Another super Azul y Garanza Suelovivo, a Tinto from the "living soil"

Another super Azul y Garanza Suelovivo, a Tinto from the "living soil"

Azul y Garanza Suelovivo Tinto Wine of Spain 2022, 13% ABV

(Like its white "cousin", this Suelovivo is also available at Sonas of Newcastlewest)

Another wine, this time a red one (Tinto), from the living soil (suelo vivo) cared for by Azul y Garanza. The vineyards are located in the Bardenas Reales Natural Park in Navarra. A huge commitment to biodiversity leads to wines of pronounced purity and this blend, of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Garnacha Blanca, is another excellent example.

The colour is a light ruby, of the Gamay kind. Aromas are fresh and inviting, think strawberry and floral. The palate is full of uncomplicated fruit, light and lively, and very natural. If the weather is warm, you may even chill it (a little). Certified organic and easy to drink, it is well worth a try. Pairings recommended include tapas, casseroles, grilled meat and grilled veg. But first for me would be as an aperitif and then try one of the others, if you have any Suelovivo left!

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Check my growing list of top wines for 2023

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Check out my Good Value Wine List here

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Another Highly Recommended gem from Azul v Garanza. Importer Mary Pawle knows this winery well and visited there this month. The harvest was in full swing still and there's quite a gathering for that.

 The winery, in Carcastillo, had been built in the 1940s but was closed down in the eighties. Azul y Garanza (Maria, Dani, and Fernando, a dynamic trio) bought it in 1999 and slowly converted the abandoned cooperative building into a fully operational winery.

“It has long, narrow cement tanks with small dimensions, ideal for gentle and delicate fermentations, like infusions, which translate into friendlier and more elegant wines. And having a great many small tanks instead of a few large ones allowed them to separate the grapes by variety and origin in that way preserves the highest quality must.”

That cricket on the label? In the vineyard, you can’t see the cricket, but you hear it.

You can’t see the soul of a living soil (Suelo Vivo), but you can feel it.

We enjoyed the white version a few weeks back. To save you clicking around, I've copied it below:

original post 09.10.2023

Beautiful organic wine from the living soil of the Azul y Garanza vineyards.

Colourful cricket!

Azul y Garanza Suelo Vivo blanco (Wine of Spain) 2022, 13% ABV.

RRP: c. €20.00. Stockists: Sonas Newcastlewest; Mary Pawle Wines

In the vineyard, you can’t see the cricket, but you hear it.

You can’t see the soul of a living soil (Suelo Vivo), but you can feel it.

That’s the line on the label of this delicious organic wine from Azul y Garanza. Colour is a light straw, quite hazy in the bottle and glass. Aromas are delicate, of the citrus kind, with hints of fennel in the background. Quite a complex palate, with peach, apricot, yellow plum and citrus in the mix, a very refreshing melange indeed.

Highly Recommended

A new wine, certified organic, but already getting praise: “fun summertime wine”, “perfect everyday wine”, “the fruit shines”, “a refreshing beast”, “soft yet generous”, and the beer accolade of “crushable”. You can't see the soul but you sure can taste the body!

It is a blend with 90% Garancha Blanca and 10% Moscatel. The vast majority of Garnacha Blanca (or Grenache Blanc) is grown in Spain (Herencia Altes a top choice) and France (look for Ferraton and Chapoutier). It can produce full-bodied wines that go well with bigger fish such as tuna.

The Azul y Garanza vineyards are located in the Bardenas Reales Natural Park in Navarra. A huge commitment to biodiversity in the vineyards leads to wines of pronounced purity. This particular example is a pure wine from a living soil (Suelo Vivo) that is in harmony with nature.

WINE EVENING AT FORBES STREET BY GARETH MULLINS AT ANANTARA THE MARKER DUBLIN HOTEL

 

FAMOUS WINE FAMILIES

WINE EVENING AT FORBES STREET BY GARETH MULLINS

AT ANANTARA THE MARKER DUBLIN HOTEL

Anantara The Marker Dublin Hotel has announced the details of its next wine dinner, which will take place at its destination restaurant, Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins, on Thursday 2nd of November. The latest wine dinner theme is ‘Famous Wine Families’, which will feature dinner and wine pairings with some of the most well-known wine families from around the world including Champagne Bollinger, Hugel, Familia Torres, MASI and Grahams.

