Carewswood Hampers. The Gift of Comfort & Luxury this Christmas.

press release

 Give the Gift of Comfort & Luxury

this Christmas with Carewswood Hampers

Festive

Everyone agrees that it is going to be a Christmas like no other.  It is a year that gifting is going to be even more important, where we are more thoughtful and put more meaning into the gifts we give, as we won’t have the opportunity to celebrate with friends, family and colleagues like in other years.   

Inspired by the natural surrounds of their walled gardens, dating back over 200 years, Carewswood Garden Centre and Cafe have created a beautiful range of luxury Christmas Hampers which are  packed full of the finest seasonal treats from boutique brands and Irish artisan producers. The perfect thoughtful gifts, for a Christmas that will be like no other.

For example their “Carewswood Christmas Comforts Hamper” is presented in a vintage wooden crate and offers everything the lucky recipient will need for a cozy Christmas - award winning wine; a hand poured, beautifully scented candle and lots of artisan treats to indulge with on a cosy night in. The perfect way to say thank you to a friend, colleague or client and comes inclusive of VAT at €90.

Christmas Comforts

Another hamper which is proving very popular with the corporate market and with people who won’t be able to visit close loved ones over Christmas is “The Carewswood Festive Hamper”.  This premium wicker and leather hamper is packed full of exquisite wines and artisan treats both savoury and sweet to suit all tastes. Everything needed this Christmas to enjoy the finest of fare, delivered right to the recipient’s door in time for Christmas. Including VAT, this hamper costs €165.

Carewswood Gardens are steeped in rich history with links to the gardens in the White House, Washington. Daniel and Juulika Leahy have been the proud owners of the Carewswood Garden Centre and Cafe for the past seven years. They are both deeply passionate about horticulture as well as organic, local and artisan produce, which has led to the success of Carewswood.

Speaking about the success of their business during these unprecedented times which led to the introduction of their new Christmas Hampers, Juulika Leahy said “We were blown away by the success of our online business during this pandemic. Thankfully we were able to pivot the business quickly and successfully. Our customers escaped the constant headlines and got back to nature; everyone had more spare time at home and gardens and homes were transformed. We were delighted to be able to help with our range of plants and trees delivered to our customers' homes nationwide. Our gift range, which we also moved online, was extremely popular and because of this we decided to work with our producers to create a range of very special artisan Christmas Hampers.”

Carewswood knows that gifts should be that bit more special this year, hence their range of unique gifts. The “Gardener Hamper”, “Family Trees” and “Children’s Hampers” are prime examples of these which will be introduced in time for Christmas gifting.  The “Family Trees” gift, a self-pollinating apple tree which produces five different types of apples. This could be a perfect activity for families this Christmas, giving them the opportunity to plant together and watch their “family tree” flourish in the Spring, Summer and Autumn. The “Children’s Hamper”  is a lovely gift that will encourage children to get creative this Christmas, connect with nature and develop their green fingers.

Carewswood Hampers offers a national and international delivery service, and is now taking orders for Christmas.  For more information email info@carewswood.ie, call  (021) 466 7760, or visit  https://www.carewswood.ie.

Ummera Organic Salmon Reels in a Golden Fork

 P R E S S  R E L E A S E

Organic salmon makes a splash at Great Taste, reeling in a Golden Fork for the smokehouse

 

Golden Fork from Ireland announced

 

Great Taste, the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, has reached its grand finale for 2020, with the Great Taste Golden Fork from Ireland presented to Ummera Smoked Products from Inchy Bridge, Co. Cork for its Smoked Irish Organic Salmon. 

 

Smoking salmon in Co. Cork for nearly half a century, making the transition from wild Atlantic salmon to organically grown Atlantic salmon 14 years ago, Ummera Smoked Products impressed the Great Taste panel with its organic salmon’s “lovely texture”, “great mouthfeel” and “a level of smoke that is measured to perfection.” As the praise rolled in for this product, one judge said, “this is as good a piece of smoked salmon as I've had in years.” 

