New arrivals: Bodegas Valtravieso (Ribera del Duero, Spain)
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.
Curious Wine Blog
New arrivals: Lar de Paula (Rioja, Spain)
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.
Mike's Wines of 2012
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.
New arrivals: Domaine Christophe Camu (Chablis, France)
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.
New arrivals: Domaine des Anges (Provence, France)
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's Wines of 2012
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.
Matt's Wines of 2012
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).
New arrivals: Château de la Négly (Languedoc, France)
‘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.
New arrivals: Dievole (Tuscany, Italy)
A renowned and outstanding Chianti Classico producer, the Dievole estate in Tuscany is sitting on 900 years of wine-making heritage.
New mixed cases from Curious
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.
New arrivals: Two Paddocks (Central Otago, New Zealand)
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.
Visit to Château Bauduc, Bordeaux (Part I)
In May of this year I finally got myself over to Bordeaux to visit Gavin and Angela Quinney at Château Bauduc.
The Curious Top 10s: What's Hot in 2012
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 for the Curious Mystery Bus Tour: Thursday 25th October
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.
‘Drink spirits, see ghosts’: Scott Collett, Woodstock McLaren Vale, Friday 21st September.
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.
Wine tasting with Borgo Magredo: Free tasting
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).
Italian night with Borgo Magredo: Free tasting with the Curious Wine Club
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.
Curious Wine School: Wine for Beginners course starts September
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 ..
Introducing: The Curious Wine Club
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.
Introducing: Curious Core Values
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.
Save the Date!
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.
July Case of the Month: Summer lovin'
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.
Farewell Curious Molly
Last week we were deeply saddened to lose a dear friend and one of the founding team, when Curious mascot and much-loved family pet Molly passed away.
June Case of the Month: Meet the Newbies
We were busy bees in the spring months and the fruits of our labour are coming in thick and fast for you to enjoy. With over 40 new wines landing in Curious Wines this month and last, we thought June's case of the month should be a showcase of the best of the new stuff.