My good friend Maureen O’Hara who runs Premier Wine Training sends me news that Alberto Zenato will present a tasting of Zenato wines in Dublin, on Sunday evening, April 15th. Until I get the event calendar up and running again, here are the details. Places cost €20 per person. Space is limited, and places must ...
BLOG
Natural Wine Tasting at Fallon & Byrne, Dublin by Le Caveau My first encounter with what has come to be called ‘natural wine’ came some five or six years ago during the Salon de Vins de Loire at Angers. That week I was staying at the Chateau des Vaults, as a guest of Evelyne de ...
I’m all for training sommeliers. If a little learning means an end to woejous wine waiters resting the bottle neck on my glass or pouring wine from the second bottle into a glass still containing some of the first, then great. The Restaurant Association Of Ireland (RAI) has asked me to let people know ...
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 ...
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 ...
Despite my 12.5% Italian ancestry and my lifelong adherence to the Azzurri I was a bit hesitant about including an Italian dish with people like Italian Foodie around the site. Still, Pollo alla Cacciatora is a great cold weather comfort casserole and a favourite that I cook regularly, so here goes… ‘Cacciatore’ means ‘hunter’. All ...
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 ...
On Christmas Eve a US food critic who remained anonymous for 16 years has had her cover blown by a Los Angeles restaurant. Irene Virbila, who works for the Los Angeles Times, had her picture taken at the Red Medicine restaurant in Beverly Hills and was asked to leave. The restaurant then posted the picture ...
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 ...
Drinking is never a random activity. In all cultures where alcohol is consumed, drinking is hedged about with unwritten rules, social norms and stigmas regarding who may drink how much of what, when, where, with whom and in what manner. The rules are different in different countries and different social circles, but there are always ...
Wine & Drink