Wilson on Wines

A GLASS APART – A GREAT NEW WHISKEY BOOK

Posted by admin on November 27, 2015

Irish whiskey was once held in higher esteem than its rivals over the water in Scotland and the United States. Battered by a series of economic and political misfortunes, it went into a steep decline for most of the 20th century. The last decade has seen a dramatic rebirth, with a huge surge of interest from Ireland and overseas. Whereas the Scots are best-known for their single malt whisky, our unique specialty is single pot still whiskey. This distillation method gives almost all of our whiskies a distinctive flavour that sets them apart from their rivals elsewhere.

Fionnán O’Connor, a postgraduate student in TCD, has an in-depth knowledge of all things related to whiskey and pot still whiskey in particular. A Glass Apart tells the long illustrious history of pot still whiskey, how it is produced, and most importantly what it tastes like. O’Connor takes the reader through all of the available Irish pot still whiskies, with comprehensive tasting notes on each. He takes an expert look on how to taste and enjoy whiskey, and profiles the personalities behind our national drink, including the distillers, the coopers, the blenders, and maturation experts. He provides an in-depth history of the craft in Ireland, covering many of the extinct distilleries in the towns and cities of Ireland. It is, as O’Connor says ‘an introduction and a love letter to the history, craft, and diversity of Ireland’s re-awoken firewater phoenix’. A Glass Apart is a lavish and comprehensive production, with excellent photography by Ove Grunnér. Published by Images Publishing it will be available in bookshops from next week. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in our national spirit.

Below O’Connor explains the history behind Power’s Whiskey – the old distillery is now the National College of Art & Design in Dublin. Behind him are the three giant copper stills.

Posted in: Beer & Whiskey

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The Call of Duty; the forthcoming budget

Posted by admin on November 6, 2015

Over the last few months, the Irish Wine Association and other groups have made a persuasive argument for a decrease in the excise duty on wine. We pay an extortionate €3.19 excise duty on every bottle of wine we buy. Add 23 per cent VAT to the price and the Government takes more than half the money you spend on a €10 bottle of wine.

Sparkling wine, for some reason, is double that. Aldi and Lidl currently both have one for sale at €10.49; the duty and VAT make up an incredible €8.34 of that. Can they be making a profit?

Sadly, there is one thing I am fairly sure about; there will be no decrease in excise duty on wine in the forthcoming budget. The Minister for Finance has made it perfectly clear in the past that he sees wine drinkers as middle class and wine a foreign luxury and therefore not worthy of his attention. I don’t believe wine should be penalised over other alcoholic drinks but at the moment it certainly is. The best we can hope for is that things stay as they are.

I do hope he has listened to the blossoming craft cider industry and harmonised the excise duty on cider with that of beer. Of all the nascent artisan drinks this must have the greatest potential to bring employment to parts of rural Ireland.

But other than that I expect that there will be no further changes. The Minister will be assisted by the growing calls for action on alcohol abuse. The entire drinks business needs to take our problems with alcohol consumption seriously. While the trade is very keen to point out that countries such as Spain, France and Italy have virtually no tax on wine and other drinks, the drinking culture in those countries is very different.

It seems that Northern European countries, genetically, culturally or simply because of the cold weather, have a propensity to drink more and to excess. Teenagers prinking before heading out for an evening has been well-documented, but our youth is not the only group who abuse alcohol. It permeates every sector of our society and we need to find ways to control it.

It breaks my heart to accept it, but if part of the solution means high taxes, that is something we should be prepared to accept. It seems strange though that one arm of the Government is proposing measures to limit alcohol consumption while others are applauding the opening of new distilleries and breweries around the country.

High rates of duty are certainly not the sole answer. The proposed minimum pricing seems to be the most sensible way forward as it targets those who buy large quantities of cheap alcohol. It would still hit hard-pressed couples who enjoy a bottle of wine once or twice a week over dinner.

A ban on below-cost selling would help too, whatever the European Union has to say. The larger retailers are well aware that drink is a major pull for shoppers and are quite happy to sell at cost or below (and claim back the difference in VAT) to increase footfall. It will be interesting to see how the multiples react to minimum pricing. Theoretically, it should allow them to improve the quality of their wines. If they simply increase the price of existing lines, the public will not be impressed.

