They say that smell is the most powerful of the five senses in terms of evoking memory and emotion, and there's simply nothing beats the heady aromas of mulled wine to remind everyone that Christmas has officially started. This is our tried and tested recipe at home.
We'd been warned it would be a bad one but Budget 2013 exceeded expectations both in terms of reductions in personal income and further taxes on outgoings. We'd anticipated an increase in the excise duty on wine but nothing like the €1 on every bottle as of midnight last night.
Bodegas Valtravieso enjoys a privileged location at 900 metres above sea level in the heart of Ribera del Duero, surrounded by its vineyards in the fashion of a French chateau.
In our view, and that of many much more expert in the area, Rioja Alavesa is the pick of the three Rioja communes. Protected from the north by the Sierra de Cantabria and the fertile Ebro Valley to the south, its limestone-based soil is particularly poor. That's a good thing for vines.
Not a lot of people know this, but Mike's greatest achievement was winning a gold medal with the Irish fencing team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He's also a Michelin-starred chef, having worked as Executive Head Chef at Le Meurice in Paris in the late 90s.
Family-owned for six generations, Domaine Christophe Camu occupies 8 hectares around the village of Chablis, covering four appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. 80% of production is still sold at cellar door to private customers.
Owned by Kilkenny man Gay McGuinness, with winemaking duties undertaken by Dubliner Ciaran Rooney, Provence winery Domaine des Anges is probably as close as you'll get to world class 'Irish' wines.
Rose joined the Curious Wines team this year, bringing with her years of experience in hospitality, marketing and PR. She has played an important role in expanding the commercial side of the business, as well as buying into the values of a company that prides itself on making curious people happy.
As his parents and siblings can attest, Matt was a difficult child growing up. Excitable, restless and easily agitated, he was nicknamed ‘the not-so-genius Evil Genius’ by his younger brother, David, who's revenge was exacted on Matt’s stag weekend back in April (pictured).
‘La Clape’ is the bit to look out for on the label. It's a World Heritage site, meaning 'pile of stones' in Occitan and was an island up until the Gallo-Roman period, and before the Aude’s river sediment deposits became part of the mainland.
A renowned and outstanding Chianti Classico producer, the Dievole estate in Tuscany is sitting on 900 years of wine-making heritage.
We launched curiouswines. ie in 2008 with the goal of making buying wine online as simple as possible. Central to this was our selection of pre-mixed cases where new customers could try us out, and established customers could always go back for the best value, carefully chosen selections in our portfolio.
There's been a little bit more excitement than usual surrounding the latest new arrivals to the Curious portfolio. Last week we took receipt of our first shipment of Two Paddocks, a family-owned operation in Central Otago, New Zealand, with a rather well known proprietor.
In May of this year I finally got myself over to Bordeaux to visit Gavin and Angela Quinney at Château Bauduc.
I think our top-sellers list always makes for fascinating reading. It can reveal fashions or preferences, for styles or types of wines, favourite grape varietals or countries.
Roll up! Roll up! If there was one event that captured the imagination when we launched our autumn calendar of events and tastings a few weeks ago, it was the Curious Mystery Bus Tour. On Thursday 25th October, we'll be taking a bus load of Curious Wine Club members on a mystery bus tour to a secret location.
Continuing our autumn programme of events and tastings for the Curious Wine Club, Friday 21st September sees the first visit to Cork of Scott Collett of Woodstock McLaren Vale.
Hot on the heels of our Italian night in Cork on Friday, we've a treat for the good people of Kinsale. This Saturday, 1st September, we'll be hosting a wine and Prosecco tasting with Francesco Riccardi of Borgo Magredo. The venue is The Stolen Pizza on Lower O'Connell Street (formerly Jola's Restaurant).
This Friday we're delighted to welcome Francesco Riccardi of Borgo Magredo for the first of our autumn schedule of events and tastings, as part of the newly launched Curious Wine Club. Francesco will be presenting the Borgo Magredo range for sampling as part of an Italian night in the Bowery, Cork.
Want to know your Chablis from your Chardonnay, or your Chateauneuf from your Chateau no way? Our Wine for Beginners course is the perfect introduction to life’s elixir, covering all aspects of wine from how to taste, understanding labels and how wine is made, through to the major grape varieties ..
The term ‘wine club’ can mean different things to different people. From our perspective we wanted to create a club that was inclusive but not demanding and built on two of our core values: have fun and be curious.
Curious Wines will be four years old this November. Same age as my youngest, Sarah, and it's a useful comparison. Sarah can walk and talk (for Ireland), she's confident, outgoing, loves bright colours and literally glows with energy and attitude.
Something exciting is coming to Curious, and while preparations are still under wraps, we're giving all of our wine-loving friends advanced notice to clear your calendars, dust off your dancing shoes and get ready to join us in Cork City Centre on August 30th, 2012.
We've another ridiculously good value mixed case for our July Case of the Month, featuring the best of this month's specials and a mixture of brand new wines and tried-and-tested favourites.
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