12 blockbuster reds for Christmas
"Right, can you give me one more recommendation. .
Curious Wine Chatter
A little relief from COVID: temporary VAT reduction effective now
In July, as part of a list of measures to help boost the economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government announced a temporary reduction in the standard rate of VAT, from 23% to 21%, to run from 1st September 2020 to 28 February 2021.
The beautiful hill (and wines) of Colli Orientali del Friuli
Colli Orientali del Friuli (free-oo-lee) is the most renowned DOC in the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region of north-east Italy, its calcareous and sandstone soils combined with Alpine geography and altitudes making it capable of producing world class white wines and some of the very best in Italy.
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.
New arrivals: Bordeaux
Bordeaux is virtually guaranteed to throw up something new and interesting every year as there’s probably nowhere that vintage is more important, or unpredictable.
New arrivals: Wither Hills
Fans of our top-selling wine for the last two years, The Ned Sauvignon Blanc, might be interested in the latest addition to our New Zealand range. Named in the World’s Top 50 Most Desired Wine Brands by Drinks International last year, Wither Hills was founded by none other than The Ned’s Brent Marris.
Top 10 Reds of 2012
With the Christmas buying season contributing so heavily to overall sales, November and December can see some late movements in our top-sellers list for the year.
Top 10 Whites of 2012
With the Christmas buying season contributing so heavily to overall sales, November and December can see some late movements in our top-sellers list for the year.
Budget 2013: the GOOD news!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.