There is still a large group of people who abuse alcohol in the pubs, clubs and restaurants around the country, and the high cost does not seem to affect them. Although the new wine shops and off-licences have been a boon for the wine lover, perhaps we need to limit the number of outlets that can sell alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises. For instance, I find it incongruous that a garage can sell wine at the same time as petrol.

This week: three quality wines to enjoy in moderation.

Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2014
11%
€12.99
Vibrant herby rich peach fruits and a touch of honey. For sipping before dinner with friends or at a party.
Mitchell & Son; Deveney’s; Thyme Out, Dalkey; Myles Doyle, Gorey.

Vitiano Rosso 2013, Falesco IGP Umbria
13.5%
€18.99

Fragrant, elegant wine with supple rounded dark fruits and an easy finish.
Stockists: Vanilla Grape, Kenmare; On The Grapevine, Dalkey;
Number 21, Cork; Callans, Dundalk; Wineonline.ie

Wagner Stempel Spatburgunder 2013, Rheinhessen
13%
€22

Utterly seductive wine with silky light red cherry fruits.

Martin’s; Blackrock Cellar; Green Man Wines; Morton’s Galway;
Mitchell & Son; Redmonds; Sweeney’s; 64 Wine; Searsons.

Tags: Pellehaut, Vitiano, Wagner Stempel

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Wilson On Wine 2016

Posted by admin on October 23, 2015

My new wine book is now out and should be available in a bookshop near you – two weeks earlier this year. I have lined up a number of tastings/signings including the following:

Monday 26th Dinner at Ballymaloe House. Places still available I think.
Tuesday 27th Tasting at 64wine.
Thursday 29th Spit tasting in Smock Alley – see spit.ie for details.
Friday 13th & Saturday 14th – O’Briens Wine Fair, Mansion House
Tuesday 24th Green Man Wines, Terenure
Wednesday 25th – O’Briens Beacon, Sandyford
Friday 27th Mitchell & Sons chq
Saturday 28th Baggot Street Wines
Friday 4th La Touche Wines Greystones
Saturday 5th 64wine Glasthule
Friday 18th Clontarf Wines
Sunday 20th La Touche Greystones

… and many others still to be finalised. Most are drop-in events, so feel free to come along and taste a few wines.

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Caught in a web: the changing world of the wine critic

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Caught in a web: the changing world of the wine critic

First published in The Irish Times, Sat, Oct 3, 2015, 03:00

Wine writer Jancis Robinson had a thought- provoking article in the Financial Times a few weeks ago on the changing fortunes of the wine journalist. Her points could probably be applied to critics in all genres, but she was fairly blunt about the rise and fall of the wine critic. As wine grew in popularity around the world throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, new consumers sought out information and advice on what wines to drink. Prior to the internet a handful of top wine writers from a few countries were omnipotent, with the power to make or break a producer, a region or a vintage. These would have included Robinson herself. Their pronouncements were awaited with hope and trepidation by sections of the wine trade, who knew a positive review would make their jobs lot easier. Robert Parker, the high priest of wine critics, went a step further, giving each wine marks out of 100. Not only was this far easier to understand, it also allowed consumers to make direct comparisons between wines.

We now live in a much more democratic age in which everyone can voice their opinions. I can remember a time when most consumers were unwilling to give a view on any wine for fear of being ridiculed. These days the internet is coming down with multiple tasting notes on every wine as well as accounts of visits to various wine regions. Wine Searcher and Cellartracker give you access to thousands of professional and amateur tasting notes, scores and prices. Sitting in a restaurant with an intimidating wine list, you can look up apps such as Vivino on your smartphone and get multiple ratings written by consumers. In this era of social media, everybody has the opportunity to be heard.

Is the opinion of someone who has been tasting and drinking wine for the best part of 30 years any more valid than that of someone who is just discovering wine for the very first time? We all taste wine differently, and we all have personal preferences, even if professional writers try to hide these. As a reader, it is useful to know the foibles of the critic. I usually avoid wines Parker acclaims. It is not that he doesn’t have a phenomenal palate – he does – but he tends to prefer big, rich, powerful wines with lots of new oak, and I don’t.

Some online reviews are obviously well written by genuine wine lovers, many of whom have a very high level of knowledge. Others, you suspect, are being manipulated by outside interests. Apparently restaurateurs are approached by bloggers offering a positive review in return for free meals and drinks. I have been offered a reward for writing a positive review only once; the producer said he regularly paid a number of UK bloggers sums of money, or free trips for a positive write-up. I turned it down, naturally, but I am the recipient of free sample bottles of wine, as well as trips abroad. I suspect many online writers would be delighted to accept these in lieu of payment.