The evening will commence on the famous rooftop terrace at 6.30pm with canapés accompanied by a Champagne Bollinger aperitif, followed by a 5-course tasting menu in Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins.

Executive Head Chef Gareth Mullins has hand-selected an elite group of food producers to supply his kitchen with premium ingredients to offer diners an extraordinary culinary experience. The restaurant features an open kitchen where diners can experience all of the theatre and atmosphere of the kitchen while the intimate booths, low-level lighting and extensive wine cave all add to the dining experience.

This special 5-course wine dinner is priced at €100pp.To book call +353 (0) 1 687 5104. For enquiries and bookings please contact bookyourtable.themarker@anantara-hotels.com

press release

Food and drink links at the Cork Public Museum and a snack at the Natural Foods Bakery Café, all under the one roof.

Food and drink at Cork Public Museum and a snack at the Natural Foods Bakery Café, all under one roof.

Fr Matthew's 19th-century teapot in the public museum. My cuppa at the café
came in a cardboard cup (21st-century).

A few years back, I watched as renowned baker Declan Ryan (Arbutus) produced an Iron Age Bread, all part of the 2016 Cork Heritage Day. 

The venue was the Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald's Park. I have been there in the meantime but last week's trip had a specific aim in mind and that was to check on what Cork people were eating and drinking over the previous century and more.

'Republican Silver' Rose Bowl made by W. Egan and Sons in 1922

Not in any great detail, mind you. There is no specific display on this theme but there is quite a lot of info scattered around the rooms of the museum where industrial innovators (Johnson & Perrot and Morrough Mills)  and sporting heroes (Sonia and Roy and Christy) are also remembered, among many others.

Like everything else, food and drink had good times and bad, sometimes simultaneously. There is an admission ticket for the Lee Regatta in August 1846, right in the middle of the Great Famine. Move up a hundred years or more and see a couple of ration books from 1944 (during WW2) and 1948 (3 years afterwards).

But no danger of rations for some at the International Exhibitions held on this very site in the early years of the 20th century. Their Majesties were treated to a luncheon in 1903.  The really posh venue of that year's exhibition was the Western Pavilion, which housed the Canadian exhibition in 1902. It was promoted the following year and was used for "Variety Entertainments of a superior and refined type", and the big invite was to the Royal Dinner. The menu was, of course, in French. 

Luncheon menu

I didn't see any wine listed for the royal feasts. Just wonder if any of the local drinks were offered. The museum has quite a few posters and outdoor signs from our brewers, distillers and merchants, such as Murphy's Stout, W Cashman and Co. (Teas, Wines, Spirits), and Cork Distillers.

Regatta went ahead during the famine.
Is is true that the English Market was also open in those years?

If you found yourself with the hoi polloi at the old Opera House, then you were in the capable hands of John Daly & Company, caterers to all the bars in the building. In 1938, they were "pushing" Tanora and Grape Fruit Crush in the margins of the programme for The Island (a play in three acts). 

Opera House 1938.  Anyone for Tanora?

While those two drinks seem innocent enough, the stronger ones had (have) a downside and Fr Matthew was on a crusade against the abuse. Just wonder if he took his sturdy teapot with him on his various trips. In any event, it survives and is on display here.

Help (bags of grain) for famine victims from Canada's New Brunswick.

If you had a drink at home, then you just had to have a proper decanter at hand and the local Cork glassmakers were well up to the task and there are some excellent ones on display here.

Cork silversmiths and goldsmiths were very strong in the 17th and 18th centuries and there is a collection here of their fine work. I put my eye on two in particular, the sugar bowl made by John Nicholson (died 1824) and his son Nicholas, both of whom worked at 70 Grand Parade, Cork and, of much more recent vintage, the 'Republican Silver' Rose Bowl made by W. Egan and Sons in 1922.

The Natural Foods Bakery where I enjoyed a snack.
It is part of the museum building but has its own exit/entrance

Must get back to the museum shortly as we barely covered half of it on the day. After all that reading on food and drink, it was time to call the Natural Foods Bakery Café in the building and here we enjoyed a cup of excellent tea and a pair of tasty pastries before heading off to catch the bus. The tea by the way was in a cardboard cup - I don't think that would go down well in the Western Pavilion in 1903!

