There is no relevance between this title and this blog, but I did want an excuse to insert the You Tube clip from this classic song from The Band.

I was involved in two very special evenings recently, when Samuel Guibert from Mas de Daumas Gassac came over to see us, We had a dinner in Inch House ( which I will cover in a subsequent Tipp Food blog ), but we also went down to Ballymaloe House and a tasting followed by a wine dinner. It was a great night and we had a huge crowd in Ballymaloe’s fantastic Grain Store venue.

Before that, we went over to the Cookery school where Samuel adressed the students and then we caught up with Darina Allen for a quick chat.

Samuel Guibert, Darina Allen and Gary Gubbins

Smile Lads, they might turn up ...

They did... A big crowd in the Grain Store

Samuel Guibert on stage

Let me tell you a story about wine

Tomas Clancy interviews the great Myrtle Allen

We also launched the en Primeur offer on the night. You too can buy these great wines for a fraction of the cost. Details are here.

Following the visit of Samuel Guibert to Ireland last week, we’re delighted to offer our second En Primeur campaign of Mas de Daumas Gassac.

WHAT IS EN PRIMEUR?
En Primeur is a way of buying wines while they’re still in barrel, well ahead of bottling and release, and with considerable savings on the final retail price. You pay the En Primeur price for the wines in advance, then pay for the excise duty, VAT and transport costs upon landing in Ireland. Transport is provided on a groupage basis with other clients so works
out much more cost effective than trying to organise on an individual basis.

I went down to Gassac to check that the wine was evolving

checking the 2011 vintage with Samuel Guibert

A message on the 2010 Red from Aime Guibert :

2010 VINTAGE REPORT FROM AIME GUIBERT – “A TREAT!”Ever since the end of fermentation, it’s been quite clear that the 2010 red Mas de Daumas Gassac is an outstanding vintage – powerful and oozing flavours.
The moderate summer, with no burning sun but equally not a drop of rain, was responsible for the delicious savors. Then, in early September, when the grapes were already ripe, a few scorching days ‘roasted’ them, resulting in a lightly ‘caramelized’ taste.

A splendid vintage, very full and rich, bursting with ripe fruit; it’s already a delightful drink, but will develop beautifully as the years go by. Born of a vineyard that’s over 30 years old, the 2010 vintage can thus be enjoyed while young, but you can be sure it will age magically if you put it down in a good, cool cellar.

Aimé GUIBERT
Véronique, Samuel, Gaël et Roman GUIBERT

Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge 2010

A very late spring and long summer lead to one of the latest harvests – picked by hand as usual – in the past 10 years with a reasonable yield. The 2010 resembles its big brother 2009 as the very ripe fruit is balanced by the sharp acidity that makes the wines from the cool Gassac Valley distinct and rich.
The 2010 red will impress many by the elegance it delivers now with a long finish that lingers on the palate. For those with patience, we recommend waiting 5 years to start enjoying the more evolved, earthy undertones that emerge with age.

Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2011

The first flower appeared around the 10th of May showing signs of an earlier harvest than 2010, but with a cool month of June and a very moderate month of July, picking was in early September. With a dominant blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Petit Manseng, the Daumas Gassac white continues to provide an explosion of apricot and passion fruit aromas in its youth. With a superb density and freshness in the mouth, the emphasis is on fruit and minerality.

Mas de Daumas Gassac Rose Frizant 2011

A fresh naturally sparkling wine made from a single fermentation and no dosage, the Rose Frizant has fine bubbles and a fruity finish. It is made using the younger Cabernet Sauvignon vines on the Grand Cru vineyards.

The duty and VAT are at current rates and hopefully this won’t change in the budget. You never know, the duty or VAT might go down, which will of course make this cheaper again.

Call on 052-6182939 or email us on info@rednosewine.com to order now.

The 2010 Mas de Daumas Gassac red, and 2011 Mas de Daumas Gassac white and Rosé Frizant, will be ready for release in February/March of 2012. You can now purchase them En Primeur through Red Nose Wine.

Final orders for Mas de Daumas En Primeur 2011 must be received by Monday 7th November 2011.

Red Nose Wine had the great pleasure of visiting Ballymaloe House recently for a photoshoot with Rachel Allen and our friend Michael Kane from Curious Wines. Colm McCan, Ballymaloe’s Tipperary born sommelier gave us a great welcome.

It was all to publicize our upcoming tastings / wine dinner with Samuel Guibert of Mas de Daumas Gassac on Thursday Ocotber 20th in Inch House and Friday in Ballymaloe. Details of which are here

Here are some of the pictures.