Although I don’t always agree with her I know I would pay a lot more attention to what an expert such as Robinson has to say about a wine than someone who enjoyed a glass in a crowded restaurant. It is the difference between reading TripAdvisor and Paul Theroux. That said, if thousands of consumers give a wine a positive evaluation, obviously it has something going for it. And who am I to say they are wrong?

The fourth edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Robinson, has just been published by Oxford University Press.

This week: three outstanding wines that this wine critic enjoyed recently.

Five of Ireland’s leading specialist wine importers will come together to hold a consumers’ wine tasting featuring more than 150 wines. Spit Festival will take place on 29th October in Smock Alley Theatre from 6.30pm. Tickets are €25.

DSCF6122 Dao Rótulo 2012, Niepoort, Portugal
12.5%
€16.95

Delicious cool piquant blueberry and damson fruits with a lovely sour streak.

Stockists: Leading specialist wine shops.

Padras Rupestris Celler Pardas Rupestris 2013, Penedes
13%
€17.60

Fascinating organic wine with baked gooseberries, peaches and honeycomb, finishing bone dry.

Stockists: 64Wine; Clontarf Wines; Green Man Wines; Baggot Street Wines; Michaels, Deerpark; La Touche, Greystones.

DSCF6030 La Petite Ourse 2013, Côtes du Rhône, Pascal Chalon
14%
€17.99

No ordinary Côtes du Rhône but a superb rich wine with warming concentrated dark fruits sprinkled spice.

Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock

Tags: Jancis Robinson, La Petite Ourse, Niepoort, Padras Rupestris, The Oxford Companion to Wine, Wine critic

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Oz Clarke: Britain’s talented wine writer’s new books

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Oz Clarke: Britain’s talented wine writer’s new books
The former actor believes in telling the story behind the wine
Grapes & Wines offers an in-depth view of the major varieties, including where and how each is grown, its history and very usefully, the best producers.

First published in the Irish Times
Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 17:00

Most of us are familiar with that broad smiling face on television, making some wisecrack to James May as the two travel around Britain, France or California in a very expensive car. More mature readers will remember his partnership with Jilly Goolden on the BBC’s Food and Drink programme, where they vied with each other to come up with the most outrageous wine descriptions. Either way, Oz Clarke has been a familiar face on our TV screens for the best part of 30 years.Behind the cheery demeanour, he is incredibly hard-working, knowledgeable and a prodigious writer. I have copies of his books on Bordeaux, Australia, and new classic wine regions, as well as his excellent Encyclopedia of Wine. There are plenty more. I spent several days in his company earlier this year travelling around Austria and Romania. He was always the last one tasting wines and making notes, full of questions for every producer and a font of information. This autumn, Clarke publishes three books, one in conjunction with Margaret Rand, the other two his own work.

Clarke is very proud of his Irish roots. His mother was an O’Leary from Graiguenamanagh (he is a cousin of writer and broadcaster Olivia O’Leary) and growing up, he spent many happy times there. “It gave a rich emotional quality to my childhood,” says Clarke. “All of the best summers of my life were spent there. The Barrow is one of the most beautiful rivers to have in your childhood memories.” He even thought seriously about going to TCD. “I knew I would have a wonderful time; and it was four years instead of three. I think it would have been a huge struggle to ever leave Dublin actually.” Instead he studied psychology and theology at Oxford. It was there that he first came across wine, captaining the wine-tasting team. Having started a career in acting and singing (he appeared in the 1978 film Superman, and played Gen Juan Perón in the musical Evita in the West End) he moved into writing about wine when the BBC was looking for an actor who knew about wine.The History of Wine in 100 Bottles is not really a history book, rather 100 chronological mini-histories of bottles, people, events and other milestones that have helped to shape the wine we drink today. “Wine writers aren’t telling the stories any more,” says Clarke, “and they need to – this is what people want to read. I worked very hard to cut each entry down to 500 words.” One entry takes a look at the use of resin as an anti-oxidant in wine in ancient Greece and Rome, a practice that continues today with retsina. Apparently Pliny was a connoisseur, preferring Calabrian resin, and enjoyed the way it stuck to his teeth with its tart taste. There is a separate entry for retsina in the 1970s along with Gallo’s hearty Burgundy (1964), the first bag-in-box (1965 would you believe?) and Marlborough sauvignon (1983). The final entry brings us up to 2014 and the story of fine wine fraudster Rudi Kurniawan.

