Kevin Ecock's Winepod

De Loach is one of the very great wines from the Sonoma Valley in California. In this podcast Director of Wine at de Loach, Brian Maloney, talks to us about growing up on a farm in Sonoma, joining the wine trade and ultimately, under the stewardship of the Boisset family, becoming one of the foremost authorities on winemaking across the region. Brian tells us about how he brings out the best from Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (and then mentions Ribolla Gialla!) His wines are soft, generous, crisp and characterful. They reflect terroir and Brians skills, can be drunk young and age well.   As with all of our podcast these days we recorded this via Zoom and our trusty H6 recorder. Thanks to Liberty Wines Ireland for their help in making this magic happen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ While all restaurants in Ireland are closed right now they WILL open again. We all hope that this is soon. We should remember that many of these, including the wonderful Monty's

Before everything locked down we had the distinct honor of chatting to Villa Maria viticulturist Stuart Dudley. The occasion was the premier of the Villa Maria movie 'Vintage'. It was a suitably glittering launch held at the Stella in Rathmines and hosted by Irish agents Barry Fitzwilliam.    and yes, I managed to forget Stuart was the viticulturist and not the winemaker!! Blame the popcorn.  Stuart entertaining Tomas Clancy at the Stella event Vintage follows the major players as they take on the task of bringing grapes in for a vintage in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. This is a hands on movie best viewed with a glass of Villa Maria close by! It's a really great watch and highly recommended. Watch a trailer HERE.   We recorded this podcast on a make shift 'studio' at the stage in Rathmines just before the movie began. My photo doesn't do us justice. It was quite innovative and Stuart was brilliant. Villa Maria continues to make great wine. They can only do this by growing great grapes. That's Stua

In this episode we are joined by Neasa Miquel. Neasa is from Ireland and has worked alongside her husband Laurent to make the Laurent Miquel family estate in the Languedoc into one the finest of its kind. Visit their website. It's an informative trove about the Miquel estates and the wines of the Languedoc. This podcast was recorded via Zoom as Neasa (along with the rest of France) is in lockdown at the family farm. How are they coping? What are the wines that the Miquel label brings to us? How have they been so innovative over the years in championing Viognier, Syrah and Albarino from the south of France? Listen to the podcast! The Laurent Miquel wines are brought to us by the team at Dunnes Stores while a couple of estate labels are also imported by O'Briens Wines.    Neasa, Laurent and Kevin Ecock at a Dunnes Stores tasting 2018 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ While all restaurants in Ireland are closed right now they WILL open again. We all hope that this is soon

Clearly a few days can make a difference! I recorded with Marius Kotze (la Motte and Leopards Leap) when he was in town just a few weeks ago. He was participating at his agents' (Classic Drinks) portfolio tasting. Brilliant event held at the Market Bar on Fade Street. Packed to the rafters with customers and filled with excellent wines.   This interview followed on from an earlier thirty minutes spent with Marius last year. Listen to that episode HERE. Our podcast today must, by the very nature of how Cophid19 has affected us all, be treated as a time capsule. Incredible three weeks. Marius told us today that,' We cannot sell in any channel in the local market and we are not allowed to export at this stage . We hope government can give us relief after the 21 days to at least export . The harvest is  in the cellar, so they allowed as to make the wines but we cannot sell. For our tourism business it is disaster because both our restaurants are shut down so once things are back to normal again we have to find c

There is no doubt that many island wineries will find it hard to 'tough it out' this year. Many depend on a tourist market to drink their wines. There are no tourists. Other's are totally dependent on export markets that have, for the time being, ceased to trade. And yet their grapes continue to grow, their vineyards continue to need maintenance and their families need to be looked after. Tough times. Recently the WinePod recorded a fascinating interview with Jose Gonzalez, owner and winemaker at Can Xanet in Majorca.  We wish him, and his colleagues across the island, well. In this podcast we learn new grapes, old ideas, new innovation and a willingness to face adversity. This is what Islanders have always had to do. Hopefully their current difficulties will not leave scars when the good times return. The Can Xanet Wines are distributed across Ireland by Tindal Wine Merchants. ------------------------------------------------------------------------While all restaurants in Ireland are closed right now they

A Prophet on St Patrick's Day! A coincidence and a welcome one.   The world and the world of wine is packed full of great people and great stories. Right now as we battle against something we can't see and, hopefully, an enemy most of us will never feel we need to believe that what we have achieved to date is worthwhile and that we will be able to pick up the reins again in the near future. Keep Safe and Keep Well. Prophet's Rock is a winery in Central Otago on the South Island in New Zealand. It's winemaker is Paul Pujol. They make some of the finest and most natural wines in the world. Paul has a fine story to tell and we are so glad he came in to the WinePod to tell it to us. Prophet's Rock wines are distributed in Ireland by Gilbeys/ Bibendum.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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

