Taste the Gravels: the new world classics of Hawke’s Bay
The last of the new finds for this year, from one of the world's furthest wine outposts (well from Cork anyway) and New Zealand's oldest winegrowing region, Hawke's Bay.
Curious Wine Blog
‘A Leviathan bottle to end all comparisons’: the 99 point Moorooroo Shiraz
Amidst the Schild family estate in Australia's Barossa Valley lie four rows of gnarled, ancient Shiraz vines, planted in 1847 by Johan and William Jacob (of the famed creek), just eleven years after the foundation of South Australia.
You’ll Never Walk Alone — Claymore Wines Part II
A couple of weeks ago we introduced the eye-catching (and utterly gorgeous) Claymore Wines, a new range of music-inspired labels from Australia's Clare Valley including the Joshua Tree Riesling, Bittersweet Symphony Cabernet and Dark Side of the Moon Shiraz.
You had me at “chocolate”… Introducing Zonte’s Footstep
Chocolate Factory | Shiraz | McLaren Vale from Zonte's Footstep on Vimeo. Many of you will be familiar with our stand-out wine of last year, newcomer Elysian Springs' Spring Lamb Syrah, from Australia's Adelaide Hills.
Kangaroo Where? Introducing The Islander Estate Vineyards
Six months previously we'd never even heard of Kangaroo Island but in planning our trip to Australia I went straight to looking for wineries on the hunch that just off the south Australian mainland someone would have planted vines there.
Rocking Clare Valley: Claymore Wines Part I
Claymore Wines founder and owner, Anura Nitchingham, has three great loves in his life – wine, music and football – and he celebrates all of them through the winery he began in the 1990s, having arrived there with his family after a successful medical career in the UK.
Australia’s Winemaker of the Year 2018: Paul Hotker, Bleasdale
The first bottles of Bleasdale Wines in Ireland landed into our small (and constantly freezing cold!) warehouse in Bandon in late 2009. We were just over a year old and planning our first direct shipments from Australia the following Spring.
Douro’s Quinta do Judeu: The Wise and Ancient Valley
Douro’s Quinta do Judeu: The Wise and Ancient ValleyThere is a story which has weaved its way, like old gnarled vine itself, into the history of the Alves de Carvalho family’s spectacular Douro valley winery, Quinta Do Judeu.
In search of the Mad Hairy Fella
Taming the wild beast: In search of the gorú in his Jumilla spiritual homeLAST WEEK during a trip to Cartagena I decided to make, along with my small daughters Este (3) and Tilly (1), the 150km pilgrimage across Murcia to the wine region of Jumilla, to visit one of our most popular suppliers Ego Bodegas.
Curious Wines hitting West Cork for Flavour.ie Pop-Up!
Flavour. ie Pop Up Featuring THE SHARP KNIFE and CURIOUS WINES. Saturday 22nd October 2016, 7.
Finding the Holy Grail
WE OFTEN TALK IN CURIOUS about finding the grail in wine terms - those wines that look great, massively over-deliver for their price point, and give us something resembling a religious experience on drinking. We didn't actually expect one of them to feature the grail on the label but here you go.
Love you loads
We heard it through the grapevine. .
Thank you and farewell, Aimé Guibert
WE WERE DEEPLY SADDENED to hear of the passing of a true legend of the wine world at the weekend when the founder of Mas de Daumas Gassac, Aimé Guibert, died at home in Aniane at the age of 91.
Stop press: Sunday Business Post endorses Curious Wines’ fine wine selection
We are honoured to have been finalists in these awards. Thanks to the SPB.
Irish Times piece: Growing wine specialist looks forward to vintage years
Inside Track Q&A: Mike Kane, co-owner of Curious Wines interviewed in the Irish Times. What is your business worth and would you sell it? The business is priceless to me. I was a very miserable but successful blue-chip executive and have never looked back since I started up the business.
Build your own cellar one rack at a time!
IF YOU’RE LIKE US you probably ‘cellar’ your wine in some idiosyncratic combination of fridge, wardrobe, pantry, attic and glove box; and, while those spots will do in a pinch, it’s of course much nicer if you can gather all your beloved bottles in one handy place where the ..
Two Paddocks Presale Offer: Best price this year, 3 days only
Ever since we introduced Sam Neill's Two Paddocks wines to Ireland 3 years ago, it's fair to say demand has well and truly outstripped supply.
Small Sips #17: Carbonic Maceration
CARBONIC MACERATION is a wine fermentation method that’s synonymous with France’s pretty Beaujolais region.
NEW: Domaine de Pellehaut 'Ampelomeryx' (Gascony, SW France)
Devoted brothers Martin and Mathieu Béraut tend this family estate, at three centuries old the longest established in the Gers, just west of Toulouse. As well as creating singular, sought-after wines, the guys make a range of Armagnacs (brandies) and also breed Blondes d'Aquitaine cattle.
Small Sips #16: Blending
BLENDS are usually taken to mean blends of different grape varieties, of which classic examples include Bordeaux (Merlot, Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc), Champagne (Chardonnay, Pinots Noir and Meunier) and the southern Rhône’s ‘GSM’ (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre).
Keep calm and drink Prosecco
OKAY SO, earlier on we tweeted a story about a possible looming Prosecco shortage and lo and behold if we didn't end up shortly afterwards speaking about it on Dublin's Spin 1038 FMAnyway, if you like your Prosecco (and who doesn't?), we reckon there's no need to panic.
New Zealand – No one-trick pony
WITH 70% OF KIWI WINE production (and 85% of exports) accounted for by pungent, ebullient Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand is likely to remain synonymous with this most-distinctive of wine styles for years to come.
All good!
Cheers! It's a good day for Ireland.