards don't naturally make great wine - they only have a potential whose release is crystalised by fabulous winemaking. This podcast explores how this is achieved with one of the great Master of Wine winemakers - Roman Horvath.   Domäne Wachau epitomises the symbiotic nature of culture and landscape where dry

In this podcast Kevin O'Callaghan, wine buyer at SuperValu, guides us through their current sale of wines from France - The SuperValu French Wine Event. In addition, Kevin touches on many other aspects of selling wine in 2020 - the challenges and rewards. Superquinn stores across Ireland used to bring us a very fine annual French Wine Sale. It was innovative. At times (before computerised tills made mix and match possible) wine boxes and their bottles were coded with coloured stickers so that customers could work out which offers were compatible with one another! Cute. Fast forward to today. SuperValu has long since succesfully bedded Superquinn into its impressive network of over 200 owner-managed franchised stores. It has also brought forward the fabulous French Wine Event. This year it takes place from Sept 3rd to Sept 16th.  While the current sale includes individual spotlights on the wine of each of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone the whole of France is well presented with very good value wines. Most

I was impressed when I first saw the flat bottle of wine from Garçon Wines. I liked its simplicity. What I really should have liked was its sustainability and how more sustainable the world of wine would be with innovation such as this.   Recently I wrote a feature for Checkout Magazine on Sustainability in the World of Wine. I researched Garçon Wines. What I found was so impressive that I just had to podcast the story. A flat recyclable bottle made out of recycled plastics is the public face of a great story. This is Sustainability in practice where a bottle of wine becomes part of the solution and no longer a part of the problem.  In this podcast Santiago Navarro, CEO and Co-Founder of Garçon Wines, explains his philosophy and business model. He brings us through the wine trade on a route seldom traveled. Listen in. It's fabulous! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- While all restaurants in Ireland were closed until recently many have now reopened. This is great news -

I first met Sebastian Labbé when he was head winemaker at the brilliant Viña Carmen, part of the Santa Rita Estates in Chile. In that role he was a frequent visitor to Ireland. The tastings he hosted were fascinating lectures on how to make excellent wine from excellent vineyards. He was always looking forward.  Today Sebastian is the head winemaker for the Santa Rita Estates Ultra Premium Wines. His quest for seeking the very best from the land continues through a detailed series of innovative techniques and ideas. All are founded on an absolute adherance to the Santa Rita Estates' code of Sustainability**. In this podcast Sebastian guides us through various facets of his work with Santa Rita's very top wines. He generously brings us into a world of brilliance and innovation. This is a quest where excellence is always the ultimate goal. **Listen back HERE to Elena Carretero, Director of Sustainability at Santa Rita Estates.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- While all

Maison Champy began in 1720 and has the honourable distinction of being the oldest wine company in Burgundy. Extraordinary. Brilliance, of course, needs quite a lot more than venerability! Three centuries might simply imply dusty cellars. Not so with Maison Champy who in 1866 helped Louis Pasteur develop his, 'Etudes sur le Vin: Diseases, Causes, New Process to Keep and Age Wine'. Then in 1890 (celebrating 170 years young) Maison Champy built a new winery in Beaune using Eiffel's (he of the Tower) architecture. By 1912 87% of the vineyards owned by Champy were of Cru appellation. Today Maison Champy has a new boutique and tasting rooms in the heart of Beaune opposite the Hospices de Beaune and has developed a new logo and design for its branded wines.   Nothing dusty here! In this podcast Technical Director and Oenologist for the past 20 years at Maison Champy, Dimitri Bazas, brings us up to speed with the vineyards and wines of of this amazing house.    The wines of Maison Champy are distributed by Classic

Huia is an organic and biodynamic vineyard in the Marlborough area of the South Island in New Zealand. The wines they make are exceptional and are bolted to their makers Claire and Mike Allans belief that nothing should be taken from the land that cannot be returned to it. Their agents, Classic Drinks write that, 'grape juice is probably the only element that is permanently removed from Huia Vineyards'.  In this podcast Claire Allan brings us into the Huia world where they create wines that have an immense depth of pure fruit bursting from every glass.    The Huia Vineyards website tells us that, 'Huia feathers were said to represent wisdom, elegance and great dignity. At Huia Vineyards we share these philosophies to grow and make our selection of organic wines'. The Huia Bird has been extinct for over a century but continues to be revered. Indeed, the Maori has traditionally worn its feather as a symbol of prestige and honour.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------- While