This wine lark is great fun

Picking a nice wine for dinner

Dinner in the wine cellars of Ballymaloe

Cheers

Wines of the week

We have 2 new wines of the week and they include a real star wine from the Irish Vineyard in France. I am of course talking about the much loved Domaine des Anges in Provence. The new vintages have arrived into Red Nose Wine and we are giving the 2010 White a push by slashing the price back to €10.49. This organic wine has a nose of pears and lemons with a touch of tropical fruits. A full, rich, creamy, well-balanced palate with notes of pears and pineapples leading to a long finish, both lively and elegant.

To match it we have the very popular La Granja Tempranillo Garnacha, aka The Zebra. This is an everyday drinking soft rounded juicy red wine, with rich ripe raspberry flavours. It is a great match for barbeque roasted pork chops, spare ribs, sausages, grilled vegetables and cheeses and only costs €6.99.

Oh what a night!

What a night was had on November 10th in the Clonmel Park Hotel. Nearly 500 food ( and wine ) lovers descended on Tipperary in a great show of support for local food and local business. Myself and Con Traas of the Apple Farm could not pour the wine and juices quickly enough as the crowds were three deep at the bar.

Jane Boyce MW and Pat Whelan discuss wines to go with Pat's recipes.

A Master of Wine

The whole night was a great success and I was delighted to have someone like Jane Boyce MW matching artisan wines to artisan food. There are only 4 Masters of Wine in Ireland so it was a real coup to be able to convince her to travel from the North. She has a real warmth when she speaks about wine and does not talk down to her audience. The comments I received about her were all very positive and a number of people want me to do a dedicated wine night with Jane in the future.

Twitterati

I remember being at a Tipperary Food Producers meeting last year and I tried to explain Twitter to the group and the power of social networking. I am not sure everyone took me too seriously but Pat Whelan was definitely listening and he now has double my number of followers. He had the great idea to invite a panel of Twitter folk ( Twitterati ) and bloggers to cover the event. They sat alongside the Transition Year students participating in the Food Connect program and the hashtag #tippfood was a buzzing as the night went on.

The Tipperary Food Producers were genuinely humbled by the support from the public and we hope to build and improve on this going forward. Thanks to the Bloggers and Twitterati for their hard work. Keith Bohanna caught me after the end of the night for a few quick words. You can see the interview here

Red Nose for the The Frontline

This is the second attempt at this article. When I wrote the first, it was on the back of hitting a creative wall and not knowing what to talk about. Inspiration, for use of a better word dragged me into a political and social rant. I will shelve that article and save the argument for when Pat or Miriam ask me to rant in the centrally approved forum that is RTE 1. Until that happens, I will bring you sunshine and rainbows with a side of wonderful wine.

Tipp Food goes on and on

If you buy the paper on Wednesday you are no doubt very excited about tonight’s Tipperary Food Producers Extravaganza. If it is later in the week, you are in awe of the wonderful food (and wine) on your doorstep and can’t wait to tell everyone about it. Alternatively, you missed the show and are avoiding all of your friends who were there, as they keep reminding you of how good it was. Wherever you fit in this little jigsaw please keep local business in your thoughts this Christmas. We need your support.

Jane Boyce MW and Pat Whelan discuss wines to go with Pat's recipes.

The Twitterati and Food Connect Program cover the Food Extravaganza

There are even more events to look forward to in the run up to Christmas. I had lunch last week with Gay McGuiness, the Kilkenny man who owns Domaine des Anges, the organic vineyard that lies in beautiful Provence, just over the hill from Chateauneuf du Pape. We are delighted to announce that the winemaker, Ciaran Rooney will be visiting Clonmel on November 24^th and taking part in a wine dinner in Befanis.

Kilkenny & Tipperary meet again

Myself and Fulvio have been trying to organise a wine dinner for a long time, so I am delighted that it is with one of my own personal favourites. Places are limited and selling very well so if you want 5 different wines and a 4 course dinner for only 45 Euros, please contact Red Nose Wine or Befanis to get your ticket. There will be special prizes on the night as well.

I wrote about my visit there this summer, and will not wax lyrical about the room with the view this time. I will talk more about the wines and why they are constantly being reviewed as among the very best in France. Tomas Clancy gave them a huge write up in last week’s Sunday Business Post (although he forget to mention Red Nose Wine), and Oz Clarke has them in his 250 Great Wines book every year. My old friend Jancis Robinson is also a big fan.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine with Gay McGuiness at Domaine des Anges

As well as the quality, the most consistent message from them all is the value. These are very well priced and if you don’t want to pay for Chateauneuf du Pape or White Burgundy, then you would do a lot worse than try these. They have been one of my big success stories this last year.

