The Turk's Head

There are many things the Germans do well. Two of the most popular are the timing of their locomotives as well as their delicious beer, which comes in so many varieties, flavours and colours. I’ve visited Germany a number of times over the last three years and I always come back with a new favourite. The two beers reviewed today however, were both bought on a punt in Ireland, and I’ve never been happier.

Vin-Aire: Does it Work?

Anyone in the trade will be all too familiar with the ins and outs with this Vin-Aire malark. Only thing is, does the thing work? And more importantly for all of us normal non-trade folk, what is it and what does it do. Well, after a quick chat with Andrew Nolan from Vin-aire Ireland and a "special package" in the mail we got down to tackling these all important questions.

Domäne Wachau, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Terrassen 2009

Long name and typically Germanic thing altogether this, well Austrian that is. Grüner as it fondly known amongst those who have happily made its acquaintance. Now New Zealand looks poised to make some stunners out of the grape but I have a thing for the Germanic/Austrian wine world. These wines are due a come back, is there something to be making a fuss about? I'd better find out.

An Irish Twist, El Commandate Wines

Cold and biting as the morning wind in Dublin was, it could not detract from warm welcome offered by Tom Lynch outside the traditional meeting spot of Dublin for strangers, Beweleys. Coffees poured, Tom opened on friendly terms, producing two bottles of his wine, from his bag as a gift. I wondered as to whether these would play up to the same standard as two Bronze medallist wines he and winemaker David Kingsbury have already been behind  (The 2009 Malbec and 2010 Chardonnay for those of you who are unfamiliar with the wines  won the aforementioned medals at the London wine fair. No small feat, not to mention this was their first entry). A friendly laugh and an acknowledgement the he has still yet to enter the wines, something he also adds he ought to do. 

Errazuriz - Chile Gets Serious

Chile has been a run-away success for as long as I can remember on the Irish market, providing wines that are easy on the palate and more importantly, on the pocket. Way back when, at the very beginning of my wine awakening Chile was my go to region in search of a decent Cabernet. Then when I got adventurous I tried a Carmenere. This beautiful grape is fickle, it needs care and a decent wine maker to ensure the spice and fruit are in harmony to get the desired result, a Merlot with character. At this point I decided that Chile perhaps had more to offer the world than entry level 'international varietals'.

Quick chat with Maria O'Riordan from Seifrieds

Having recently encountered Maria O'Riordan from Seifried's of Nelson Bay I reflected on how much had passed through our brief discussion. The oldest of the South Islands family owned wineries, Seifried's best known for their Sweet Anges Riesling which has gobbled up awards left right and centre. What is undoubtedly more interesting about this family range is the quality and variety of whites they present. Playing with three levels, the Rabbit Island, Old Coach  Road, and flagship range "Seifried"

d'Arenberg, The Dry Dam Riesling 2002

If you, like I, have ever watched Shaun of the Dead, it should be needless to say that you will have grasped the rather central thematic concept that a Zombie is someone or something that should by all rights be dead at this point, but is apparently not. Now to another harsh feature of these Zombie types, they come in an endless wave, persistent and never ending. To make sense of this, were I looking for a metaphor to offer the to Riesling here, well, I would most definitely compare it to a Zombie.

Quinta do Carmo 1996

1996 was a big year for me, the Nintendo 64 was released heralding in a new era of Mariokart shananigans and of course Goldeneye would later be released and be the cause of sleep deprivation for many a night, while we all would scream, 'no you can't be Oddjob, there is less of him to shoot at!' 1996 was also the year that I began to think that maybe girls are more than a source of cooties or whatever it was the boys would exclaim they had that week. I remember the moment well, I was watching The Den (for our non-Irish audience, this was the staple of every child's evening viewing), when the Spice Girls appeared with 'Wannabe'. In hindsight these scantily clad ladies should probably not have appeared on children's television, but nevertheless, something happened that day, regardless of the chant 'girl power' being nothing but shallow commercialism.

NZ Riesling, an Appraisal & Rant

First thing is first, I am a Riesling nut, and it is one of the grapes that when someone has the ability to do the thing justice softens the very hammerings of the world and I realise that, things aren't actually all that bad, so long as there is this glass of wine in it. However, this is a two way street, cock that up, and I'll be upset, I will be very very upset. Now to the point of this, on Monday I was subjected to a Riesling tasting of 12 Rieslings from the same vineyard, same harvest, the only difference? The winemaker.