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Showing posts with label Wines Direct. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wines Direct. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Blacks Of Kinsale Laying Down Whiskey, and more on wine, beer and spirits in Cheers #8
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Bubble Brothers Ready To Tango, and more on wine, beer and spirits in Cheers #7
Bubble Brothers Ready To Tango
Once upon a time, we tasted some samples from Finca Agostino in Mendoza, Argentina, and knew immediately these were wines we shouldn't miss out on.
Our first consignment arrived in Cork last week, and we're excited to bring five new wines to Ireland.
Four of them are Malbecs, representing four tiers of quality and complexity. What we liked at the original tasting was that there was no suggestion of compromise with even the least expensive of the four, the Uma Malbec. More details here.
White Hag Brews Up
Hagstravaganza 2020
For one year only, we're going all cyber for our annual festival - you'll be able to order your beer in advance and join us online on the day to enjoy it!
Learn more about our plans and which guest breweries we've lined up so far by heading over to the event page here.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER ADDS A NEW ROSÉ WINE
This premium rosé – Invivo X, Sarah Jessica Parker Rosé – comes from the South of France and has been crafted in partnership with Sarah Jessica Parker, the founders of Invivo and a family winery in Provence. The new Invivo X, SJP Rosé will have a suggested retail price of €18.00. Currently available from www.WinesOfTheWorld.ie and will be available in other stores throughout summer.
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This case is full of blockbuster reds to accompany Dad-like activities such as BBQing a big dry-aged steak or dusting off his collection of vinyl. He will enjoy everything from Malbec to Bordeaux and a few new surprises that he may not yet know he likes. Check it out here
Franciacorta has seen exports grow in recent years to the point 20% is now being exported to key markets including the US and UK. As the region starts to recover from the devastating effects of Covid-19, Justin Keay talks to key players Bellavista, Ca del Bosco and Ferghettina, along with Consorzio President Silvano Brescianini about where the region goes from here...Read More
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Sangria Recipe from Kinsale Mead Company. Cheers #5
Sangria Recipe from Kinsale Mead Company. Cheers #5
A nice glass or jug of Mead Sangria is fabulous on a sunny day, barbecue optional. Recreate the full festival experience at home. Here's the foolproof Celtic Mead Sangria Recipe:
2 parts Hazy Summer Mead
1/2 part Cointreau or Triple Sec orange liqueur 1 1/2 parts cranberry juice Dash of fresh lime juice
Shake over ice with fresh lime juice and garnish with an orange slice.
For a lower alcohol version, try replacing Cointreau with orange bitters.
#drinkresponsibly |
Last week, in the first in a series of webinars, New Zealand Winegrowers asked if consumers and the trade can ‘get past the gooseberry’ to talk about Sauvignon Blanc as a wine in its own right. Jane Skilton MW joined three master sommeliers John Szabo, David Keck and Ronan Sayburn, to debate the issue in a debate that was attended by 500 participants worldwide, including Peter Ranscombe...Read More
Another Great Tuscan Vintage
The wine gods were smiling on Tuscany's dress circle again, with another great vintage rolling onto the shelves.
By Tom Hyland | Posted Monday, 01-Jun-2020
Of all the world's great red wines, almost none requires one's patience as much as Brunello di Montalcino.
I'm not necessarily talking about the wine's aging potential here, rather I'm referring to the time you have to wait before the wine is released, as it first becomes available on the market five years after the vintage. More here... via Wine-Searcher
Wine of the Week from Spanish Wine Lover
La Montesa 2017 Tinto
Palacios Remondo, Rioja
This is the first organically certified vintage for La Montesa. Grapes are sourced from the eponymous vineyard on the foothills of Monte Yerga in Rioja Oriental. It shows the positive effects of altitude to offset a hot vintage and to add some punch to Garnacha. Scented nose evoking Mediterranean scrubland. This fruit-driven, lively, delicious red is widely available. A smart buy to carry on drinking well when belts have to be tightened. More here from Spanish Wine Lover
We came across Pier Paolo Antolini on a quest for new Italian wines. We heard rave reviews about an up and coming winemaker, known by locals as Amarone Boy. After tasting his Valpolicella Ripasso, it will tell you what Amarone Boy is all about - fantastic wines that exemplify the best of Valpolicella with intense aromas and impressive smoothness. See the full line-up here
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Three Highly Recommended European Whites
Three Highly Recommended European Whites
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| Catarratto. Vintage 2019 |
Baglio Bianco Catarratto Terre Siciliane (IGP) 2018, 11%, €19.55 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny
A few days of skin maceration gives this its amber colour. Colour is not the only result from the three or four days of skin contact, as you’ll note. The nose is rich too, apple and cinnamon in the mix. The palate also is rich and textured. It’s full of flavour and a bit spicy too and it’s dry all the way to the long finish. Highly Recommended.