Bodega Santalba in the Rioja region of Northern Spain opens its web page with, '... the best grapes and the experience of previous generations comprise the formula to achieve the highest quality end product. Ancient Traditions and Modern Times. .. In this podcast Roberto Ijalba, son of founder Santiago Ijalba ( whose name was shortened to Santalba), guides us through the region, his wines and his family tradition. Ireland is a top 10 destination for the wines of Rioja. We love the styles of wine that Rioja has to offer. How does the local climate, soils, topography and local traditions in Rioja come together to bring us such a diverse range of unique wines?  Enjoy. As with all our podcasts these days we recorded Roberto via Zoom to our home studio. Many thanks to our producer Justin Ecock in Toronto for his help in bringing the sound together. The bird chirruping in the background is all the way from Rioja!  The wines of Santalba are distributed by Classic Drinks. -------------------------------------------

Doña Paula is the Argentine arm of the Santa Rita Wine Estates. In this podcast Martin Kaiser, wine maker and viticulturist at Doña Paula tells us that Doña Paula is an Estate winery and as such all of the grapes they use are grown on their own land.    Where the grapes are grown is decided by an ultra scientific approach to an analysis of the varied soils high up in the Andes of Mendoza. It's fascinating. For a quick peek at this extraordinary landscape have a look at the video here.  We are introduced here to Doña Paula by the (very good and widely availaable) Los Cardos varietal wines. Martin then introduces his other ranges including the fabulous  Altitude Blends, the Estate Wine labels and of course how could we forget the NOFFLA Rosé of the Year 2019 the Doña Paula Rose of Malbec 2018    The day before we recorded this podcast Martin Kaiser was awarded the fabulous accolade  Argentine Viticulturist of the Year 2020 by Tim Atkin MW 'highlighting Martin's continued focus on terroir'. Tim knows his win

Tenuta San Leonardo is in Trentino. The Alto Adige is to its north while Valpolicella is to the south. In this podcast Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga recounts his family history and how he works with his father Marquis Carlo to produce sensational wines. The Guerrieri Gonzaga family has run the San Leonardo estate for the past 300 years. Across 25 hectares they grow an eclectic mix of classic French grape types such as Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. In addition they purchase some Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling both of which make exceptional wines. The classic nature of the red wines produced at the estate is due to the family's ability to blend with precision and its complete belief in a style that is soft, elegant and packed full of age worthy elements. The signature label - San Leonardo - is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere and 10% Merlot. Spontaneous fermentation in small concrete vats, 24 months in French oak, will age well for 25 years plus.  There are a number of ad

Lidl brings us an interesting and wide variety of wine styles. At times the selection available might be seasonal or themed. To help us through the eclectic nature of wine specials, grape types and areas of origin Lidl employs the services of a Master of Wine, Richard Bampfield to help us. To help us even further Lidl has a (flattering) photo of Richard beside each of its wine sections. In this podcast we chat with Richard about Lidl, his 100 point Scores and the current selection of summer wine styles available at Lidl. We begin with the Gavi at €9.99 mention the Sparkling Ribolla Gialla €16.99 and along the way find time for Refosco, Rias Baixas, Rueda, Toro and many, many others. I concentrate in this podcast (mainly!) on Iberian and Italian styles but you will also find over the course of summer 2020 a selection available from both New Zealand and South America.   As with most of my chat podcasts we manage here to drift across Champagne, Cava, South Africa, Portugal - and beyond. As we said at the beg

Across the world of wine we hear the word 'Sustainable' again and again. Very often it's linked to a 'green movement' of some vague description, 'organic viticulture' and its dislike of artificial fertilisers or just plain old 'keeping the land in a good condition to pass on to the kids'! Sustainability is much more and all of these. In this podcast we hear from Santa Rita that it covers Vineyards, Cellars, Workers and Community, Marketing and Suppliers - effectively everything from the soil to the bottle and all the way to you!  Elena Carretero is a leading expert on the subject of sustainability and for many years now has been Sustainability Director with the Santa Rita Wine Group in South America.  In this podcast Elena brings us into her world where every facet of the Santa Rita Group is linked into being a sustainable enterprise that can be Defined, Measured and Managed.      "Viña Santa Rita and its subsidiaries were the first of Chile’s major wine groups to attain certification in December 2011, incl

