Showing posts with label Tipperary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tipperary. Show all posts

Friday, August 5, 2011

RED NOSE WINE


RED NOSE WINE

My call to Gary Gubbins at his Red Nose Wine premises in Clonmel last week began with a lovely cup of Pónaire coffee made not far away in Annacotty. Pónaire, by the way, is the Irish for bean and Gary also sells this prize winning coffee here but, of course, his main business is selling wines.

The company motto is: Life is much too short to drink bad wine. Gary works hard at ensuring his Tipperary customers, along with his on-line fans, get that little something extra.

It would be easy to go for their big producers and the well known brands but small producers around the world put a great deal of hard work and time into their wines and often come up with gems. Gary spends quite a deal of his time searching out these good wines for his discerning customers whose opinions are sought and respected.

I agree with Gary here. I have spent extended holidays in France over the last three summers and have seen the hard work and care that goes into producing wine on these usually small family run farms. It is good to be able support them and their counterparts in other countries. Important too, if wine is not to go the bland way of mass produced beer.

Gary’s shop customers can taste before they buy: “Tasting is a large part of our communication mechanism and we have a wine tasting area open every day in our retail wine warehouse, with between three and five wines to sample on any given day.”

Needless to say, I sampled a few and I’ll be letting you know about some of them in the near future. In the meantime, why not call to the shop or have a look at the website.

There are bargains to be had, particularly among his new Australia wines, all subject to a 20% cut for the month of August. I like the look of the Bleasedale Range from Langhorne Creek but famous wines areas such as the Barossa and McLaren Vale are also represented in Clonmel.

If you have a special occasion coming, Gary can cater for that too. He has champagne and Prosecco and don't forget the connoisseur’s corner. So why not call in to the Business Park in Clonmel and sample that coffee before or after a tasting.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

THE APPLE FARM


THE APPLE FARM


Enjoyed some exceptional plum jam at lunchtime. Spread it out on some pieces of a sliced bloomer from ABC in the English Market and..Wow!!.


Bought the jam last week from the Apple Farm in Tipperary. Just brilliant. If you can’t find it in stock in Cork, drive up to Cahir. It is only up the road. Worth it! It is very easy to get to and something to do on a bad day.


The shop is on the edge of Con Trass’ fruit farm and is a few miles outside of Cahir on the main road to Clonmel. Of course, you may also buy online.


Con makes one of my all time favourite Irish drinks: Sparkling Apple Juice. They were actually bottling some of it as I visited.


Stocked up on that (plus one of Sparkling Apple and Blackcurrant Juice)  and also loads of the well known Karmine Apple Juice. Jars and jars of jam: apple, strawberry and that fabulous plum!


The apple harvest doesn’t begin until later this month and we were between strawberry pickings and there were none ready but should be there in abundance this week. But there were lots of those plums and we got a pack or two.


Soon we were on the road with two big boxes full of fruit drinks, jam and fruit. Apples have been grown in this area for hundreds of years, and since 1968, Con Trass has been planting more orchards to increase supply. Read all about this fascinating venture here. Every county should have at least one fruit farm like this. Maybe Con might start a chain!