Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week, maybe taste of this season, this cream sherry, cask aged for 30 years, is something well  suited to go with many of the sweet things coming your way. Produced in very small quantities, Matusalem is made by the enrichment of a dry Oloroso sherry with Pedro Ximenez, followed by additional ageing in its own solera. It has a mahogony tone, is quite sweet but with a superb balance. It is elegant and intense; both nose and palate have notes of raisins, toffee, figs,spices. Christmas in a glass. Cheers.
Produced by Gonzalez Byassm it is available at Bradley's Off Licence, North Main Street. Make sure you have the correct bottle (37.5 cl) as there is a rum of the same name! 

SPANISH WINE EVENT AT BALLYMALOE

Wine event at Ballymaloe

Spanish Wine tasting with Señor Oscar Bayo Contel,

of González Byass, Spain

in association with Barry & Fitzwilliam Wine Merchants

at Ballymaloe, Friday 11th November, 7pm

  

The famous Spanish wine company, Gonzalez Byass, established in 1835 in the Jerez region, it is still a family owned business and it is now at the 5th generation. They produce wine in different regions of Spain: Rioja, Toledo, Jerez, Somontano, Penedes and Cava. Oscar Bayo Contel will present a selection of wines –Sparkling Wines, White Wines, Red Wines, from different regions of Spain, as well as a  selection of Sherry, including some very special 30year old Sherries.

Spanish Wine Producer of the Year 2010

Wine tasting at The Grain Store, Ballymaloe

Friday 11^th November, 7pm.  €10

The Grain Store, Ballymaloe, Shanagarry, Co. Cork

Tel: 021 4652531    e-mail: thegrainstore@ballymaloe.ie

SHERRY AMBASSADOR WOWS BALLYMALOE

SHERRY AMBASSADOR WOWS BALLYMALOE

César Saldaña (centre) with, l to r: Darren, Maurice (Wine Alliance), Mary and Mike (Curious Wines)

César Saldaña, Consejo Regulador, Sherry, the great ambassador for the drink, gave a smashing talk to about 100 people at last evening’s delightful tasting  in the Grain Store at Ballymaloe.

After a hearty welcome from Ballymaloe’s wine expert Colm McCann, César got down to business with a smile and a talk cum screen show on the area and how the different styles of sherry are produced.

Then he enthusiastically took us through six different tastings ranging from very dry to rather sweet, from Fino to Dulce Viejo. Even showed us how to read the label. Take Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla for instance. Lustau is the house, Papirusa the brand and Manzanilla the style.

He explained the way Sherry is made, most of it via a system called “criaderas y solero”, basically stacks of casks. The  row on the floor contains the oldest wine and is called the solero, the rows above (the top one contains the youngest wine) are called criaderas. Also fascinating insights into how the temperatures within the high buildings are controlled.

And then he had a tip. When drinking sherry with your meal you should always have a glass of water at hand. When you want to “wash” down the food use the water and then take “a few drops” of the sherry as it goes a long way!

Many people are surprised that you can use sherry throughout your meal and César gave a few food matches in his talk.  My favourite from the first three was the Lustau Gran Reserva Oloroso Emparatriz (Mitchells). This has an ample palate and I was not surprised to hear him suggest Manchego cheese but was surprised when he also suggested meat (oxtail) and game dishes. So now you know!

I also enjoyed the Valdespino Amontillado Tio Diego (Classic Dinks) which again is ample on the plate with “a very clean dry finish”.  César:” ..this is a true amontillado. They drink this in Jerez. They like it there.” If it’s good enough for Jerez, then it is good enough for me.

César kept giving out great information as the tasting went on and touched on topics such as how long to keep your sherry after opening the bottle (keep Fino in fridge and use within days), the kind of wood used, the importance of the Flor, the 1^st Yeme, serving temperatures, biological and oxidative ageing and so on.

If you want to dig a little deeper into this fascinating subject then check out this site http://www.sherry.org/EN/elconsejo.cfm

as it contains a massive amount of information on the Sherry region (and why the wine is called Sherry), the diversity of sherry, its history and the Consejo Regulador itself.

 There will be another great sherry event in Ballymaloe this evening but you’ll have to hurry:

Thursday 26th May, 8.00pm – Sherry Dinner at Ballymaloe House
Sherry Dinner with César Saldaña in association with The Irish Times Readers Evening, and John Wilson, wine writer, The Irish Times, and also in association with Wines of Spain. A specially selected menu will be matched to specially selected Sherry at each course.
Please note that booking for this Sherry Dinner, on Thursday 26th May, at Ballymaloe House, will have to be made directly through The Irish Times Readers Evening office.