 

Having impressed at every stage of the blind-tasted judging process, as a record-breaking 12,777 entries were assessed over 14 weeks of remote judging and socially distanced judging sessions, the Smoked Irish Organic Salmon, grown in the pristine waters off the west coast of Ireland, was celebrated as the best tasting product in Ireland during the virtual Great Taste Golden Fork award ceremony on Thursday 22 October.  

 

Taking place across the Guild of Fine Food’s social media channels and website, the online event brought together food lovers, producers, retailers, buyers and chefs to discover this year’s stars of food and drink, providing a vital boost for the industry as the nation moves towards the most important Christmas period in a generation. Held later in the year than usual, after the lockdown interrupted judging just one week into the schedule, the Golden Fork trophy announcements are the final instalment in a Great Taste calendar that has been reinvented at every stage, in order to stimulate much-needed consumer support for independent retail and hospitality over the challenging months ahead.  

 

This year’s panel of judges included; cook, writer and champion of sustainable food, Melissa Hemsley, cook, writer, stylist and voice of modern vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones, celebrated Spanish chef, José Pizarro, Kavi Thakrar from Dishoom, food writer and cook, Xanthe Clay, and baker and author, Martha Collison, as well as food buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose. These esteemed palates tasted and re-judged the 3-star winners to finally agree on the Golden Fork trophy winners and the Great Taste 2020 Supreme Champion.   

 

The Golden Fork from Ireland was sponsored by Bord Bia and also nominated this year were the Great Taste 3-star winners; Gooseberry Spread from Crossogue Preserves in Thurles, Co. Tipperary and Heritage Cure Ham from James Whelan Butchers in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 

 

Cheers #25: Rascals Brewing. Wines of the World Burgundy Focus. Virtual Tour of Chateau Feeley. O'Briens Spanish Sale. Blacks Distillery. Wines Direct.

Cheers #25: Rascals Brewing.Wines of the World Burgundy Focus. Virtual Tour of Chateau Feeley. O'Briens Spanish Sale.  Blacks Distillery. Wines Direct. 

The Candyman Makes The World Taste Good

Rascals Brewing: "The Candyman is on sale now. Grab yourself a case of 24 or go for the mixed case with one of our core beers. This is our new chocolate salted caramel stout. Golden Promise forms the base malt, while Cara malt and Crystal malt are used generously for rich caramel flavours. We add chocolate wheat for a smooth mouthfeel, a deep brown colour and hints of black coffee and bittersweet chocolate. There's even a smidgen of salt in the boil. It’s a humdinger, if we may say so ourselves."  Details here

Rock On. Stay Safe. Message from Wines Direct!

https://winesdirect.ie/wine-offers-ireland 

Inside Track on O'Briens Current Spanish Wine Sale

with Lynne Coyle MW

"As our Spanish Wine Sale launches, we are reflecting on that fact that, in wine terms Spain really does have it all. From crisp refreshing whites, through sumptuous red berried full flavoured reds and silky Rioja with a peppering of sparkling and solera aged wines, there truly is something for everyone and a fun journey of exploration to be had."

From Cava to Sherry, from Albarino to Godello, there is something for all palates. More info here.

Burgundy Bargains from Wines of the World

Sale Price:€224.00 Original Price:322.00

This is a case of Burgundian wines all with the Pinot Noir grape. Domaine Faiveley is a wine producer in Burgundy, France situated in Nuits-Saint-Georges and established in 1825. Faiveley owns 120 hectares of vineyards in Burgundy, which makes them one of Burgundy's largest vineyard owners, also one of the top producers! Details here

Chateau Feeney. Vineyard Tour?

The vineyard is looking beautiful decked out in Autumn colours. For the latest photos follow us on instagram https://www.instagram.com/chateaufeely/ or on facebook www.facebook.com/chateaufeely and Caro at www.instagram.com/carofeely for our latest photos. 