It is tempting to see the second book, Grapes & Wines, written with Rand, another formidable writer, as Jancis Lite, a lesser version of Jancis Robinson’s magnus opus Wine Grapes. That is to do it a disservice. Grapes & Wines offers an in-depth view of the major varieties, including where and how each is grown, its history and very usefully, the best producers. The major varieties, such as cabernet and chardonnay get a dozen pages and lesser grapes a short paragraph. This is an incredibly handy, easy-to-use reference book.I am sure my copy will become dog-eared as the months go by. “The challenge with this book,” says Clarke, “was to make it interesting for people who don’t know that much about wine but at the same time useful to those who work in the business.” The final book is the Pocket Wine A-Z, a handy annual guide to producers, grapes and wines.

L DSCF6107 e Grand Blanc 2012, Côtes de Thongue, Comte de Bertier
13%
€15.95

Peaches in custard with a smooth mellow texture. Delicious. With creamy chicken dishes.

Stockists: Molloy’s Liquor Stores

DSCF6109 Cusumano Shamaris Grillo 2014, IGT Terre Siciliane
13.5%
€18.99

Lifted floral aromas followed by captivating refreshing nectarine and cantaloupe melon fruits on the palate. A very appealing wine.

Stockists: O’Briens

DSCF5917 Ottomarzo 2012, Tenute Dettori, Sardinia
14.5%
€29.50

Stunning wine. Warm ripe soft dark fruits with hints of liquorice, warm earth and herbs; full, voluptuous and rounded with real complexity.

Stockists: 64wine, Glasthule

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Romanian Wines

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Discovering the wines of Romania
A tour of vineyards revealed some interesting wines
First published in the Irish Times
Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 00:00

The last thing Englishman Philip Cox wanted on leaving college was a boring desk job, so he headed to Romania, where he ended up, at the tender age of 23, as managing director of the local branch of the massive German wine company, Reh Kendermann.You may not know the name, but this is the company behind German wines Black Tower and Bend in the River, as well as a large number of own-label brands.His job was sourcing wine for various Reh Kendermann brands. Cox persuaded the company to make the wine themselves. The next step was buying their own vineyards, but the Germans baulked at this. Cox departed, and with several partners, including his wife, set up Carmela Recas. The original aim was to buy 50 hectares in Banat (in western Romania), but the government insisted they buy the entire 500 hectare estate and the winery too. Fortunately, they were given five years to pay, effectively bankrolling the fledgling business.The company has been hugely successful and now has 200 employees, and will sell 12 million bottles of wine next year. It farms 1,000 hectares of vines, and owns a franchise chain of 150 wine shops around Romania.

The vineyards and winery are run on very modern New World lines, with harvesting at night where possible (daytime temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius on a regular basis), and a large state-of-art winery.The company’s Australian winemaker Hartley Smithers spends part of the year working at Cassella – otherwise known as Yellow Tail. The aim is to produce juicy, fruit-filled wines that are sold and drunk within a year.“Our strategy is to offer a huge range to our customers,” says Cox. “We have over 250 labels and 65 different wines. We listen to our clients and innovate all the time. For 20 years they all wanted international varieties. People don’t buy our wines because they are Romanian. They buy them because they are nice wines with good labels that offer good value.” In the past two to three years, interest has grown in native Romanian varieties. The international grape varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, the latter two proving to have real potential.

In Romania, homemade wine accounts for 50 per cent of consumption. Virtually every household has a row or two of vines out the back, and makes their own wine. “Nearly all of it,” says Cox, “tastes like s**t.”I did visit four other wineries in Romania (I travelled with other Irish and UK journalists, all paid for by Cox), but none are available in Ireland. Halewood is another company founded by an Englishman, and Serve was founded by a Corsican winemaker. Of greater interest were two small wine estates that have been restored to their original owners after the fall of Ceaucesceau. Princess Illeana Kripp-Continescu and her husband Baron Jakob built a replica of the original winery in Dragasani, in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps, where her family have owned vineyards for 300 years. She remembers being smuggled out of Romania in an airplane in the early 1960s. The Prince Stirbey wines, made primarily with indigenous grape varieties, are very good, and available to Irish members of The Wine Society.Avincus was set up by lawyer Dr Cristiana Stoica, her husband (a professor of law and Minister for Justice for several years) and her family. As with Stirbey, this was a restitution – they rebuilt the ruins of the original home.Romania appears to have all it takes; a mix of large commercial producers and small estates, as well as its own local interesting grape varieties; aromatic whites such as Feteasca Regala, Feteasca Alba, Tmaîios and Româneasca. Of the red grapes Feteasca Neagra struck me as having real potential. Hopefully we will see more of them in this country in the near future.