Some Tasting Notes

The Reds are based around Syrah and Grenache, the classic Rhone Valley varieties. The Classic cuvee (i.e. the cheap one) is dominated by Grenache just like its illustrious neighbour in Chateauneuf. The nose is a mix of raspberries, cranberries, chocolate, and liquorice with subtle notes of thyme and rosemary. But will we like it Gary? I believe that you will if you like full bodied wine with a long silky finish. I think it tastes much better when decanted and there is not a lot of 12 Euro wines you can say that about.

Domaine des Anges

The L’Archange Red is a huge step up in quality and this Syrah dominated wine from old vines is a star. A Northern Rhone Syrah is one of the iconic wines in the world and usually has an iconic price to match. The likes of Jaboulet La Chapelle can put you back some serious money. The L’Archange is under twenty and offers spices such as nutmeg and clove complete with ripe blackcurrant and plum on the nose. The palette explodes with rich, ripe fruit and a refreshing note of lemon thyme all supported by spicy tannins. The finish is full, round and lingers long in the mouth. I cannot wait to try this with Befanis fillet of beef on November 24^th.

Del Boy Trotter’s favourite wine

While comparisons with its Fancy Dan Red Wine neighbour over the hill are the most obvious, the critics would tell you that the real stars are the white wines. Tomas Clancy from the Sunday Business Post thoughts is closest to my own on the top wine. “For me, the star of Domaine des Anges, it makes only 750 cases a year as it is a single vineyard wine. Barrel-fermented Rousanne, letting the wine sit on its lees, and ageing in oak provides the kinds of kid-glove treatment you expect of a flashy and expensive Burgundy”. High praise indeed. This is an allocation wine for me. That means I can only get a very small amount every year. I have six cases to get me to the next vintage. We’ll drink at least one of those at the dinner, so hurry up.

 The Hills are Alive…. with Acidity

White wine from Provence is not supposed to taste like this, and the reason that it does? The vineyard is situated on a hillside facing Mont Ventoux, “The Giant of Provence”, which rises to 1912m in altitude. The mountain has a profound influence on the climate of the vineyards with cool evening breezes refreshing the vines in summer after the day’s intense heat, and so enabling the vines to maintain high natural acids and elegant tannins.

In fact, the best white wines from traditionally warm parts of the world nearly always share this altitude and cooling effect. The great white wines of the Loire Valley and Burgundy are much more northern so the climate gives them this coolness that acidity demands.

 Hollywood is coming

As I write this, tomorrow sees another new wine departing the vineyard for Red Nose Wine. I wrote about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s vineyard in Provence earlier this year and I am delighted to say that the wonderful Chateau Miraval is on the way. This is another Provence wine that sits high up in the hills, beside my old favourite Chateau Margui. I am delighted that Ciaran Rooney will be the star of Red Nose Wine’s first wine dinner and we are planning more. Will Brad and Angelina attend one of these? If they do, it will be first refusal for the people who attend the other ones.

Chateau Miraval

If you want to taste Domaine des Anges but can’t make the dinner, don’t forget we are having our very first portfolio tasting in Hickeys Cafe at the Westgate in Clonmel on December 9^th. There won’t be the usual winemaker talk and taste format. We will have a huge amount of wines open and it will be very informal as you taste what you want in a very social atmosphere. There will be food and maybe even some music – I will need to restring my guitar. I will have everything opened from the 8 Euro everyday wines to the seriously complex superstar wines. Book your tickets now.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

Please have a look at our Facebook site and ‘Like’ Us so we can share all the photos with you. Feel free to share this page with your friends and enemies.

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Optimism & The Grapes of Sloth

This article starts with the sole purpose of being optimistic in a time that it is difficult to be optimistic in. I gave up watching the news a long time ago. It really served no purpose to be exposed to negativity all of the time. This article is inspired by a virtual conversation I had with a wine blogger this morning. To clarify, the blogger does exist in real life as well, and goes by the name of The Grapes of Sloth. The virtual aspect of it came via the magic of Twitter and that crazy old thing called cyber space.

I am sending out samples to journalists at the moment about the two new vineyards I have brought in from the Languedoc. These are what are referred to as the next icon wines. By this I mean, wines that are relatively unknown within the public arena, but are garnishing phenomenal reviews worldwide from critics. Another way to see them is wines that are perceived as expensive and hard to sell.

