I regularly give 6-9 year old traditional Mosel Rieslings at my wine courses. Many students are confounded by its petrolly aromas, and undecided about its honeyed flavours, balanced against finely chiselled acidity. Winemason, one of the leading importers of German wines in Ireland,* invited Anne Krebiehl MW to Ireland this summer, to give a very […]
Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Tuscany
Imagine a steak without salt. Enjoyable, but missing something…. Drinking a top notch Italian wine without food falls into the same state of limbo. This was brought home to me yet again, at a Masterclass on Single Estate Extra Virgin Olive oil in Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Dundrum, presented by David Gleave, MW, of Liberty […]
Introducing Brimoncourt Champagne
A rainy and relatively quiet June afternoon coincided nicely with an invitation from Boutique Wines to the launch of Brimoncourt Champagne in Ireland. The venue was Pichet Restaurant,looking good after a revamp about a year ago. The warm welcome from Johnny and Phil from Boutique Wines, as well as Jeremy from Pichet lifted my spirits […]
Marques de Murrieta
One of my favourite Rioja producers is Marques de Murrieta, which happens to be one of the oldest and most famous estates. It can actually claim to be older than Rioja itself, as Murrieta was established in 1852, and the Denominacion d’Origen (D.O.) was created in 1925! Lucian Murrieta was of South American decent. He […]
Albariňo, anyone?
One of my favourite summer whites is Albariňo, thanks to its light body and fresh taste. Its flavours are subtle and elegant – grapefruit, pear and peach are accented by a certain saltiness, reminiscent of a whiff of seashore. It’s crisp rather than overtly acidic. Occasionally a feint spritz of carbon dioxide is left in […]
Chilled reds
I’m frequently asked about chilling red wines, particularly as people return from drinking chilled reds on holiday abroad. Very often in warmer regions, the challenge is to keep red wines from becoming too warm and soupy, so they are kept under refrigeration. A chilled red on a warm day can be refreshing, rather like iced […]
Outdoor eating & wine
WSET Diploma 2016
The 2016 WSET Diploma in Dublin is now open for enrolment and full details can be found on the WSET website. Note that WSET runs this course directly from their London office – contact Joseph Hallam ([email protected]) directly if you have any queries. – Enrolment deadline: 3rd October 2016 – Course start: 7th November 2016 – […]
Learn about wine
If you can imagine the island of Ireland covered in vineyards, this is roughly the same footprint as the world’s vineyard area. Okay, so tag on an extra County Cork for good measure and you will come close to the real figure of 7.5 million hectares of vines in the world, which bear grapes. Although […]
2016 Wine Wish List
If I were to create a wish-list of what I’d love for 2016, it would read something like this: That the proposed minimum pricing legislation is carefully thought-out before being implemented. I for one, do not want to have to pay even more for wine. I have yet to be convinced that pricing will impact […]