Frunza Pinot Noir 2014, Romania
12%
€9.99

Delicate sweet red cherry fruits with no tannins – serve lightly chilled.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6079 Umbrele Merlot 2014, Romania
12.5%
€9.99

Smooth ripe juicy dark plum fruits with a rounded finish.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6072 Paparuda Syrah 2013, Romania
13%
€11.99

Light smooth sweet cassis and dark cherry fruits with some notes of vanilla.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including Listons; Deveneys, Rathmines; Ardkeen; Egans Portlaoise; McEntee, Kells; Carry Out; Londis Malahide.

Tags: Paparuda Syrah, Pinot Noir, Romania, Umbrele Merlot

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Sherry Cocktails

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Dust off the sherry bottle – it’s trendy now
The Spanish wine is becoming a fashionable cocktail addition

First published in The Irish Times
Sat, Sep 12, 2015, 02:15

I am always reluctant to add anything to my wine. I have too much respect for both winemaker and grape. If he or she had wanted their wine to taste fizzy and have bits of fruit floating around in it, they would have added fizzy water and bits of fruit; except then it isn’t wine. Besides, good wine tastes far too nice by itself to consider meddling around with it. Even Kir, the Burgundian aperitif of Aligoté and Crème de Cassis, seems merely a way of using up a rather acidic wine.Obviously there is a point to adding things to average wine – it helps mask any deficiencies. In the cold of winter, mulled wine can be warming, and in summer, a spritzer can be refreshing. But this summer a new wine-based cocktail has become very fashionable, and it is made using a very fine wine.

I have great sympathy for the Jerezanos. They produce sherry, one of the greatest drinks known to man, one that requires lengthy ageing and expert blending. The world, sadly, ignores them much of the time. Despite sherry being hip in the wine bars of London and elsewhere, sales of the real stuff are steady rather than brilliant. However, rescue may be at hand. Sherry cocktails are taking off. You may have come across white port and tonic, muddled or garnished with fresh mint. A rebujito is the Spanish equivalent, a fino sherry with tonic and ice. Apparently they have been knocking it back for years at fiestas all around the south of Spain. It does have advantages; the lovely taste of fino sherry but less of the alcohol, so you don’t slide under the table after a few drinks. If you find fino and tonic a little too dry, you can always add lemonade instead. There are even a few pre-mixed versions available. But this is only the start of sherry and cocktails. The internet is coming down with recipes. Sherry company Lustau has its own site, with suggestions for every style of sherry. Talia Baiocchi has published a book, Sherry: A Modern Guide to the Wine World’s Best-kept Secret, with Cocktails and Recipes.

I thought this was something new, but a little research showed that sherry cocktails go back to the 19th century, which saw the creation of two classics, the Bamboo and the Adonis. And of course there is the sherry cobbler.The Bamboo, invented in the 1890s in the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, calls for equal parts of fino sherry and dry vermouth with two dashes of Angostura bitters and two of orange bitters. The Adonis, apparently named after a Broadway musical, is made up of two parts fino sherry to one part sweet vermouth with two dashes of orange bitters. The cobbler is of even earlier origin. Recipes vary greatly but all contain sherry (fino or amontillado), sugar and lots of ice. Most contain citrus, usually a slice or two of orange, as well.Moving up in strength, sherry brandy is also now back in fashion, as an ingredient in cocktails. This goes through a unique solera system, producing distinctive, sometimes exquisite brandies. I visited the Lepanto distillery in Gonzalez Byass earlier this year and tasted some amazing brandies. Sadly, they are not available in Ireland. However, if you are travelling back from Spain, look for them in travel retail shops – Lepanto is very cheap given the quality.At a more rarified level, Fernando Castilla and Bodegas Tradicion both make superb sherry brandies. They are not cheap, however. Celtic Whiskey has the Bodegas Tradicion brandy for €75.99 and the amazing Tradicion Platinum brandy for €289.99.I am glad that the sherry houses have found a new audience for their wonderful wines, and I hope it wins new converts to this unique drink. However, I cannot help shuddering slightly at the idea of adding the finest old amontillado to a cocktail.