A Gift From The Spirit of Kinsale

Blacks doesn`t believe in ghosts to much but we are big believers in a well matured spirit. We also love a good celebration, the opportunity to combine the two means we are in the mood for a Halloween giveaway. Starting today new or existing members who invest in a new cask (any type) will receive a free community share (worth €500) in the Halloween community cask. Only 15 shares are available and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. This offer closes on the 31st October, HALLOWEEN. Info here

Taste of the Week. Nash 19 Seasonal Soup

Taste of the Week

Nash 19 Seasonal Soup

Just because you can't get to a favourite restaurant doesn't mean you have go without. Quite often, Neighbourfood provides a bridge and that's what happened with this current Taste of the Week, a delicious seasonal soup from Nash 19. Ingredients in this warm and warming beauty are pumpkin, root vegetable and coconut, and it was made with their own veg stock.

Be sure and check out Neighbourfood, or if you in town pop in and check out this and other good things from Nash 19 in Princes Street, Cork

Four Fine Saisons For You in A Quart of Ale± #17

 Four Fine Saisons For You in A Quart of Ale± #17

Moving on over to craft.

Saison.

Glazen Toren “D’erpe-Mere” 6.5%, 33cl bottle Bradley’s of Cork

Jef Van Den Steen, a former professor of mathematics, is a master of saison at De Glazen Toren Brewery. Saison originated in Wallonia, in the French speaking part of Belgium, and that’s where Jef found it and fell in love with it.

Why? “Because of its drinkability - it is never sweet, always dry, refreshing and very drinkable,… a very old style, more than 200 years old.” You can find Jef talking about saison on a 2016 You Tube short.

It is a farmer’s ale, also known as a table beer, brewed in one season (winter) for drinking in another (summer) by the farm labourers. While most saisons now are mid to high abv, the beer then (in the 19th century and in the first decades of the 20th) was much lower so the workers weren’t falling about in the fields all day. 

Because it had to kept fresh for six months or so, extra hops were added to enhance shelf life. “Hops protect beer from ageing and I very much like bitterness. I don’t like sweet. Sweet is good for horses and elephants, not for humans.”

The De Glazen Toren brewery in Erpe-Mere, Belgium, was founded in 2004. Within ten years the initiative of the brew masters Jef Van den Steen and Dirk De Pauw, along with a third partner, Mark De Neef, has grown from a brewing hobby into a successful, professional company.

Colour of this one is a hazy pale gold - no shortage of little bubbles rising - with a big white head. Taste that head - stick your finger in - and you’ll note the bitterness (you may notice it again at the finalé). Aromas yield  a more modest bitterness, hints too of citrus. No extremes on the palate where it all - the aromas and the flavours- come together in a supple harmony,  a refreshing flow. And you remember that refreshment was the aim with Saison. You didn’t want your workers dozing off after lunch. If I were the farmer handing this one out, I think I’d keep it for the weekend!

As ever, the Belgians come up with food pairings:

Smoked trout fillet, salad of beetroot and Jona Gold (apples) with horseradish cream;

Sepia (cuttlefish) with green peas;

Cheese fondue;

Pasta with leek sauce, blue cheese.

They say:  Barley and wheat malts have been used to produce this beer. Liquid sugar too! The beer is brewed according to the old Saison tradition of Hainaut. The beer is not filtered and is pure natural. 

Dupont “Saison Dupont” 6.5%, 33cl bottle Bradley’s of Cork

A former drinking partner used to describe the head on a local stout as “ice cream”. I’m reminded of that remark when I pour, perhaps too quickly, my bottle of Saison Dupont. The head shrinks but slowly enough.

Beer has been brewed here in Belgium’s Hainaut for centuries though it is only in the last 20 years or so that the Dupont Brewery has become a global reference for saison. 

Farm beers of this type – light, rather dry but fruity – were traditionally brewed during the winter, ready to quench the thirst of the seasonal field workers (saisoniers) during the summer to follow.