Strong stuff!

An incredible dining occasion at Greene's inspired by modern Peruvian cuisine. Rising young chef Jonathan introduced us to his country's food.

Chef Jonathan 

Incredible dining occasion at Greene's, inspired by modern Peruvian cuisine.

Rising young chef Jonathan introduced us to his country's food.

Pisco, more like a brandy than a whiskey (because it is made from grapes), is the spirit of South America’s wine regions. We got introduced to it at last week’s amazing Peruvian Food evening in Greene’s where our chef was none other than Jonathan Ordonez, a Peruvian himself and whose restaurant in Madrid, Paschi (based on the cuisine of his country), is proving to be quite a hit for the young chef. 

At Greene’s, Jonathan was joined by their Executive Head Chef Nicolas Alegre and they crafted an incredible evening inspired by modern Peruvian cuisine.

We had our first taste of the Pisco in the welcome cocktail and the last at the end of a rather special evening with some Pisco jelly, a rather, livelier jelly than usual! In between, we had nibbles and plates of outstanding food, colourful and flavourful. And that includes even the butter that came with the bread, a delicious blend of coriander, lime, ginger and butter of course!

Chef Nicolas

Before that, we had a selection of amuse-bouches and lots of fun with the two chefs. The first one that I sampled was the Razor Clams with Leche de Tigre Chifera; we were up and running as that mouthful inspired confidence for the evening.

Perhaps the most eye-catching early snack was the Bloody Mary with Pisco Sorbet, especially as it was cooled by a spray of icy nitro not that it cooled its flavours! Other bites we enjoyed were Stirie-fry Wagyu with Potato Espuma, Amazonian Crist and Andes Mountain Range.

There was no rush here and after the opening selection,m we were guided to our tables where selecting the wines was the first bite on the agenda. Greene’s have quite a list but I made it simpler by staying in South America,m beginning with an outstanding TerraMater Sauvignon Blanc from the Maipa Valley in Chile and ending with a superb Domaine Bousquet Malbec from Argentina. Nothing Peruvian on the list!

Starters

Potato Causa (with avocado and shrimp). 
Lovely starter with delicate texture and flavour

Smoke Hot Ceviche with yellow Peruvian green rice.
I've never had sea bass that tasted as well as this gem.
No wonder the ceviche is a hit at his restaurant in Madrid.

Mains

A superb piece of cod served with Northern Peruvian Green Rice.
The rice, by the way, is not green, but the name comes
from the coriander that is blended with it.
Coriander seems to be a favourite of the chefs here
 and popped up a few times

Peruvian Lamb Huatia with vegetables. 
Think slow-cooked in a closed pot. The result is
roughly similar to beef featherblade or Irish stew.
They use the neck of lamb and its own jus.
Tender and delicious, great Malbec match.

Sweet

Chocolate and Stout (with Lucuma gel and chocolate powder)
 in a fog of cold nitro that really enhanced the dessert!
The stout, by the way, was the local favourite Beamish!

More Pisco at the end, the jelly topped by flowers.

From a favourite table!

Fungi and falling leaves signal the arrival of Autumn at Blarney Castle Gardens

 Fungi and falling leaves signal arrival of Autumn at Blarney Castle Gardens  

Pics taken 14.01.2023

A domesticated grey cat, with a long bushy tail, perhaps a Maine Coon, works its way

along the leaf-strewn floor of the Fern Tree Garden

Leaves and fungi signal the arrival of Autumn.

Come for a walk

A fine seat, one of a pair, in the Poison Garden

Water falls down to pool in Fern Tree Garden

This little resting spot was completed
by the staff this year.

Dunmore House wins the Memorable Experience award at the Georgina Campbell Awards 2023

media release 

Dunmore House wins the Memorable Experience award at 

the Georgina Campbell Awards 2023

Dunmore House has won this year's Memorable Experience award at the Georgina Campbell Awards 2023. The independent Georgina Campbell Awards, Ireland's longest-running food & hospitality awards, celebrated 25 years this year and took place on Tuesday 10th October in Dublin.