Where to start with Tim Phillips? Rome? South Africa? Montepulciano? The New Forest in Hampshire? It's an interesting list and makes a fascinating podcast! This is very much a story of  'How to When Noone had Even Thought it Possible' sort of podcast. Fabulous and Brilliant. This is Charlie Herring. Before our current lockdown travel restrictions the WinePod was due to visit the New Forest in Hampshire to help advertise a number of wine talks due to take place at the Daisybank Boutique Bed and Breakfast.* One of these talks and tastings would have been presented by Tim Phillips, owner and winemaker at the Charlie Herring New Forest vineyard. Charlie Herring is a walled vineyard in the New Forest. It has history! Tim Phillips transformed an old estate garden into a biodynamic vineyard of the most beguiling kind. Is this is 'cutting edge viticulture meets up with garagiste winemaking' or is it 'how to make your dreams come true'? Listen in ... Tim even has a solera .. Rather than let the opportunity to work wi

Marlings is a vineyard in Hampshire that makes award winning wine and carries the New Forest Marque - 'an accreditation scheme set up to develop and support the production, processing and distribution of local produce from the New Forest'.  Before our current lockdown travel restrictions the WinePod was due to visit the New Forest to help advertise a number of wine talks due to take place at another member of the New Forest Marque - the Daisybank Boutique Bed and Breakfast.* One of these talks and tastings would have been presented by Paul Cartmell, owner at Marlings.  Rather than let the opportunity to work with two exceptional New Forest businesses slip by I recorded an interview with Paul via Zoom. Let's face it, we need local business to reopen and to survive. Within the world of wine most vineyards across the globe are family owned and small enterprises. The same applies to the hospitality and tourist trade. We must do all we can to help them get back on their feet. These talks/tasting will go ahead at

Stefano Gagliardo's family make some of the finest expressions of Barolo from vineyards (Piedmont: NW Italy) that his father Gianni took charge of in the 1970's. The very best land is essential to producing quality Nebbiolo grapes and that's what we find every time we are fortunate to taste a Gianni Gagliardo Barolo.   In this podcast Stefano explains the intricacies involved in working the land organically with an increasing emphasis on biodynamic principles. He also tells us how he microvinifies some of his finest plots to make unique wines that answer solely to their tiny terroir, as MEGA designated Cru wines (Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive -additional geographic mentions), why he favours large barrels and lots lots more.  The Gagliardo team and family. A class act. Nebbiolo continues to hold sway as Italy's finest grape and Barolo it's finest wine. Alongside these Gagliardo has always worked with the Roero Arneis, Favorita (a Vermentino grown away from the sea!) and Moscato to make white wines, Nebbiolo

Wink Lorch published 'Jura Wine' in 2014 and followed it with 'Wines of the French Alps' in 2019. Both books were researched to the 'nth' degree, very well laid out and filled important gaps that had been left behind by almost every wine book before them. These are books that every wine library, educator and sommelier should have, read and use. They are travelogues, they bring us detailed wine and food knowledge and, most importantly, introduce us to the people and artisans of the regions involved.  In this podcast Wink talks of the pitfalls associated with self publishing and how she became a leading expert on wines that are unique among their peers. We are introduced to the vagaries and brilliance of Jura Wine and then (almost have time to) touch on the wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and Beyond  Wink is a founding member of the Association of Wine Educators, is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers has contributed to many books and publications and continues to lecture widely.  see: https://win

Jim Barry Wines is in the Clare Valley of South Australia. The valley is synonymous with quality wine and even boasts a Riesling Bike Trail! Jim Barry was an impressive individual - the first professionally qualified winemaker ever employed in the Clare and the 17th Degree in Oenology from the famous Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947. 60 years ago he began his own operation and today under the guidance of his son Peter and grandchildren, Tom, Sam and Olivia has been named Winery of the Year 2020 by Australia's wine bible, James Hallidays Wine Companion.   The Jim Barry story is facinating. Look it up HERE. Their vineyards are impeccable and their wines are sensational.   In this podcast Sam Barry joined us (via a Zoom link) to talk about growing up in a wine family and how proud that family is in carrying on the Jim Barry legacy. (The Jim Barry Wines are distributed in Ireland by Cassidy Wines) “Sometimes it takes longer than a lifetime to do a lifetime's work.” Jim Barry ----------------------------