The WinePod recently met up with Jenna Bruwer of Springfield Estate - one of our MOST favourite wine estates in the whole world! Why? Honesty. Springfield is in Robertson, South Africa. The Bruwer family has been running the Estate quite simply for a very, very long time.  In this podcast Jenna tells us how they make their wines and why they are unique. It's amazing, for instance, to see how different the two Sauvignon Blanc wines (Life from Stone and Special Cuvee) are and then find that their grapes are grown so close to each other. It's equally fascinating to hear that the family loses the odd vintage completely as they focus on being natural wine makers - sometimes it just doesn't work!! Bonkers or Brilliance? Enjoy this podcast and have a look out for Springfield Estate wines at a store or restaurant near you. In Ireland the wines are distributed by Classic Drinks.     ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Ecock's WinePod is brought to us with the assistance o

The WinePod met Warren Gibson recently for a podcast chat with a view to understanding how his wines at Trinity Hill are among the most awarded in the world. Trinity Hill is a modern winery situated on the North Island of New Zealand in Hawkes Bay. Their vineyards are planted on the unique soils found on the Gimblett Gravels - reckoned to be New Zealand's premier red wine region. In their own words Trinity Hill has a, 'philosophy of "Quality rather than Quantity" ... controlled yields ensure the intensity of flavour and elegant styles for which Trinity Hill is renowned'.   This is a fascinating podcast. We learned all about the brilliance of the Gimblett Gravels and even had time to taste Warren's Icon wine 'Homage'. Fabulous! Trinity Hill is distributed in Ireland by Liberty Wines   ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ev

At 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 Cas

Casa Santos Lima is a big player in the world of wines in Portugal. It is also a family owned and run company. The company and its ancestral vineyards are situated near Lisbon. The wines that they produce today straddle the entire country and include regions such as the Douro, Algarve, Alentejo and Vinho Verde. Four generations of the Santos Lima family has been making wine from just north of Lisbon and today accounts for 40% of all wines in that region! Access to fruit from across so many vineyards in Portugal allows Casa Santos Lima to produce a great variety of unique wine styles. In this Podcast Sebastiao Garcia Export Manager at Casa Santos Lima tells us all about this fascinating company and its wines. Along the way he tells us of the delights we will miss out on if don't explore Portugal and its wines! Portugal is one of the truly great wine producing nations. It has a unique collection of grapes and this allows it to produce a unique collection of the most fascinating wines available to us. At the h

Chile is an exceptional country to grow vines in. Indeed, it is also the leading country of origin on our shelves here in Ireland and our brand leader (by quite a margin) is the Santa Rita label. Vine growing in Chile is mainly concentrated in valleys running away from the Andes towards the Pacific Ocean. Over time the unique characteristics of these valleys and their contribution to ripening grapes have been analysed and studied. This has led to Cabernet Sauvignon perfection from the Maipo and crisp Sauvignon Blancs from the Casablanca Valleys. It's a great story. Have a look at the Wine Folly web site, explore each the main valleys and see how they are being developed. Vina Aresti is unusual in Chile. It doesn't try to explore multiple valleys but instead focuses all of its winemaking from grapes grown in the one valley - the Curico. This is the largest of the 'wine valleys', lies 200 kms south of Santiago and has an incredible range of microclimates and soil types. See HERE for a fabulous and detailed acco

Lenz Moser is an extraordinary and very affable winemaker. It has always been a pleasure meeting up with him. Lenz is an Austrian with a tremendous history of promoting Gruner Veltliner wines from Austria. For the past ten years, however, he has been making wine from grapes grown in the Ningxia province of China. The winery is called Chateau Changyu Moser XV and lies just to the west of Beijing. Ningxia is China's premier grape growing region and Changyu is China's leading wine producer. The labels that Lenz brought with him to Dublin late last year (imported and distributed by Gilbeys Bibendum) were both Cabernet Sauvignon based - one was a white wine and the other a red wine. Both had been produced from the same crop of grapes. Now that IS a fabulously interesting story. Wine from China? Yes, please. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 h

Georg Lingenfelder has a rich history to draw from. His family has been making wine in the Pfalz region of Germany since 1520! Georg is the 14th generation of Lingenfelder winemakers. Have a look at the Lingenfelder history on their website HERE. It's a captivating story. Georg visited the WinePod late last year at the O'Briens Wine Festival held at Dublin Castle. He told us of his family and their wines.  It's a great story and one that continues to evolve as Germany reaps the benefits of warmer summers. See HERE for a listing of Lingenfelder wines available in Ireland. See our blog at WineIreland.blog for reviews.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.