Bianco is certainly a bit of a misnomer here as this is most definitely an orange wine, a cloudy deep amber in colour, unfined and unfiltered. And Le Caveau say it is a “fantastic introduction” to orange, “both from a flavour and price point of view”.
Orange wines also have a higher level of tannins, more like red wines, and indeed can match foods where previously red would have been the only choice. Some orange wines can be tough going if you’re not used to them but this one is quite easy-drinking.
Pairings suggested by the importers are free range pork with apple sauce; a herby roast chicken; and cheeses such as Durrus. Catarratto, by the way, is Sicily’s, and Italy’s, most popular white wine grape. Baglio also produce a red from the Nero D’Avola grape. Their organic Rosso is fresh and fruity and also a delicious easy drinker.
Millet Sauvignon Blanc Côtes de Gascogne (IGP) 2019, 11.5%, €12.95, Wines Direct
Colour is a very pale straw. The fresh vibrancy of the aromas (floral notes, pear) make an immediate impression, a good one, and that follows through onto the lively palate where citrus fruits and an invigorating acidity go all the way through to the decent finish.
Quite a lovely wine from Armagnac country where much of the grape harvest goes to the distilleries to make the local brandy (don’t ever ever call for a Cognac around here!). Millet themselves say they are devoted to “the production of Armagnac”. A very enjoyable wine and Highly Recommended. Must try and remember this for Sauvignon Blanc Day next year.
Millet recommend serving at 9 ° C, alone as an aperitif, or with a meal. “It harmoniously accompanies starters, goat cheese, Landes asparagus, fish and shellfish.” Importers Wines Direct point in the direction of Rich Fish, Light Fish and Shellfish, Hard Cheese, Fresh Greens
Esteban Martin “Viña Canal” blanco Cariñena (DOP) 2018, 12.5%, €* Wines Direct
This blend of Chardonnay and Macabeo has a light straw colour. Pleasant, if delicate, aromas with both floral and fruity notes. Lively and fruity (tropical hints), good acidity as well and a decent finish. Excellent aperitif and should go well with fish and shellfish. Versatile and Highly Recommended.
Cariñena is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines produced in the area of the same name which is in the province of Zaragoza (Aragón, Spain). It was awarded DO status in 1932.
€* Bought in mixed case.
Cheers. Latest Episode #4 . Keeping You Up To Date With Wine, Beers, and Spirits
Cheers. Latest Edition: #4 Keeping You Up To Date With Wine, Beers, and Spirit
Kylie's Rosé Passion
To coincide with her birthday on May 28th, pop icon Kylie Minogue launches her signature French rosé in collaboration with Benchmark Drinks.
Kylie Minogue Rosé is an elegant, bespoke blend made from Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes sourced from the sun-drenched southern French Coast, a region known for its innovative viticulture. With a deliciously juicy and fresh first impression, the elegant blend features a beautifully pale pink shade with delicate, alluring aromas of fresh summer berries and white blossom, refined and refreshing on the palate with a fruity, crisp finish.
The wine is beautifully presented in a long-neck curved bottle with an engraved label featuring Kylie’s signature, finished off with a bespoke pearlescent capsule.
Kylie Minogue’s debut Rosé Vin de France will be launching in Ireland on www.WinesofTheWorld.ie and Carry Out Off Licences at an RRP of €12.99.
Bangin' Biodynamics - Mixed Case From Wines Direct
It is no secret we are unabashedly boastful about Biodynamic wine and their brilliant winemakers. You can always pick out the Biodynamic vineyard over their neighbours. The Biodynamic vineyard is alive with bees and wildflowers. As you walk the rows, one experiences a real joy of the senses visually and aromatically. Details on case here.
Bank Holiday Sunshine From Red Nose Wine
What a week. The sunshine is definitely helping. And it’s a Bank Holiday even if there is nowhere to go. With that in mind, why not treat yourself this weekend. More and more local businesses are doing takeaway so support one of them, give yourself a break and treat yourself to some sun worshipping wines on this strangest of June Bank Holiday weekends.
We have a big delivery due in for the weekend and some of the highlights include. There are loads of Red coming too, but it is too hot to think about them as I type. More here.
We have a big delivery due in for the weekend and some of the highlights include. There are loads of Red coming too, but it is too hot to think about them as I type. More here.
