Kay Brothers
McLaren Vale , South Australia
Brands
Kay Brothers
Winery Overview
Established in 1890, Kay Brothers is the oldest winery in McLaren Vale still in founding family hands. Kay Brothers embraces its historic origins and traditional winemaking philosophy. Estate-grown fruit is handled in traditional open fermenters and original basket press, followed by large oak maturation in the heritage stone cellars, allowing the vineyard origins and quality to always shine through.
Available in
Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA
Seeking Distribution in
Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam
Chief Winemaker/s
Duncan Kennedy (Chief Winemaker & Viticulturist)
Winemaker Bio
Duncan Kennedy’s apprenticeship began in the vineyards of Padthaway during the boom times of the late 90’s, working for companies such as Mildara Blass, Southcorp and Browns of Padthaway. This inspired Duncan to study Viticulture at the University of Adelaide. After graduation in 2000, he began working as a viticulturist for Bremerton Wines in Langhorne Creek.
His position then progressed to a self-employed consultant continuing to work for Bremerton but also working for Early Day Vineyards and Pecador Estate, alongside Langhorne Creek guru Bill Potts.
Then it was time to travel and gain experience abroad while shifting focus towards wine making more so than wine growing. Vintages in the Okanagan Valley of Canada, Bordeaux in France and the Russian River Valley in California provided Duncan with invaluable exposure to different and contrasting wine production styles.
The next step was back to study in 2009, completing post-graduate qualifications in Oenology, while working as a cellar hand at Pirramimma in McLaren Vale. In 2011, he took the newly-created position of Assistant Winemaker for Shottesbrooke Vineyards in McLaren Flat. While there, he had the opportunity to work with multiple varietals from many different terranes around McLaren Vale and further afield.
In January 2015, Duncan was given the opportunity to take over the chief winemaking and viticulturist reins at Kay Brothers. Soon afterwards, he was awarded the prestigious “Wayne Thomas Memorial Scholarship”. In 2017 a career milestone was achieved at the McLaren Vale Wine Show, where Duncan was named the “McLaren Vale Bushing King” as the winemaker that produced the best wine of the show for the 2016 Kay Brothers Griffon’s Key Grenache and also named the “Best Single Vineyard Viticulturist”.
Duncan lives in the McLaren Vale region with his partner Lena and their young son Lucas. He plays an active part in this vibrant community, volunteering in many roles such as Current Chair of the “Districts of McLaren Vale Working Group” and also is a member of the “McLaren Vale Viticulture Reference Group.” He also is Secretary of the “McLaren District’s Cricket Club.”
