Kangarilla Road / Helen u. Kevin O'Brien
White wines from Kangarilla Road / Helen u. Kevin O'Brien
Red wines from Kangarilla Road / Helen u. Kevin O'Brien
from Kangarilla Road / Helen u. Kevin O'Brien
The Kangarilla Road estate is in South Australia, in the McLaren Vale an hour by car from Adelaide to be more precise. The region is bounded by the Gulf of St Vincent to the west and rolling countryside to the east. Vines have thrived here since 1850 and the McLaren Vale is considered one of the highest quality wine regions in Australia. The climate is marked by hot summers and mild winters under the influence of the nearby ocean. Helen and Kevin O'Brien started their business in 1997. Kevin, a winemaker with a wealth of experience earned over 20 years, is responsible for the vineyard and cellar work. Helen looks after promoting the estate and selling the wine. Kangarilla Road has 12 hectares of vines, which is very little by Australian standards. Planted in 1975 the vines have now reached a good adult age. They are grown organically and biodynamically and produce high quality grapes. The harvest is complemented by grapes bought in from other producers who meet the same production criteria. Helen and Kevin's philosophy is simple and persuasive: make wines that can stand by themselves or with food. Their work regularly wins accolades from wine critics and the press. In the 2010 edition of the James Halliday Companion the estate got 5 stars!
Producer
Bodegas Ribas
We could talk about our winery of the year, Bodega Ribas on Mallorca, all day long. But it's best to see and read for yourself! We sent wine journalist Britta Wiegelmann and cameraman Felix Groteloh to experience the winery and the family at first hand. Araceli and Javier Servera Ribas, the brother and sister team behind the wines, tell us how the oldest existing winery on the island survived phylloxera, why they love their local grape, the Mantonegro, so much and what the sea has to do with it all.
Dirk van der Niepoort
Dirk van der Niepoort - great ambassador of the fantastic wines from the Douro Valley, is also active and creative in other Portuguese wine regions. His dream has long been to make wines in the microclimates of the Alentejo and Dãoos. The talented self-made winemaker, who likes to wear a hat, found what he was looking for and his crazy idea in these crazy times took shape in the form of Crazy Hatter wines.