Chateau Feely's Aroma Brain Tasting Experience 12 June
Join us live for a one hour tasting experience- introduction to wine tasting and developing your ‘Aroma Brain’. A journey into wine tasting with a side of aromatherapy. This is complementary to the 2nd event but can be taken separately. More info here.
Craft beer drinkers have had it their own way for too long. That’s the view of drinks industry veteran Karen Hardwick who believes that the moment in time for quality wine in a can has finally arrived. Zeitgeist Ãœnion – or ZÃœ for short – is her company and its debut wine is Grüner Veltliner, a wine that is loved by Anne Krebiehl MW, who caught up with Hardwick to find out more about ZÃœ and how the project came about and why we will all be drinking wine from a can in the not too distant future. Read more. Via The Buyer
Time for US Wine to Follow the EU
The one grocery store item that gets away with revealing nothing about its contents is wine. Food products are required by law in most countries to reveal everything in them. But wine has always gotten a pass.
The EU is moving to change that. Read more here via Wine-Searcher
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Friday evening at Greene's. Almost like old times. Almost!
Friday evening at Greene's.
Almost like old times. Almost!
In the car of a Friday evening and heading downtown. Park up and walking over to Greene’s Restaurant in MacCurtain Street. It’s almost like old times.
Almost. We have clicked and are on the way to collect, all comfortably within the 5km limit. It is our first venture into the city since the lockdown began and, as it turned out, quite a worthwhile one.
Almost. We have clicked and are on the way to collect, all comfortably within the 5km limit. It is our first venture into the city since the lockdown began and, as it turned out, quite a worthwhile one.
You know there’s been some dispute among the restaurant fraternity about the value of click and collect or simply takeaway. But it keeps open the links with both suppliers and customers and also keeps some staff involved. And it also makes the possibility of slippage to processed food a little more remote, the processed food that ace American chef Dan Barber called “the lowest bar”, “It’s an insult.” (New Yorker May 24th, 2020)
Greene’s is one of the restaurants nearest to us and you just knew, takeout or not, there’d be no slippage in standards - just because there is a crisis doesn't mean you can't cook creatively - and so it proved as the quality of food they provided was so much better than regular takeaway.
We stepped under the arch and entered to a big smiling welcome and were presented with our dinner in a long sleek box, packed full of good things to eat, each section neatly stored separately within.
We stepped under the arch and entered to a big smiling welcome and were presented with our dinner in a long sleek box, packed full of good things to eat, each section neatly stored separately within.
And inside also was one other very important item: a typed sheet with details of each element along with detailed instructions on how to finish the cooking! And, if you needed more help, you could look up Chef Bryan McCarthy’s video instructions available on both their Instagram and Facebook.
Would you like a wine to go with that? No bother. Have a look at somm Frank’s suggestions videos on Facebook and make your choice. And of course the crew in Cask will sort out a cocktail for you.
At present, they are doing "Greene’s and Cask @ Home" three days a week: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The menu has variations each day and vegetarians are also catered for.
Black Pudding and Pork Belly Beignets was our chosen starter and that came with an apple and celeriac salad with a superb dressing. Eight minutes later (that’s how long it took to heat up the beignets) we were tucking into it. No bother admitting this was different class, even the salad came totally alive with that dressing and the beignets, with an aioli mayo, were also superb. A very satisfactory beginning indeed!
The other starter available was a Ballyhoura Mountain Mushroom Risotto (with pickled mushroom, Cep powder, and Coolea Cheese). Next time!
A break of ten minutes or so then as we “worked” on the main course: the Venison Pie. Would probably have been a few minutes less had we chosen the Pan Seared Hake (with Dashi cream and pea risotto). The third choice was the Vegetarian Jackfruit and Chickpea Stew (also about 10 minutes).
Anyhow, back to the very satisfying pie! Terrific chunks of meat with jus, big cubes of root vegetables and broccoli, not forgetting the spuds and extra mash. Superb. And a nicely judged quantity also.
The offer is two courses for two people for forty euro. You may also add sides or extras, maybe a meal for a 3rd person. Friday’s dessert offers were a Summer Berry Cheesecake, Sweet Woodruff Panna Cotta and Chocolate Brownie.
Didn’t get to study the wine list but one that I can recommend is the unoaked Flor de Crasto, a young, fruit driven easy-drinking Portuguese red wine produced from local grapes (Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Vinhas Velhas).
Our first experience of Click & Collect turned out to be a winner. We’ll be back to MacCurtain Street!
* Click and Collect at Greene’s and quite a few other restaurants use software provided by TablePath. I had some info up on that recently and you may check it out here.
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