It is a cloudy mid-amber, fountains of micro-bubbles. Aromas of citrus. Light and fruity, zesty and refreshing, yet no shortage of hearty flavour. Reckon any labourer, even a keyboard one, would be happy with this impeccable beer. Superb finish also with the bitterness now to the forefront. Nothing quirky, nothing extreme other than extremely good. As Michael Creedon of Bradley’s told me “if you don’t like this, you don’t like saison”.

They say: Saison Dupont was first brewed in 1844. This copper-blond beer yields amazingly delicate aromas paired with a pronounced hop-bitterness. The house yeast and the local hard water, drawn from a well, play an important role in the creation of this beer. An in-bottle refermentation makes a major contribution to the development of this complex and highly aromatic beer.

Third Circle “Unsocial Creatures”  Dry Hopped Saison 4.4%, 33cl can Bradley’s of Cork

Pours a golden colour washing up the curve of the glass, fluffy white head not built to last. Hops, with some sweetness, in the aromas. I like to think this is the real thing. It tastes so good. Absolutely drinkable, the hops in every drop making every drop one of hit-the-spot drinking pleasure, jackpot every time. Crisp and fruity and moreish.

They say: We took our old house saison recipe and brought it up a notch. Hopped with Topaz and Cashmere. Expect a crisp, highly quaffable, summertime slammer with notes of white grape and melon.

Third Circle beers are made in Dublin, Ireland. “In collaboration with our friends at Stone Barrel Brewing we have founded Third Barrel Brewery which is located on Bluebell Avenue in Dublin 12, where Third Circle beers are produced. We use a pre-loved 1,100 litre brewery system which, in a previous lifetime, spent many years decocting fine Pilsners in the Czech hills.”

Heaney “Way Over Yonder” 5.7%, 440ml can Bradley’s of Cork

This hazy beer from the County Derry farmhouse brewery pours a gold colour, with a fluffy head that hangs around for a bit. Fruity and slightly spicy in the aromas. Fruity too on the palate, apricots are suggested. “A funky yeast” adds to the complexity of this fruited farmhouse ale.

The label say its a rustic ale but I find it rather elegant and smooth, though I’d better add that I’ve known some rustics who are also quite sophisticated. In any event, it is well made and balanced and an excellent beer. One for the grafters, they say. But, if they were my grafters I don’t think I’d be handing it out at lunch-time with its 5.7 abv. Perhaps keep it for the end of the day.

By the way, I had a few dried apricots (unsulphured) in the house and the pairing with this saison was perfect.

Malts: Pale Ale Malt, Crystal Malt, Wheat Malt, Chocolate Malt

Hops: Galena, Nugget, East Kent Goldings

ABV: 4.2% IBUs: 33 

They say:  We make this beer for “the grafters” and Mrs Heaney is lauded as the original grafter. “For generations our family farm has been a place of harvest and inspiration; in step with the past and striking a new future.” 

Locally Sourced Dinner At Home. No Fuss!

 Locally Sourced Dinner At Home 

Don't think I'd have been much of a hunter-gatherer! Not after last weekend's performance when I failed to order in good time from one of several "At Home" or "Click & Collect Offers" in the Cork area. Reached the end of the line when I found out that the well-flagged Dim Sum at O'Mahony's Watergrasshill had been sold out.

But not to worry. The official Blog Chef had her ducks all in a row. She had earlier collected a box full from Davidson's, our local craft butchers, and had no problem in producing a starter and mains. Dessert was also in the fridge, this a terrific treat from Yum Gelato that was part of an earlier purchase from Bradley's in North Main Street.

So no big deal, no fuss. And we had a lovely dinner with the satisfaction of supporting local thrown in.

Delicious Duck Spring Rolls (Davidsons)

Always enjoy these spring rolls. About as good as I've tasted since I haunted a Vietnamese food stall

while holidaying for a few weeks in Chinon on the banks of the Vienne in the Loire Valley in 2013.

