The housewarming in September of the first floor of our warehouse got a seasonal top-up on Saturday, when a festive crowd climbed the fairy-light-lit stairs to our Christmas wine fair.

Over a hundred bottles from stock were open to taste, and an elite squad of Santa’s elves, namely Lesley Atkins from Boutinot, Joyce Austin of New Zealand Boutique Wines (who will be hosting a tasting of NZ wines here on the 2nd December) and Charles Robb of R&R Wines helped the home team to pour out samples, talk about the wines and provide a friendly welcome to the tasters.

Anthony Cresswell of Ummera (www.ummera.com) and Olive Hallahan of Castlemary Farm (021 465 2832) purveyed their delicious smoked goods and goat cheese respectively.  Don’t hesitate to get in touch with them if you’d like some of their fine foods on your table this year.

Thank you to all who attended for contributing to another relaxed, cheerful, busy event at Curious Wines and for helping to get the Christmas ball rolling.  We knew you’d like some photos – and shutter virtuoso Ger McCarthy obliged in style, as you’ll see below!

Photos courtesy of Gerard McCarthy Photography, germac.ie

It was the night we’d all been waiting for. A superb Champagne masterclass from Malcolm Davis of Duval Leroy was followed by 150 curious folk crowding into Curious Wines for the official opening of Cork’s biggest wine store. We were delighted that everyone agreed our 2,500 square foot continental-style wine shop is a great addition to the city’s cosmopolitan food and drink culture.

With 100 bottles opened, the wine was flowing from start to finish. Everyone was well fed thanks to Margaret Smith of Umnumnum and Anthony Creswell of Ummera Smoked Products, and Colin McLean & Co. kept the feet tapping all night long. Your efforts are much appreciated, guys, thank you. And a big thanks also to all of our guests on the night. It wouldn’t have been the same without you!

For news on future tastings, sign up for our monthly newsletter and/or “Like” our Facebook page.

Photos courtesy of Gerard McCarthy Photography, germac.ie

It’s give-away time in November as we took Curious Wines on the road!

As promised, all visitors to the Good Wine Show were entered into a draw to win a couple of unique mixed cases, featuring four wines each from the three organising wine merchants, Curious Wines, Bubblebrothers and Karwig Wines. Additionally, we had four cases of New Zealand wine to give away, for those purchasing at the Good Wine Show as well as our first Dublin tasting at the start of the month.

So, the lucky winners, picked at random:

A mixed case of Good Wine Show featured wines: Aidan Horgan and Alan Mansfield.

Two cases of New Zealand wines featured at Good Wine Show: Michael Ryan

Two cases of New Zealand wines featured at NZ Dublin Tasting: Michael Woods

Congratulations guys, you’ve some festive cheer on the way to you!

Oh, and one other person that will be celebrating with a bottle of Premier Cru Rosé Champagne. Geoffrey Philips was a wise man putting his name down for our newsletter at the Good Wine Show – congrats to Geoffrey also.

If you missed out this time round, fret not. We run a monthly contest for our newsletter subscribers. All you have to do is sign up for monthly love in your inbox, and you’re in to win!

The three gents pictured below are (right to left) Joe Karwig of Karwig Wines, Billy Forrester of Bubble Brothers, and our very own plonker… ahem, I mean chief taster, Michael Kane, owner and founder of Curious Wines.

The shoot was done at Cork Bonded Warehouse on Tuesday morning. The Irish Examiners Blake Creedon has already managed to get hold of a cool photo, which he has included in this blog post.

In case you missed something, here it is in a nutshell…

“Three Irish wine merchants have joined forces to bring a very special wine tasting event to Cork this autumn. Taking place in Cork’s Clarion Hotel on the 13th and 14th of November, the innovative collaboration between Bubble Brothers, Curious Wines and Karwig Wines shows the flair and energy that sets independent wine merchants apart and makes their wine selections such a refreshing change. The Good Wine Show will give guests the opportunity to make their choice from over a hundred wines open for sampling, comparison and purchase at attractive discounts exclusive to the event.”

The lads have been working hard in the run up to the show (looks like they’ve been having fun too), but it finally looks like everything is falling into place. Ticket sales are doing really well and we expect a big surge before a sell-out. Many people will be making the journey from all over the country, including Dublin and Galway. It’s just fantastic to see such an interest in this kind of event.

Everything is geared and ready to go, including an obscene amount of wine that needs to be tackled. Well, what are you waiting for?

Click here for more information and ticket sales.

Images by Gerard McCarthy (087-853-7228)

To celebrate our first Dublin Wine Tasting and the fact that Joyce Austin of New Zealand Boutique Wines has returned all the way from Auckland to host it, we’re giving away one Taste New Zealand prize pack:

We’re offering you a chance to win two tickets to our New Zealand Boutique Wine Tasting on the 6th of November in Dublin, complete with a lovely prize pack:

• Two tickets to New Zealand Boutique Wine tasting
• 2 x our favourite bottles of New Zealand wines direct from our new inventory
• One handcrafted, Lignum Vitae hardwood wine stopper* with an inset New Zealand coin.