Tio Pepe Palamino Fino
15%
€15.99

One of the best wine brands of all; delicious, light, elegant and refreshing with subtle flavours of almond and green olives.

Stockists: Very widely available including O’Briens, Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu.

DSCF6033 La Iña Fino sherry
15%
€15.99

A great name in sherry, now revived. Lovely tangy fresh dry wine with nuts, green apples and a bracing salinity.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca, Kilmacanogue; McCabes, Foxrock & Blackrock.

Lustau Solera Gran Reserva Finest Selection, Brandy de Jerez
40%
€57.95

Remarkable brandy and remarkable value too. Coffee, caramel, chocolate, burnished old mahogany furniture and nuts.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq. The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; McCabe’s;
Deveney’s, Dundrum.

Tags: Cocktails, La Ina, Lustau, Sherry, Sherry Brandy, Sherry Cocktails, Tio Pepe

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Champagne Bubble: the rise of the small producer

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Champagne bubble: the rise of the small producer
What started with a few ambitious growers is now the next big thing in wine trends

From the Irish Times, Sat, Sep 5, 2015, 05:00

Champagne remains the most glamorous drink of all. It may have been taboo to order a bottle in a restaurant during the downturn, but sales, apparently, are on the increase once again. Prosecco has its place, but so too does good Champagne. We know all of the big brands – Bollinger, Veuve Cliquot, Roederer and Moët & Chandon – as well as their luxury cuvées – Cristal, Krug and Dom Perignon. For a long time these big names had it all their own way. Many still cling to the idea that they are superior, and sometimes they are, but they don’t always make the best wines.

The big houses have a wealth of experience (and a wealth of wealth) and are experts in the process of blending. As suggested a couple of weeks back, Champagne is probably the greatest blended wine of all. A typical nonvintage Champagne will be a mix of vintages, grape varieties, subregions, and various wine-making methods. A master blender is more like a parfumier, with several hundred options open to him.

At a recent tasting, chef de cave Michel Parisot of Champagne Devaux pointed out a change of 2-3 per cent in a blend will have a dramatic effect on the outcome. With nonvintage Champagne (or multivintage, as the Champenois now prefer to call it) the idea is to offer the consumer exactly the same wine every time.

The supermarkets make a decent job of their own-label Champagnes, although I would avoid any unknown brand sold at “half-price”. The big trend in the past few years has been towards what are known as grower Champagnes. In the past, the big houses bought grapes from vignerons all over the Champagne region and made the wine themselves (or bought wine and labelled it as their own). The emphasis was on the complicated winemaking and blending process and, of course, the expensive marketing.

Then and now, if you were lucky enough to own a patch of vines in the region, or better still a vineyard with Premier Cru or Grand Cru status, you could make a lot of money simply selling on your grapes every autumn. None of that messy, time-consuming winemaking to worry about, and no expensive machinery to buy. Then a few more ambitious growers started making their own Champagne. Instead of regional blends, their wines are usually from a single commune, or even a single plot of vines.

Does that make them better? It can certainly make them more interesting, although it depends on how good the vineyard is and how good the winemaker is. Either way, these wines are now hip and in huge demand in Paris, New York and London.

As these are small producers, they tend to be of interest to independent wine merchants who can import boutique Champagnes without pressure to achieve huge sales. Terroirs in Donnybrook imports the excellent biodynamic Champagnes of Larmandier Bernier. Wines Direct has the lovely, reasonably priced Charpentier range. This year, I have also tasted the excellent and reasonably priced Bénard-Pitois (€34.95 Whelehans Wines); the gluggable fruity AR Lenoble (€45 Greenacres, Wexford) and Bérèche & Fils (restaurants only but brilliant Champagne). You will find others, but beware of large co-operatives masquerading as small producers.

We tend to drink Champagne before a meal or (disastrously) with dessert or wedding cake. Yet it is one of the most accommodating food wines, great with shellfish (especially oysters and lobster), of course, but also all sorts of fish, rich canapés, Chinese and Thai food, sushi and sashimi. My favourite food with Champagne is gougères, those delicious warm cheesy choux pastries served in Champagne and Burgundy, although I have several friends who swear by fish and chips with their Champagne! It works, so long as you don’t add vinegar into the mix.

