Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Germany. Show all posts

29 September 2014

Empty and Full; The Stop, Start Nature of Empty


[Hey there folks, we are having some issues with Empty on Wordpress, so just temporarily I will get this up here - Rob]


It’s been a long time since I’ve written in a way reminiscent of my old prolific empty self. There are a million excuses I could make as to why, but, very simply it boils down to one factor; passion. I have been working in ‘wine’ retail for quite a while now and if there is one thing I am certain of it is that there is a negative correlation between the amount of £6 wine one sells and your passion for wine. Thankfully, I am finding, there is a two step remedy; acceptance and focusing on the good wine in life. This leads me to writing this post; I have been really complacent with this passion of mine and I think it’s about time I start writing about it again.

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@Rob_Gilmour has been writing for Empty for too long to mention, he is currently working in wine in Edinburgh where he runs @Wine_Edinburgh and somehow has found time to be Vice-President of the @IWSScotland. Being a balanced multifaceted individual Rob's only interest in not wine, he is also interested in wine education as well having passed with distinction his WSET L3. If you'd like to contact him email: emptyglassie@gmail.com 

20 February 2012

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.

27 January 2012

Guest Article: the Good, the Bad and the Bitter


To change things up a bit and try some new things, a little group of us (including Rob of Team Empty) devised a beer tasting that would give us a nice range of flavours and styles. Well, we got what we asked for; a lovely variety, including a few real gems. Up for tasting we had Trouble Brewing Ór Golden Ale, Erdinger Weissbier Kristallklar, Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel, Honey Dew, and Belfast Blonde. So folks, here is my review of the good, the bad and the ugly of it all.

09 May 2011

5 wines to try

Shoo Fly, Chardonnay, 2009


€13.95, Mill Wine Cellar
Chardonnay as it should be, beauitful soft and full bodied, with a strong body of melon and elderberries both on the nose and on the plate. The wine opens with peach and minerality showing and developing, grapefruit makes an apperance on the palate. Not the most complicated wine but extremely tasty, offering a lot of taste and a good interesting cool-climate chardonnay from the adelaide hills a region fast stealing my heart. Advice would be to find a bit of spare change and add it to the ten quid bottle you normally get and try this wine. Tis an award winner after all having the title of best white wine on the Irish Market under €20, not a bad reputation to have mind you.




Petit Fumé, Michel Redde et Fils, 2010

€16.99, Mill Wine Cellar
We have sun, we need a crisp clean cut white to celebrate, look no further than Petit Fumé, made by Michel Redde et Fils, this Sauvignon Blanc is what you need, Sauvignon Blanc has risen to popularity of late- especially with the rise of New Zealand wine. While New Zealand is now regarded as the King of Sauvignon Blanc, I feel that this title is fairly undermining of the French examples, we have loire producing some of the most crisp examples of this vartiel, so looking at this pacticular bottle, we have a crisp and clean experience. Brilliantly structured, fresh apple and minerality notes, finishing with acidity to clear the palate after each mouthful. The nose is especially inviting on this, best when just slightly chilled to take the acid edge off. While slightly expensive, this bottle and grape has finally come into it's own, rarely failing to impress. What we're talking about here is a sleek stylish examof what is now just a bulk grape; it has distinct fruit notes and subtle hints to leave you curious. Its greatest drawback (being students) is the price. However remember it is on offer, so it’s well worth picking up as a treat, and in this weather the wine will be one of the most refreshing things on the shelf

Santa Digna, Cab Sauv Res, 2010

€9.99, Wine Mill Cellar
Sun seems as though it would like to stay and as a ritual in it's honour (and as a hopefully attempt to persuade it to stay for a short while longer) I thought I ought to toast to it this weekend. Now we have offered you our white wine selection, but despite two of my bigger predujices, the first that chilean wine will dissappoint and the second that Rosés are a stupid idea and are boring wines  of my own I decided I'd give the following wine a bit of a test drive. So the wine up for tasting? Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2010, from Santa digna, chile. So starting out with low expectations, opening the bottle, I was suprised to be greeted by a more than pleasant raspberry and subtle strawberry nose, beckoned by this I knocked a bit into a glass give it a bit of a swirl and slurped me some Rosé, and for the second time in not so long chile has surprised myself. So with this we were looking at raspberry, strawberry, bit of early minerality of a very flithish style. As the wine opened up we started to see the fruits develop a little, we started to get grapefruit and the nose turned slightly Sauv Blanc with gooseberry. What was the biggest slap in the face was how refreshing the wine tasting despite the fact it weighed it at a burly 13.5% alcohol. That fact showed the quality of the make of the wine we were dealing with, that combined with the full body of the wine. I'd have given it a 7, fresh wine, felt a little green at points but nothing overly officious to the palate!

Max Fred. Richter, Mosel Valley Riesling, 2009

€14.99, Corkscrew
A lovely example of Mosel Valley Riesling. Crisp and refreshing as all Riesling should be, it is sweet with a Clean nose, the wine is extremely complicated with melons, pear, apple and a slight hint of citrus making up the main fruits of the wine there is a nice touch of clove to the wine and everything seems to have a thin blanket of honey coating it. To boot it even has a foral smell as it opens which does not get lose on the palate, despite the mass arrays of smells and tastes each one is well defined. Leaving for a truly enjoyable wine that seems to wreak of a come hither note.


Leyda Reserve, Pinot Noir 2009

€14.95, Mill Wine Cellar
New world wine is a bit of a new thing for myself only letting go of my predjuices against many regions. However one predjuice has managed to last the test of time Chilean wine. That is until recently, so recent in fact it was this week, when I found a bottle of Pinot hiding behind large quanities of Shiraz from the same nation. Single vineyard always a good sign. Opening the bottle I was greeted by a warm smelling wine, nice mind you, slowly this developed into a nice red fruit and tobacco form, living up to the warm cilmate Pinot reputation of packing a punch, not only that but this also as it opened smelt meaty, and on the palte started to minic this and also add a sweet red pepper undertone. It kept opening up as the night progress and showed signs of the red berries and other red fuits as well as the prevelant tobacco smell and palate, all in all? A wine well enjoyed.
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