WE AT CURIOUS hate when lazy wine communicators fall back on these tired banalities while speaking or writing about their subject. Wine is the world’s most diverse and thought-provoking drink - how hard is it to come up with fresh, engaging ways of talking about it? Unbelievable! P. S.
OUR NEW SPANISH RANGE, BESO DE VINO (‘the kiss of wine’), has raised some eyebrows among customers as a result of three teensy holes in the wines’ screwcaps – aren’t closures supposed to be pretty much airtight? The people behind the BDV brand took the time to explain ..
RIOJA LIES IN NORTHERN SPAIN, south of Bilbao and nestled between two sheltering mountain ranges. It was the first Spanish wine region to achieve DO / appellation status, in 1925, before being promoted to the top DOCa level in 1991.
"IT IS BAD MANNERS to refill your glass without offering to do the same for your neighbours beforehand. Never fill a glass more than two thirds full. Hold it by the stem when drinking and do not gulp it down as if you have been in the desert for several hours.
1. Coax mute wines into life: While the science is beyond the scope of this post (i. e.
THE SECRET INGREDIENT in Rioja and an array of Iberian reds, Tempranillo is widely grown throughout the peninsula, especially the north. Voraciously displacing Garnacha, Bobal and Monastrell as consumers have come to know and love it, it has become Spain’s most-planted variety.
In the mid-1980s New Zealand released to the world what would become one of the most distinctive and appreciated white wine styles of the modern era. Sauvignon Blanc was the grape variety responsible, and Marlborough was the region on the tip of wine drinker’s tongues world over.
The first big laugh of the year was Curious Mike telling me he was going to give up wine for the first 19 days of January. Something about Christmas overindulgence and setting himself a challenge, blah, blah, blah.
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.
It's funny to hear people say how they found a wine when they were abroad that was absolutely out of this world. So good in fact that nothing they have tried since has compared or even come close. I can see where they're coming from.
Yes, it is made from the Chardonnay grape, so why do so many people put aside their Chardonnay prejudice when it comes to Chablis? What makes Chablis so acceptable to people who otherwise hate this fabulous noble grape variety? Like all Burgundy whites, you could class most Chablis as elegant and ea ..
Now is a busy time for wineries across Europe. At the retail end of things, our silly season is that three week run-in to Christmas, but the winemakers equivalent of silly season is around harvest time. Last week saw the harvest begin with the whites and rosés at Château Bauduc.
On the 6th of September last year I put a ring on her finger. Four months later, no further on and delaying like all newly engaged couples love to do, we decided, feck it, we'll book the priest and everything will fall into place around it. We were married on the 25th of May.
The fifth and final installment of our Bordeaux insight, we enter 'Entre-Deux-Mers', or to us, 'between the rivers'. We'll also have a glance at the terrific sweet white wines of bordeaux. To view the previous four posts in this series, click here and scroll down to view.
While rummaging through James Halliday's fabulous website last week I came across a post on the so-called 'Hatcher Theorem'.
As we've seen with the Irish summer over the last number of years, weather patterns are becoming more and more difficult to predict. We had one of our mildest winters, while Europe had one of their harshest in recent times.
Okay, so we're read up on Médoc, Cabernet Sauvignon heaven. Check. The Graves & Pessac-Léognan, where we find earthy, yet lighter and more supple Cabernets.
Like a yapping child it’s as fickle, testing and annoying as they come, but ah… the hugs for daddy when it’s being nice! At its best this grape is as good as it gets – fountains of wondrous rose tinted raspberry nectar with oriental spice rainbows and insane aromas of truffles and farty undergrowth.
The most significant part of the year in Australian winemaking is long over. Harvest, or the "crush" as it is known, can for some areas start as early as January and for others end as late as June with the picking of late harvest grapes used for dessert wines.
Navarra, known in English as Navarre, is a wine region in north east Spain, and effectively a north eastern extension of Rioja. It's a region producing some quality stuff, without perhaps the mark up that might come with some Rioja's. That's not to say Rioja doesn't do 'value'.
'Mourvèdre' is the French alias that this widely grown red grape variety goes by. In Spain it is known as Monastrell and in Australia and California it is commonly referred to as Mataro.
Oh yes they did. And wouldn't you know, only in America. The Counter, a California based burger bar, has concocted three wine based milkshakes, the most popular "wine shake" being made from Pinot Noir, cherries, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
If you missed the previous two blog posts focusing on the left bank, click on the 'Bordeaux Insight' tag at the bottom of this post and then scroll down to view.
In Argentina Jesus juice is the name given to red wine mixed with cola. In Spain it is known as calimocho, where the cocktail is said to have originated.
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