DSCF5883 Champagne Gaston Chiquet Sélection Brut N.V.
12%
€45.95

A fine grower Champagne, with expressive ripe raspberry and redcurrant fruits and citrus with a fine dry finish.

Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street.

Vilmart Grand Cellier Brut Premier Cru N.V.
12.5%
€62

One of the finest grower Champagnes; a beautifully textured elegant Champagne with subtle brioche and rounded fruits, with a refined acidity throughout.

Stockists: Quintessential Wines, Drogheda www.quintessentialwines.ie, Hole in Wall, D7.

DSCF5658 Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Vintage Rosé 2004
12%
€80

Superb mature refined raspberry fruits, balancing the fine acidity, with a long elegant finish. From one of the large Champagne houses.

Celtic Whiskey Store, Redmond’s, O’Briens and Jus de Vine.

Tags: Champagne, Chiquet, Grower Champagne, Veuve Cliquot, Veuve Cliquot Rose, Vilmart

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LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Last of the summer wine
Before the nights close in, try some light, fresh and fruity reds
The Irish Times, Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 01:00

It is not quite yet time to stow away the garden furniture for another year, but summer is drawing inexorably to a close. Whether you are heading down to Electric Picnic (see you there at the chocolate and wine matching session in the Theatre of Food?) or (hopefully) just taking in the last few rays, this might be the final opportunity to enjoy summer wines before the dark nights close in. Or is it? If truth be told, I enjoy fresh and fruity wines the whole year round. I love red wine with tuna and salmon, and also with cold meats, charcuterie, chicken and pork. The best red wines for this kind of food are lower in alcohol and lighter in style.

Beaujolais is the first wine that comes to mind, but a glass of cool Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, chilled if the weather is really hot, is thirst-quenching and satisfying. A few months ago, a wine importer called me up in a state of excitement, boasting that he had sourced a Loire Cabernet with 14.5 per cent alcohol and really ripe fruit. I wondered why he had bothered; the whole raison d’être of these wines are those distinctive just-ripe crunchy redcurrant fruits and that tangy fresh acidity.

A decade ago, many were a little too herbaceous with stalky green flavours, and lacked any fruit on the centre-palate. But the overall quality has improved greatly, while prices have remained amazingly cheap. The very best wines can have austere drying tannins and will evolve wonderfully for a decade or more. But most are primed for drinking the summer following harvest. Fresh and fruity, they would be my ideal bistro wines, thirst-quenching and moreish. Either way, they will be naturally low in alcohol.

Cabernet Franc does not have the sweet succulence of a Pinot Noir; it is more austere and reserved, with higher acidity. Chinon is the best-known region for Cabernet Franc, but Bourgeuil, Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny, as well as the catch-all region of Touraine all produce very good versions. Saumur-Champigny tends to be the lightest and freshest, Chinon the smoothest and silkiest, while Bourgeuil tends to be earthier and more structured.

Moving across Europe, an alternative source for light red wines is Blaufrankisch. Light in alcohol and tannin, with crunchy blue fruits, they make for brilliant summery drinking. Austria is the best-known producer, but Blaufrankisch is grown all across eastern and central Europe under various names, usually with the word ‘french’ incorporated; Franconia in Italy, Frankovka in Slovakia, Modra Frankinja in Slovenia and Limberger in Germany.

One enterprising Irish couple, Sinéad and Liam Cabot play tag-team winemaking, flitting between Slovenia and Westport. Their 2013 Roka is delicious, and their Reserve (€ 20.99) even more so. I have also tasted some very good Austrian Blaufrankisch from Claus Preisinger (€ 16.50, 64wine) and J Heinrich (€ 18.99, Wines on the Green). I also tried two very good light fruity wines made from Zweigelt, a step-child of Blaurfankisch, from Waltner (€ 16, On the Grapevine) and Preisinger again.