Chicken Italiano (Davidsons)

Juicy boneless chicken breasts filled with cheddar cheese, smothered in tomato & herb sauce and topped with grated mozzarella and a drizzle of fresh basil pesto Cover in foil and roast in the oven for 40 mins @ 180°C. They’re saucy, they’re cheesy, they’re delicious. Just one of many specials available in Montenotte.

Belgian Double Chocolate Chip (Yum Gelato via Bradley's)

As good as it gets. Just one of the many delicious flavours available from Yum Gelato. Find them at various Neighfood collections, at Farmers Markets and in quite a few stores such as Menloe and Bradley's.

Davidson's Craft Butchers

Yum Gelato

Check out this distinctive Basque wine. And a Bordeaux gem!

Check out this distinctive Basque wine.

And a Bordeaux gem!

Getaria memorial to Elcano

Ameztoi Getaria Txakoli (DO) 2018, 10.5%

€18.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

Very little colour in this Highly Recommended Basque wine. And nothing too bold in the nose either, though the subtle salinity and modest fruit provide a hint of things to come. Nothing backward about the lively minerally palate, its tart green apple fruit, that trademark petillance and that unmistakable vivid acidity, though the acidity in this one is markedly less severe than you’ll find in other examples. 

A tumbler of freshly poured
Txakoli in Hendaye

The bubbles, by the way, don’t hang around too long but you can get more of them if you pour it the Basque way, that is from over shoulder height and into a sturdy tumbler held or stood at waist height - you’ll also see them pouring cider in this way. If you try pouring into a normal wine glass from that height, you’re looking for an accident!

Located near the Basque Country fishing village of Getaria between San Sebastian and Bilbao, Ignacio Ameztoi’s vineyards are cut into incredibly steep terraced slopes overlooking the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic.

Balenciaga house in Getaria

Here the native grapes Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza are trained in high trellises; they are not weeded and no chemical sprays are used. Hondarribia is the first Spanish town you meet after leaving Hendaye (the last town in the south west of France) and crossing the Bidasoa River. Zuri means white and Beltza means red.

Getaria vineyard

Txakoli is regarded as the perfect companion to salted anchovies or tuna in oil. By the way, Ameztoi blend the red and the white to produce what I’ve read is a very interesting rosé. The USA is the leading market for the company.

Juan Sebastián Elcano, featured on the label, was from Getaria and is famous for completing the round the world voyage that Magellan began. There is a sturdy memorial to him in the middle of the village. This picturesque, and busy, place is also the birthplace of fashion designer Balenciaga and there is a museum here in his honour.

Chateau Tire Pé Bordeaux (AC) 2018, 13%,

 €16.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny

This organic 100% Merlot pours a dark ruby.  Ripe black and red berried fruit in the fairly intense aromas. And the same fruit features strongly on the palate, some spice too and an excellent acidity. The wine is a lovely harmonious Bordeaux, easy and fruity, easy to drink, easy to enjoy. 

Not so harmonious on the hill of Tire Pé back in the day when the horse was the main “engine” of the farm. Apparently, the working horses would pass wind under the effort of climbing the hill, on their way back to the farm. A different kind of aromatics!

Hélène and David Barrault purchased Tire Pé in 1997 and have been farming organically since 2008 (certified since 2014).They have created a little garden of Eden, where wild grass, insects, birds and small wild animals live among the vines. They regard this Merlot as an everyday wine, “to drink in its youth”. No wood used here, ageing is 8 to 12 months in concrete.

Very Highly Recommended. This one will be going straight on to my Good Value Wine List  which is steadily growing! 

Weekend Walkies in Moanbaun Forest

Weekend Walkies in Moanbaun Forest

Moanbaun sits on a high exposed plateau, off the Watergrasshill-Leamlara Road, giving great views of the surrounding countryside. More details from Coillte here