Valpolicella is a viticultural zone of the Italian province of Verona, east of Lake Garda, ranking as the second most significant production region for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wines in volume terms (Chianti is first).This red wine is typically made from three grape varietals: Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara although others are permitted in small ...
The Superquinn French Wine Sale, an annual event, is upon us. The list is a mix of old favourites and new ‘lip-smacking’, their words not mine, bargains. The Etienne Barret Crozes Hermitage Rouge and the Domaine de Brunely Vacqueyras are among the former, representing good value at €11 and €12 respectively, as is the ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & Drink
Until yesterday I’d always thought that offensive Pinotage and inoffensive Pinot Grigio were two grapes that should have been strangled at birth. Now, after a tasting of Dunne’s Stores current and proposd South African range, I’m prepared to grant the former at least a stay of execution. I’ve always hated Pinotage. If I wanted ...
A day in a wine writer’s life. I get up, dress, eat my porridge then phone the Guinness Storehouse to see if they have a wheelchair. Oh dear, apparently they don’t. I should maybe make it clear that my request stems not from the previous night’s over indulgence but from a knee operation. The Storehouse ...
What’s the world’s oldest brand still around today? Hoover? Ford? Oxo? Coca-Cola? These were the names that sprang to mind when I asked the question of some colleagues. Sorry, but these household names are mere striplings when it comes to marketing history. Unless you see ‘Christianity’ as a brand it’s hard to look farther than ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkI am indebted to fellow wine writer Paul Kiernan who, via his Twitter monicker @grapesofsloth, gave me the heads up on a letter to Decanter magazine in which a reader asked “What planet are your tasters on when they describe wines as ‘high wired’ and ‘coiled with purpose’?” What indeed. “Uranus, as in ‘talking through…” ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkFrom what started out as a fairly uncomplicated pastime – you plant grapes, you harvest them, you cause them to ferment, then you run off the juice –winemaking has been historically hedged around with rules and regulations as in “You can’t add sugar to boost the quality in a poor year” or “You can’t grow ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkWent to an office party in a fridge the other night. The top floor of Krystle – my nomination for the world’s daftest named nightclub – is badged as ‘The Penthouse’ leading to thoughts of sybaritic luxury, comfy button-backs and naked models reclining on tigerskin rugs. Alas it’s nothing like. Maybe the name’s not so ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkI’m sure this will get me slaughtered by my food and wine matching buddies but, sod it, here goes! Think back, long before the days when you started drinking wine. When you slurped Coke along with your beefburgers or Marmite soldiers did you pause to consider whether the combo worked? Did you, for tastebuds’ or ...
Tasting Notes, Wine & DrinkSibella is out to dinner with her golfing chums. Which is why I’m tucking into bacon ribs, cannellini beans (no butter beans down the local deli) and Savoy cabbage, the sort of fare I always find for myself when milady is absent as she’s far too ‘refeened’ to partake of that good ole peasanty grub. ...
BLOG, Tasting Notes, Wine & Drink