Fancy a flight? Flights. And Bites. At Old Brennan's Wine House

Fancy a flight?

Flights. And Bites. At Old Brennan's Wine House

Mead (nearest camera)

Local Delights

The list of flights at Old Brennan's Wine House mostly include wines, of course, but Frank and the team also give you the chance to try some local delights, such as the Killahora drinks from their south-facing Glounthaune orchard and the trio of Kinsale meads that I chose.

Kinsale Mead Flight

Mead is the world's oldest alcoholic drink, with honey as its main ingredient, and we are lucky to have a couple of mead masters in Kinsale. While I was sampling the Hazy Summer Mead, it was winning gold in Poland, another honour for Kate and Denis, a nice way to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary. An indication too of the quality Old Brennan's have included in their flights.

I had started with Atlantic Dry Mead, a traditional style “white” Mead, crisp with citrus honey flavour. A promise of good things to come as my next sample was that gold-winning Hazy Summer Mead, now officially the best dry mixed berry mead in Europe. The meadery describes it as  “an off-dry berry mead with generous strawberry and raspberry aromas”. It is well worth seeking out!

The finalé was their Wild Red Mead. Beautifully off-dry with those standout Wexford blackcurrants aided by dark cherry, its smoother style makes it a favourite with wine drinkers.

Killahora. Pic by Brennans

White Wine Flight

The Picpoul de Pinet from France rarely disappoints and the Trieze Vents, full of flavour and with the typical zesty freshness, certainly didn’t.

Something new appeared next, the Gasper from Slovenia, a crisp, silky, fruity blend of Chardonnay and Rebula*. Quite impressive.

Always love a good Pecorino (the cheese as well as the wine!) and the full-bodied Beri from Abruzzo, didn't let us down.

A very well chosen trio indeed.

The Pecorino grape is so called because a bunch resembles a sheep’s head (see pic on right). Another story is that the bunches are a favourite treat for the sheep. Wine-Searcher.com says: Pecorino cheese is, coincidentally, a surprisingly good food match for Pecorino wine.

Grapes

Killahora Orchards Flight 

Just a few short years ago, Killahora made their first and lasting Impression on the local drinks scene with the cheekily named Johnny Fall Down Bittersweet Cider, full bodied, complex and right up there with the best of them.

Pom O, with the juice from bittersweet apples with the finest apple brandy and aged in Irish whiskey barrels for at least a year, is a beauty, lightly chilled as an aperitif and also favourite in cocktails.

My favourite is perhaps their Rare Apple Ice Wine. Here they employ freezing temperatures to obtain a rich must, which gets slowly fermented over a year to create a luscious balanced dessert wine.

50ml servings here, 70 for the wines.

Rose

TheRosé Wine Flight includes a fresh and crisp Pinot Grigio, Bosco Brush from Italy; 

Baron de Ley’s blend of Garnacha and Cabernet, a Rosada from Rioja, a fruity and refreshing with strawberry notes, is a very interesting, not to say unexpected  choice. But that’s the idea behind Frank’s flights. 

Kennel, Côtes de Provence Rosé France, is indeed one that you’d expect - very few would leave Provence out of a selection or rosés. 

All three come in 70 ml measures.

Sparking Wine Flight

Bedin Prosecco Spumante Rosé Millesimato N.V. A subtle pale pink hue with perfumed scents of rose and eglantine.

Pares Balta, Cava Brut NV, Penedes N.V

Pure, lean and crystal clear organic Cava. The flavour is of apples, pears and a touch of white peach.

Dezzani, Moscato d'Asti

Low alcohol, slightly sparkling sweet wine with big floral notes.

All 70m

Gubbeen Chorizo Patatas Bravas. Pic by Brennans

Red Wine Flight

The three reds on offer were:

1 Bourg Laschamps Pinot Noir, Ardèche France

2 Bevi, d'Abruzzo Italy Montepulciano,

3 Saparavi Bedoba, Kakheti ,Georgia 

Mixed Wine Flight

1 Gasper, Goriska Brda, a Chardonnay/Rebula blend from Slovenia 

2 Baron de Ley, Lagrima Rosado, Rioja Spain has Garnacha and Cabernet Franc in the mix.

 3 Bevi, d'Abruzzo Italy  Montepulciano, that you also see in Red flight.

• an ancient, high-quality white grape variety 

Bites

Quite a large choice of food here these days, very tempting also. The menu is divided into Nibbles, Small Plates, cheese, charcuterie and fish Sharing Boards.You could well start with some of the Bar Bites such as Marinated Olives or Smoked Almonds. 

Crudités. Pic by Brennans

We probably spent more time checking the Small Plates than other parts of the menu with the likes of Garlic Butter Prawns on Toast, The Burrata and Beetroot, and the Hoisin Duck Carpaccio, all tempting us. 

What we did enjoy, with the flights, were the Crudités and Buttermilk Ranch (Crisp seasonal vegetables with creamy herb buttermilk ranch for dipping). I knew I was on a winner here as my love of raw vegetables goes back to when I was a kid working in nearby farms and the home garden, always had a penknife handy to clean and chop up a carrot or, if really hungry, a turnip. 

Our other dish was their equally enjoyable Wild Mushroom Pâté (whipped wild mushroom pâté, finished with a herb crème fraîche. served with toasted brioche). 

Quite a buzz here early on a Thursday evening and to add to the pleasure of the drink and the food was an excellent front of house team.