Tag Archive

10, 20, 100, STARS OR SMILIES?   Ernie Whalley looks at Rating Wines

10, 20, 100, STARS OR SMILIES? Ernie Whalley looks at Rating Wines

April 23, 2011 No Comments

I’m not mad about the idea of scoring wines. I grew up drinking wine in an age when good wines were treated with reverence and bad ones were scorned* but there was never any attempt to evaluate on a comparative basis other than stating a preference for bottle A over bottle B.  Certainly no one ...

COFFEE CULTURE – Ernie Whalley finds a Pinotage he can actually drink

COFFEE CULTURE – Ernie Whalley finds a Pinotage he can actually drink

March 31, 2011 No Comments

  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 ...

GLEESONS-GILBEYS PORTFOLIO TASTING Feb 2011

GLEESONS-GILBEYS PORTFOLIO TASTING Feb 2011

February 24, 2011 No Comments

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 ...

NEW ZEALAND WINE FAIR, DUBLIN – Jan 2011

NEW ZEALAND WINE FAIR, DUBLIN – Jan 2011

January 22, 2011 3 Comments

But first… the AW, WTF THESE THINGS HAPPEN AWARD Anyone looking at the site earlier may have seen a list of the Noffla (National Off-Licence Association) Awards. Thanks to Evelyn Jones at the admirable Vintry in Rathgar I am now advised that the press release they sent me at my request (I couldn’t make the ...

WINE – Brands. What do they do for us?

November 18, 2010 2 Comments

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 ...

Tags: , , Tasting Notes, Wine & Drink

PUGLIA – AN UP-AND-COMING WINE REGION

October 28, 2010 3 Comments

A short trip to Puglia, in Italy’s extreme south-east, provided one of the most interesting experiences in this wine writer’s crowded year. The Mediterranean climate, coupled with a predominance of soil types suited to grape growing, has made the region a significant producer of wine. Close on half a million acres is dedicated to viticulture, ...

Tags: , , , , , Travel, Wine & Drink

TASTING AUSTRALIA 2010 – ADELAIDE DIARY

May 12, 2010 No Comments

DAY 3 Up early – can’t seem to sleep beyond 5.15 at the minute, in whatever time zone. Walkabout for massive glass of squeezed fruit juice – orange, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, that will do nicely. Then weakened and nipped into Arcade for 2 x double shot flat whites and a bacon butty. Nice Chinese ...

Tags: , , , BLOG, Food, Travel, Wine & Drink

So it goes… This week's decent drinking

February 5, 2010 1 Comment

From 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 ...

Tags: , , Tasting Notes, Wine & Drink

So it Goes… this week's decent drinking

December 21, 2009 No Comments

Went 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 ...

Tags: , , , , Tasting Notes, Wine & Drink

WINE: Keeping New Year resolutions – how did I fare?

December 15, 2009 No Comments

Just done my annual piece on vinous New Year resolutions for The Sunday Independent. I looked back at the corresponding article this time last year, to make sure there were no (or anyway, not too many) duplications. Here are the ones I made – with my notes on how well I managed to keep them. ...

Tags: , , BLOG, Wine & Drink
Page 1 of 3123»

BLOG – IDIOSYNCRATIC OR WHA’?

  Found this on an (Irish) blog today – “Big brands are capturing increasingly large shares of the market,...

RECIPE Bacon ribs, cabbage and butter beans – The Big, Big Compromise

My old man and I had little in common but we did follow the same football team and we...

BLOG – Albert Zenato in Dublin

My good friend Maureen O’Hara who runs Premier Wine Training sends me news that  Alberto Zenato will present a...

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Alexis

American business psychologist Warren G. Bennis, described by Forbes magazine as ‘the king of leadership gurus’  is on record...

‘YOU DON’T NEED A POSH CANON” – blogpix for newbies

I’ve been a photo hobbyist since I got given  my first serious camera as a fourteenth birthday present. A...

YOU’LL NEVER BLOG ALONE – the day I discovered I’m a blogger and other stories

There are now over 400 food bloggers in Ireland. Though www.forkncork.com my food and drink website, Ireland’s first, has...

Natural Wine: Dog’s bollocks or the King’s new clothes?

Natural Wine Tasting at Fallon & Byrne, Dublin  by Le Caveau My first encounter with what has come to...

BLOG – variations on a sweet-and-sour theme

I cooked my first sweet and sour dish in 1984. Pork, of course. The recipe came from Ken Hom’s...

BOOK REVIEW Dunne & Crescenzi – The Menu

“We really cook very simply. Remember that the methods and ingredients have been used for generations and in the...

BLOG – 2 good blends tested but why is most coffee in Ireland shit?

  I’ve just been road testing a brace of quality coffees from a small and relatively new Irish supplier,...