Every time I meet José María I learn more about one of Spain's most magical wine regions - Navarra. He is impressively generous with his time, passion and knowledge. Tandem Wines is a boutique winery established in 2003 by José María Fraile, winemaker Alicia Eyaralar and, as they tell us, 'a small group of wine-loving relatives and friends'. The result is a collection of inspiring wines marketed under fabulous labels from a region that deserves wider recognition. Listen here to José María tells us all about Navarra, Tandem and its wines. Then head out to O'Briens Wines (import and distribute Tandem) and pick up a Tandem Label. You will not be disappointed! These wines are exacting in their representation of the Yerri Valley, high altitude vines and immaculate winemaking. My favourite? Which to choose? Maybe Immacula - after all the name means 'without blemish'!  Or how about Ars in Vitro - Art in Glass …. they're all worth looking out for! Oh, and lets not forget the Ros Rose produced by Lynne Coyle MW, Di

Kevin and Kimberley Judd held a Greywacke lunch and tasting at the Cliff Townhouse recently. I had never met either before. I am now so glad that I have. Wonderful people. This podcast has a few restaurant noises in the background! Busy place. Bear with us though because when Kevin gets into his stride he brings us more than a few gems of wisdom.    The 'Greywacke' label has some of the finest wines made. This year I was happy to recommend the Greywacke Wild Sauvignon 2016 as one of the '100 Awesome Wines' as published by the Association of Wine Educator's. (Yes, I'm a member!!) It was one of my favorite wines of the whole year. What is Greywacke? Where does it come from? What makes it so special? Why do I have a Greywacke Pinot Noir poster on my office wall? These and a lot more (not the last one) are answered here by Kevin Judd. Indeed, he goes further and gives us an insight into the future of winemaking in New Zealand. Enjoy ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevi

Valpolicella, Amarone, Oltrepo Pavese, Montalcino, Maremma Toscana, Manduria Puglia, Paternoster Vulture, De Buris These are all Tommasi Estates and Tommasi Wines in Italy. Each is magnificent. In this podcast Pierangelo Tommasi brings us on a journey through time and place. Along the way he explains the differences between the Passito and Appassimento processes, between Valpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella, between growing grapes in the North of Italy and those grown in the South. THIS IS A SUPER STORY OF A FAMILY MAKING GREAT WINES.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.

Robb Wines invited me to a tasting of the wines of Ben Glaetzer recently. Fabulous I said. A wine legend that I had never met and whose wines from the Barossa had never crossed my lips! Perversely I knew the 'Heartland' wines from the lesser known region of Langhorne Creek south of Adelaide. Such are the vagaries of wine distribution! Ben had decided in the 1990's that Langhorne Creek fruit had fabulous potential. He has, with partner Nick Keukenmeester, achieved this. Heartland wines are so accessible that its web site statement rings true every time I read it, 'You can Taste it From Where You are'.     I arranged a half an hour podcast. Brilliant. Homework done on the Glaetzer Wines (only) I headed to the venue. (Excellent by the way - Milltown Golf Club).  My first introduction was to Nick! Great. I only had two mikes - one for me and one for Ben. ….  I had no idea that Nick would be there also. Hold on. It's Bonus Time for the podcast ..... The Glaetzer Wines hold within their bottles the very soul of B

The De Martino family has been growing grapes and producing wine in Chile since the 1930's. Today their wines are among the most awarded, most sought after and most interesting produced in South America. Here's a sample: One of the best wineries in Robert Parker's 'Extraordinary Winery Awards'; Alistair Cooper MW places Viejas Tinajas Cinsault into Decanter as one of the finest of its kind in the world; De Martino listed by Wine & Spirits among the top 100 wineries in the world. . Sebastian De Martino dropped in to the WinePod recently. He tells us in this podcast of how his family has explored and continues to explore vineyards from all across Chile; why they have always been organic; their use of old tinaja's - and how they find them; and much, much more.   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.

Waterford Estate is one of those special places in South Africa that excels in making high class wines.  The Estate is in the Blaauwklippen Valley in Stellenbosch. This is one of the areas in the world where blue skies blend down onto majestic valley slopes which in turn flow to vibrant and expertly tended rows of healthy vines.  In this podcast winemaker Mark le Roux guides us through the region, the Estate and its wines.  Make no mistake about it, South Africa produces some of the finest wine grapes in the world. Central to what happens to these are winemakers, such as Mark, at Estates such as Waterford. These wines are magnificent. Listen to Mark tells us why.  Enjoy   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.

David Gleave MW set up and runs Liberty Wines. Whenever Liberty has a tasting there he is, welcoming and helpful. Liberty Wines' portfolio tastings are among the best attended in the wine trade. They are shoulder to shoulder filled with industry professionals quite a few of whom are young, energetic, curious, knowledgeable and the future of our trade. Once a year they are also attended by more wine producers than attend any other trade tasting in the calendar. The Liberty Wines web site tells us they have won,  IWC Merchant of the Year 2018, 11-times winner IWC On-Trade Supplier of the Year, four-times winner IWC Wine Educator of the Year, 18-times winner IWC Italy Specialist Merchant of the Year and more Impressive. The WinePod caught up with David at a recent Liberty tasting in Dublin. The background hum and atmosphere is all part of the event! We began with how a future Master of Wine and trade industry leader began his career by landing a job in a bar in Dublin that just happened to have a fabulous wine l