Lidl’s annual French wine sale starts on Monday September 7th. The emphasis is on Bordeaux. My picks would include the following: the light, balanced Ch Vieux Ligat 2010 (€ 9.99), the impressive Ch Maugresin de Clotte 2010 (€ 11.99), and the delightfully spicy Ch Grand Abord 2010 (€ 12.99). Moving up in price, I enjoyed the Ch La Cardonne 2010 (€ 19.99) a classic firm Médoc, the lush spicy Fugue de Nenin 2006 (€ 30) the mature, soft leafy Ch Phélan Ségur 2007 (€ 24.99), and the sweet ripe Virginie de Valandraud 2012 (€ 30). At the top end, the delicious elegant Reserve de la Comtesse 2010 (€ 35) and the nicely mature Ch Poujeaux 2005 (€ 40) were all very tempting as was the luscious marmalade-scented Sauternes, Ch Muras at € 14.99 per bottle.

DSCF5696 Chinon Les Graviers, Domaine des Clos Godeaux 2014
13%
€16

A subtle herbiness that goes perfectly with the juicy light red cherry fruits and a tannin-free finish.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown.

DSCF5740 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 2014
12.5%
€19

From one of the best producers in Chinon, a delicious light wine with crunchy redcurrant fruits and a piquant edge.

Stockists: On the Grapevine, Dalkey (onthegrapevine.ie); Red Island Wines, Skerries; Cabot and Co, Westport (cabotandco.com); No.1 Pery Square, Limerick; McCambridges, Galway.

DSCF5790 Roka Blaufränkisch 2013, Slovenia
12.5%
€15.99

Light and fragrant with free-flowing refreshing dark cherry fruits.

Stockists: On the Grapevine, Dalkey (onthegrapevine.ie); Cabot and Co, Westport (cabotandco.com); No.1 Pery Square, Limerick; McCambridges, Galway.

Tags: Blaufrankisch, Cabernet Franc, Chinon, Summer

Posted in: Irish Times

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Take it home: a craft beer hit and a wine designed for women

Posted by admin on September 5, 2015

From the Irish Times Online Edition Friday 4th September, 2015

Brehon Brewhouse Stony Grey India Pale Ale

6% €3.50 for 500ml bottle

Those with literary pretensions will know immediately where this beer comes from. Seamus McMahon set up the Brehon Brewhouse in 2014, out the back of a working dairy farm – an opportunity for milk stout perhaps? He is in the parish of Killanny, close to Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, home of poet Patrick Kavanagh.

“We started off at the Carrickmacross Festival in June 2014 with a festival ale,” says McMahon. “We made three thousand bottles and sold out within three days. Monaghan people really took to us and our beer. We got five taps in town within a week. Now we are in fifty pubs locally, across Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Armagh. Monaghan Enterprise Board have been a great help too.” He is “absolutely loving it” but has his work cut out, looking after 120 cows at the same time. The brewer is Phil Bizzell, originally from Dublin, where he worked in L Mulligan Grocer, before joining Brehon. The core brands are their blonde and red beers, but they also now make the IPA above and a strong stout. “It is part and parcel of what we do as craft brewers,” says Bizzell. “Coming from Dublin, I have been very pleasantly surprised by the local reception. For most people it is their first time to drink craft beer. But most of the pubs who tried it out are keeping it.”

The Stony Grey has forward citrus hoppy aromas, plenty of refreshing lemon peel on the palate, balanced nicely with some malty notes, and a lightly bitter finish. Might it even bring back “the long hours of pleasure,” that Kavanagh lost in the stony grey soil of Monaghan?

Ch de Nety 2014 Beaujolais Villages

12.5% €8.99 from Aldi

Do women and men like different wines?

Beyond the clichés about Pinot Grigio, Prosecco and Girl’s Nights, do women prefer lighter, less alcoholic wines? I am generally cynical about award stickers on bottles of wine but I was intrigued by the gold medal on this one. It was given by the Concours Mondiale des Féminalise 2015. A little search on the internet revealed that the tasting panel in this competition is made up of all female wine professionals. I am not sure about the other award-winning wines, but the woman in my house certainly enjoyed this. Then again so did I. Do I have girly tastes? Looking at the website it does say that a medal “guarantees you a wine appreciated by women,” but then also adds “it is a wine that has all the requirements that appeal to men.” Phew!

Ch de Nety is very light, low in alcohol with delicate cherry fruits. It is refreshing; the French would call it gouleyant or lively. They would probably also call it a vin de soif or thirst-quenching wine. In other words, a pleasant wine to be enjoyed without too much fuss or any great palaver. Maybe that is what women like. It is also very cheap, so we can all enjoy it without damaging the credit card.

Posted in: Beer, Irish Times

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