8 – 12 Euro Wines

This was the point my esteemed blogger friend made. Is this the time to bring in these kinds of wines? This is where the optimism I spoke of in the first paragraph is required. I know that most of the wine I sell will be between 8 and 12 Euros. I accept and understand that, but people will not experience these unique wines if somebody doesn’t take a risk to import and sell them.

I enjoy the challenge of finding the cheaper wines of quality and am delighted every time a customer comes back and raves about a Pinot Grigio that I sold them for 8 Euros. The fact that I am exceeding their expectations and the wine is cheaper and better than the ones they have being buying is very rewarding. It is the bread and butter of what I try to do. When I get these wines into restaurants and hotels, I am equally delighted. Cheap wine does not need to be bad quality.

Someone has to be the Fool

I could not sell the everyday wine if it did not allow me to find, taste and sell the special wines. Though there is only a small amount of people who end up buying them, I love being the fool who imports them. Some people will never get to taste and appreciate them, but they might. These wines are the very definition of a ‘hand sell’. You must sell the story and the winemaker as well as the wine. Why is it costing 20 Euros and why is it such good value at that price. The wines must not only live up to the “story”, they must exceed it.

A man called Pascal

Pascal Fulla owns a vineyard called Mas de L’Ecriture in a region known as the Terrasses du Larzac in the Languedoc. He sold up his share in a small airline and transferred his legal perfectionism from the rule of law, to that of nature. He is known as someone who believes in detail and the meticulous attention he gives to his wines is testament to this. Each individual plot is harvested, vinified and aged separately. Like all the great wines, the yield is ridiculously low. These are among the principle reasons wines like this cannot be sold for under 10 Euros.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine and Pacal Fulla of Mas de L'Ecriture

What does Gordon sell?

These wines are currently more or less unknown in Ireland, but if you bought a lottery ticket in Donnybrook recently and fancy a nice lunch, apparently Heston Blumenthal has a nice Three Michelin starred restaurant in the UK. He also sells these wines as does the other master of Michelin, Gordon Ramsey. The leading worldwide critics such as Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker have heaped praise on this estate.

The new Claret?

I am not suggesting that you abandon your budget and your sense and rush to Red Nose Wine to buy these wines. They will not interest most of you. However, for those of you who do occasionally treat yourself to a good bottle of Bordeaux, or a fancy Australian Shiraz. I am suggesting that you save yourself some money, and try these wines.

A good street corner in Bordeaux

Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be

People of a certain vintage often call into me and tell me of the times when good Bordeaux was affordable. The wines that now make their way to China for over one thousand Euros a bottle, used to be affordable for a special Sunday dinner. It is my belief that these kinds of wines are now the modern day equivalent. In case you were wondering, we are talking about 20 Euros, not 50 for these wines.

Last chance for Tickets

I have been talking about the upcoming Tipperary Food Producers Christmas Extravaganza for the last few articles and tickets have been selling very well. I still have more, so don’t leave it too late to get yours. I know that Pat Whelan has a great piece written about it this week so rather than try and compete with the published author, I would urge you to go to Pats blog and read his piece. I am only mildly jealous about the book Pat.

Domaine des Anges Dinner

If that’s not enough, Red Nose Wine is delighted to announce that Ciaran Rooney of Irish vineyard Domaine des Anges in Provence is visiting us on November 24th. Rather than do a formal tasting, we are going to have a wine dinner in Befanis restaurant. It promises to be a great night with super food being matched to beautiful organic wines. There has already been huge interest so I would suggest you contact Red Nose Wine or Befanis to reserve your seat.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

Please have a look at our Facebook site and ‘Like’ Us so we can share all the photos with you. Feel free to share this page with your friends and enemies.

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Bulls Blood

Last year around this time I wrote a piece on a Hungarian wine known as Bulls Blood. It was supposed to be a tip of the hat towards Halloween with the Blood reference. At some point I must have thought that I would consider bringing the wine into Ireland. Well that’s not going to happen anytime soon I am afraid. The market is not quite ready I think. We have a few more bottles of Merlot and Pinot Grigio to sell. It’s a shame as it is a really good hearty wine.