So if you feel like a New Zealand adventure, this ones for you – it’s a lovely package of new experiences, new tastes and unique wine accessories!

How to Enter: All you have to do to enter the contest is join (or already be a member of) our monthly newsletter. We’ll draw a winner at random on the 4th of November when our next newsletter goes out. You are of course completely welcome to un-join the minute after the draw is done, but we only send one newsletter per month and we like giving discounts and free stuff to our members, so we hope you’ll stick around!

PS: Congratulations to last month’s winner Colin Bentley who was drawn this morning!

*This is a rare wood but this stopper is made from legal, permit-imported wood.

We like to think we give away fairly nice prizes here at Curious for our ever-popular monthly contests, but this is probably the best (or at least poshest) prize pack we’ve offered:

To celebrate the launch of The Good Wine Show we’re offering you a chance to win a Wine Show Weekend in Cork complete with free entry to the Good Wine Show on November 13th & 14th, one night in a luxurious Superior Room at the award-winning Clarion hotel, and a personalised wine and food Welcome Hamper for your room:

• Two tickets to The Good Wine Show, good for both days of the show
• One night at the 4* Clarion Hotel in Cork, where the show is being held
• One romantic Welcome Hamper complete with wine, glasses, bottle opener, and tasty treats from Cork’s finest local food purveyors.

Unlike some of our other contests, this one does have some terms and conditions attached to it. The prize is not transferable – win and use the whole kit and kaboodle or lose it, baby! The hotel stay is for a maximum of two people for one night on Friday, November 13th 2009 or Saturday November 14th 2009 – we’ll make arrangements directly with the winner and you can choose which night you’d like to stay.

How to Enter: All you have to do to enter the contest is join (or already be a member of) our monthly newsletter. We’ll draw a winner at random on the 7th of October when our next newsletter goes out. You are of course completely welcome to un-join the minute after the draw is done, but we only send one newsletter per month and we like giving discounts and free stuff to our members, so we hope you’ll stick around!

PS: Congratulations to last month’s winner David Conway who was drawn this morning!

And on the seventh day, she rested…

Well, actually, it’s even more impressive than seven days. Five days after announcing our plans for the Good Wine Show, to be held in Cork city 13-14 November, you can now go online and buy tickets from the official Good Wine Show website, with more details on the hottest wine event of the year below.

What’s in store?

Join us for one day or two to sample your choice of more than 100 wines and a selection of some of Cork’s finest food at The Good Wine Show. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur, a casual wine drinker, a gourmet foodie or a holiday shopper, you’ll enjoy a friendly, relaxed and fun atmosphere to taste, nibble and shop in at the centrally located Clarion Hotel in Cork’s city centre.

Friday, November 13th, 2009

The Good Wine Show is open from 3 PM – 8 PM.

• Wine Tastings: All day.
• Food Purveyors: All day.
• Prize Draw: 6 PM – Drawing for a “Best in Show” mixed case of 12 worldly, wonderful and very drinkable wines courtesy of all three wine merchants.

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

The Good Wine Show is open from 11 AM – 4 PM.

• Wine Tastings: All day.
• Food Purveyors: All day.
• Prize Draw: 3 PM – Drawing for a Luxury Food and Drink hamper packed with posh nibbles, three bottles of wine and your very own set of wine accessories.

You can purchase tickets for one day or two on the Good Wine Show website, on our own website or from Bubble Brothers, or from these retail outlets around Cork. Tickets are priced at €15 for one or €25 for both days.

Fans and followers tuning into us on Facebook or Twitter over the last month or so have been subject to a cruel (if unintentional) teaser campaign, with the “plotting (of) something exciting for Christmas”. Despite pleading, offers of bribery and even threats of violence from someone resembling Austin Powers’ arch-nemesis Dr Evil, we’ve retained both our decorum and our discretion as the detail was fleshed out.

So, the not-so big secret? In partnership with Cork’s “other two” great independent wine merchants Bubble Brothers and Karwig Wines, we’re delighted to announce the first ever Good Wine Show, to be held Friday 13th and Saturday 14th November 2009, in the Clarion Hotel, Cork.

It’s the first time three independent wine importers have joined forces in Cork to show off their portfolios in a dedicated sample-and-buy event, and with the opportunity to taste over 100 different wines in one place and special discounts for the occasion, it’ll be the premier wine-buying show coming up to Christmas.

The sessions will run from 3pm to 8pm on Friday 13th, and 11am to 4pm on Saturday 14th, and tickets will cost €15. More details to follow in the coming weeks, including when and where to buy tickets.

See you there?