Vienna Woods Hotel Excel With Afternoon Tea
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| Sweet Surrounds |
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| Arrived in style! |
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| Cake as far as the eye can see |
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| Paddy knows a good thing! |
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| Bird's eye view |
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| Terrific savoury start on this plate. |
Tier Two
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| Delicious transition here from savoury to sweet. They even supply the raspberry jam for the scones! And that chocolate cake smashes it. |
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| Finalé fit for a queen. All good but that cheesecake was something else. |
Cheers on Beer, Spirits and Wine.
With Ballykilcavan, BeerCloud, BeoirFest, Irish Distillers, Wines of the World, Clonakilty Distillery, Larkin's Brewery, Bierhaus
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| This offer is strictly while stocks last and expires on March 31st, 2021 @ 11:59pm ********* |
Irish Distillers Tasting Club
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Press release
Community Spirit in Cork continues to Triumph as Local People Donate to Support Each Other
The Actimel campaign to “Give Communities Their Best Shot” has got off to a hugely successful start. With 339,080 Actimel bottles already donated to Fareshare and Foodcloud in the UK and Ireland, it’s clear that the willingness to help local people is still very much alive in lockdown 3.
Munster is smashing it as 5,540 bottles have already been donated to the Cork distribution centre. FoodCloud, who are helping to distribute the bottles into the local community throughout their network of charities, foodbanks and community groups, is calling to people to dig deep and help more, saying “there is still more that people can do!”
Speaking about the campaign, Cormac Byrne, Danone’s Head of Sales said, “We are delighted to partner with FoodCloud to donate Actimel, our mighty shots! As a BCorp, we believe we all have a role to play in supporting each other. We’ve seen inspiring examples of communities coming together over the last year, and we want to encourage this community spirit to continue. Every time you buy and scan a pack of Actimel, we will donate one to charity, simply log on to Actimel.ie.”
Small but mighty: Each shot of Actimel is packed with 10 billion L. casei cultures along with 1/3 of the recommended daily intake in vitamin D, as well as vitamin B6 which support the normal function of the immune system. Just one shot a day and you can take on whatever the day throws at you.
press release
Check out this Rhone Double!
When you enjoy a glass of CĂ´tes Du RhĂ´ne, either in a sunny back-garden or a warm sitting room, you'll hardly be thinking of a frosty night. But frost has had a major influence on the wine story in the area. In 1956, the famous Mistral Wind (still an influence here), battered the region for three weeks, reaching a velocity of over one hundred kilometres per hour and dropping to a temperature of minus 15 degrees centigrade.
The majority of the region's olive trees suffered serious frost damage but the vines resisted so well that the majority of the local farmers decided to turn over primarily to vine cultivation.
Domaine Chaume-Arnaud Vinsobres (AC) 2016, 14.5%
€24.80 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny
Dark ruby is the colour of this Vinsobres. But it is the aromas that make the first big impression. “Rich and profound” according to importers Le Caveau. Rich for sure. “Takes your breath away” is the verdict of a taster here. But nothing alien in the mix, just lots of dark fruit (plum, cherry).
And the palate is also a winner. No shortage of that fruit, hints too of liquorice plus a good wash of spice as well. Full-bodied and juicy while the finish is fresh and elegant with supple tannins. This very drinkable and vivid biodynamic wine is Very Highly Recommended.
The blend is 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Cinsault. Until 1956, olive trees outnumbered vines in the towns of Vinsobres and St Maurice, but one night in February of that year, all the olive trees perished by frost. After that, vines came to dominate and the area’s previous diversification began to wane. Chaume-Arnaud though are working their way back to the old model and so you’ll see olive trees, cereals and tomatoes keeping the vines company on the estate, run now by ValĂ©rie Chaume-Arnaud and her husband Phillipe and their son Thibault
The altitude, between 200 to 450m, and the cool wind from the nearby Alps (the Pontias) keeps the temperature lower than the neighbouring villages and contributes to the natural freshness and complexity of the wines.
Vinsobres wines owe their richness to the assembly of the qualities of richly varied, complementary terroirs. The appellation's soil here is very stony, red to brown in colour, and their warmth allows the vines to flourish early with a high concentration of grapes. Made mainly of Grenache and Syrah, they produce dark red wines with a complex, harmonious nose with spiced flavours that are suitable for ageing.
Vinsobres is one of nine cru villages in the Southern Rhone of which Chateauneuf du Pape is the most famous; others include Gigondas and Vacqueyras, Tavel (for rosé) and Beaume de Venise (for Vin Doux Naturel).
Domaine Chaume-Arnaud CĂ´tes Du RhĂ´ne (AOC) 2018, 14.5%
€19.95 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny
This CĂ´tes Du RhĂ´ne has a dark ruby colour. Aromas are rather intense, dark fruit prominent. On the palate it is fruity and juicy, excellent acidity too. A very friendly wine, one you really want to carry on with. A very good example of the AOC and Highly Recommended.
The fruit for CĂ´tes Du RhĂ´ne (CDR) comes from a much wider area, spreading over 170 communes. By contrast the CDR Villages area covers about 100 communes. The exclusive Crus, including the Vinsorbes above, number 19, Cairanne the most recent to be elevated.
The grapes for this Chaume-Arnaud are Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%), Cinsault (20%), and are harvested by hand having been grown on stony ground. Grenache offers fruitiness, warmth and body. Syrah donates a hint of spice as well as depth of colour. Cinsault brings finesse to the party and is ideal for making young fruity wines.
The family have eschewed the use of all chemical and synthetic products, respecting instead the rhythms of nature to intensify the life of the soil and maintain a harmonious equilibrium. And it shows in this very drinkable, very digestible wine.
Serving temp recommended is about 14 degrees. Try with venison and wild boar. You won’t find these everywhere but do check out Ballinwillin Farm in North Cork - they also have an online shop.
BALLYMALOE FOODS TEAMS UP WITH COQBULL RESTAURANT TO LAUNCH LIMITED-EDITION BURGER
Irish businesses join forces to celebrate the best of Irish ingredients
Ballymaloe Foods has teamed up with award-winning restaurant CoqBull to create a limited-edition burger. The burger will be available in CoqBull restaurants in Cork and Limerick.
A team of chefs at CoqBull has produced a rotisserie pulled chicken and beef burger topped with Ballymaloe Fiery Relish, Dubliner Cheddar Cheese, crispy tobacco onions, mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion.
Sarah Collins, Marketing Manager for Ballymaloe Foods: “Supporting local is key for us at Ballymaloe Foods. We take great pride in sourcing good-quality Irish ingredients and we love to see our products being used in creative ways by other local businesses. The last year has been extremely tough for the restaurant and foodservice industry, however we have seen the resilience of Irish companies and we’re looking to the future with more hope.”
Mags O’Connor from CoqBull says, “CoqBull are delighted to partner with Ballymaloe Foods and use their delicious Fiery Relish in our new ‘Ballymaloe Fiery CoqBull Burger’. We always look to source locally where possible and to support other Irish businesses. It’s very tough times with the current restrictions which is why it’s more important than ever to support local.”
The Ballymaloe Fiery CoqBull burger is now available. You can order at the door, by phone, or click and collect at www.coqbull.com
CoqBull Cork is a chicken and burger concept located at French Church Street, Cork City, Limerick City and Castletroy.
press release
As always, I'm very happy to support local!
Cork
Tel: 0899532807