The Georgina Campbell Guide is a family-run, hospitality guide, her awards are compiled based on anonymous visits, and this year focused particularly on “genuine hospitality, consistency, innovation and good value”.

Speaking after the ceremony Peter Barrett, General Manager at Dunmore House said, "We are thrilled with this award. It's a huge honour, and testament to our team who work so hard to create memorable experiences for all of our guests, so I'm really just accepting this award on their behalf and I'm delighted to do so."

Writing about Dunmore House, Ms Campbell said "The wonderful location is the biggest USP of course, but there’s plenty else to keep you here. Everything is always immaculate yet homely and the dining experience is outstanding in a lovely low-key way. Delicious home produce, just in from the clifftop gardens (really worth visiting) is cooked with finesse but allowed to be itself – a simple pleasure on a recent visit was a gorgeous side, a bowl of boiled potatoes which, we all agreed, were ‘a treat just like sweets’. And why are potatoes like this so rare now? All round, a highlight of our year. And it’s pet friendly too."

Perfectly nestled into its picturesque setting overlooking the water, against the stunning backdrop of Clonakilty Bay, Dunmore House is the perfect place to make memorable experiences with breezy Atlantic walks, great food in the Michelin recommended Adrift restaurant, beautiful beaches and handsome gardens. For booking please call 023 883 3352. 

For more visit dunmorehousehotel.ie

This Celeste Tempranillo, from the highest vineyard in Ribera Del Duero, is that little bit closer to wine heaven

This Celeste Tempranillo, from the highest vineyard in Ribera Del Duero, is that little bit closer to vinous heaven

Pago Del Cielo Celeste Crianza Ribera Del Duero (DO) 2019, 14.5% ABV, €19.95 Bradleys.

Made with the Tinto Fino variety, Celeste has been aged in French and American oak barrels for 12 months in the winery at 895 meters of altitude.

Tinto Fino is the name by which Tempranillo is known in the Wine region of Ribera Del Duero, a region in which it gets some great results. This Celeste has the familiar yet fascinating dark cherry robe, with a lighter rim. Intense concentrated aromas are a mix of fruit (dark berries), plus a whiff of cocoa and spice. The fruit and spice you meet again in a light and velvety palate. The wine is surprisingly easy-drinking with an elegant and pleasing finish.

Very Highly Recommended.

The winery, owned by the Torres family, is well pleased: “Celeste Crianza is an opulent, fruit-filled, full-bodied wine with intense colour that possesses the freshness, passion, and intensity of a star-filled night. This wine is aged for 12 months in French and American oak barrels and 12 months in the bottle. The flagship wine from the Pago del Cielo winery is one of DO Ribera del Duero’s most internationally famous wines.”

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Check my growing list of top wines for 2023

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Check out my Good Value Wine List here

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I mentioned the altitude of the winery in the opening sentence and there’s a good reason. Torres again: “In Ribera del Duero, the winery is located in Fompedraza at 895 metres above sea level, the highest elevation in the DO. This privileged location, with its spectacular landscape, boasts the ideal climate for making intensely aromatic red wines….it is one of the highest vineyards in the northern hemisphere, a high-altitude, complex land whose harsh climate produces exceptionally high-quality grapes.”

Given its smooth, silky tannins and fruit concentration, the wine pairs beautifully with all kinds of red meat, chorizo, and aged cheeses. Serve at 14–16ºC.

Pago Del Cielo, a Torres company, is a wine project that spans two privileged Spanish wine regions steeped in tradition, committed to quality, and with a deep passion for winemaking – Ribera del Duero and Rueda. Ribera del Duero is located in the Meseta Central or central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula.

Taking the opportunity here to repeat a few lines I used when reviewing the same company’s excellent Verdejo a few weeks back.

The more we care about the earth, the better our wine. That is the Torres motto that I first heard in 2015 and it was underlined in this Verdejo. So whether it is improving sustainability (turning vine cuttings into a source of energy), using solar panels or organic viticulture or their long-time commitment to fair trade, Torres contribute wherever they are, from Chile to California to Catalonia. The earth could do with more families, more companies like this.