The Irish Times agree

I was interested to note in the weekend edition of the Irish Times that John Wilson covered the same ground as I did recently when breaking down the price of a bottle of wine. The only slight difference was that he has the final margin a little higher than I had. Maybe I need to put up the prices. Thunderbolts and Lightening, I think I am selling my wine too cheap. When this gets out we will need to install the crowd control grids again. All joking aside, I encourage you to look up Saturdays Times online and read about the pricing of wine in this country and how the government are talking such a huge cut. When the budget comes out, we may need to revisit it, so get your wine before Mr. Lenihan sucks the soul from the country.

I now banish this mention of the evil day to the toilet of inevitability. Instead, I will return to some of the characters I met on my recent trip to Italy. I deliberately took a little break from introducing them, as I was conscious of diluting what was a really educational and delicious trip to Italy. In some ways I am saving the best for last, as the remaining two winemaking families are iconic and have been for many years. Their very names evoke the heart of Italian white wine excellence.

The Hills of Soave

Soave People

The Italian region of Soave got a bad name for a number of years as a change in Italian law expanded the region from its historical base in the hills around the medieval village of Soave. An historical and small area around a little village expanded into a huge area of commercial high yielding vines. So, now much like Burgundy, it is very important to know and trust the producer.

The KIngs of Soave

The very first bottle of wine to call itself Soave came from the Pieropan estate in the early 1930s. Founded by Leonildo Pieropan in 1890 and subsequently run by his two sons, Fausto and Gustavo, it was the youthful enthusiasm of his grandson Leonildo, known as Nino, that revolutionised it. Nino and Teresita run the company now and have been joined by their sons, Dario and Andrea.

Screwcaps and Classicos

Despite this link to tradition, they are pioneering screwcaps on classified Italian wines. They are determined that screwcap is the way forward and their Soave Classico wines reflect this. However, they were forced to reluctantly abandon the Classico denomination to achieve this. When you buy a bottle of Pieropan Soave you are actually getting a bottle of Soave Classico. Forget under cost rubbish wines, that is real value.

Jane Boyce MW listens beside the old bamboo drying Table

The mighty Oz is a fan

Oz Clarke ( who was in the first Superman film ) agrees and says “when the right grapes were grown in the right vineyards and turned into wine with skill and care, Soave was, and is, one of Italy’s loveliest white wines. This has a comehither scent of ripe apple and soft leather with just a whiff of tobacco and white peach. The flavour is subtle yet delightful: a tiny nip of grape skin tannin is easily disarmed by scented lemons and stones, a whisper of violet, a dash of creamy softness – succulence in pastel shades.” Flowery words indeed from Mr. Clarke, but good Soave is known as the Chablis of Italy and anyone who has tasted great Chablis will absolutely love this.

Darius Pieropan gives us the tour

That restaraunt in Verona

A few people have asked me about the restaurant in Verona that I mentioned in a previous article. It is called Trattoria al Pompiere and has a website at www.alpompiere.com. If you are planning a trip to Verona, I would very much recommend this little piece of heaven. I can still taste the Amarone Risotto. It is a few steps from the Romeo and Juliet balcony, so if you need romantic inspiration, may I suggest a meal here followed by a squeeze under the balcony. If he or she is not butter in your arms at this point, you still have the ancient open air opera, which is about three minutes walk away. “Buona Fortuna”.

A good table in Verona

Food Extravaganza

There has been a huge uptake in tickets for the Food Extravaganza in the Clonmel Park on November 10th. Held in conjunction with Bord Bia, this promises to be a great evening. Jane Boyce MW will be on stage and matching wines to the food that Pat Whelan among others will be preparing. A lot of companies are using this as a team building night out and for 15 Euros it is great value. We want to show you what is on your doorstep and I think you will be amazed. Jamie Oliver and Richard Corrigan make TV shows about people like those in the Tipperary Food Producers. I urge you to come along and see what the term Taste the Difference really means.

A Very Tasty Wine Dinner

Red Nose Wine are starting to put final dates on our own more intimate wine evenings and we will be having an Irish winemaker in France over on November 24th. Ciaran Rooney of Domaine des Anges will host a wine dinner in Befanis restaraunt in Clonmel. They menu looks superb and I have never had a bad meal there. €45 for food and wine and a peek into the world of winemaking in Provence.

I am then planning on having an open house portfolio tasting on December 9th which will involve lots of wine open and little or no talking. I will pick the cream of the wines and open them up for a tapestry of wine. Be sure to get on the mailing list to get the information when it is hot off the press. Tickets will be limited. The competition for the Icon Wines from the Languedoc closes today, so if you are not Liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter – do it today. Winners will be announced on Facebook & Twitter.  

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

Please have a look at our Facebook site and ‘Like’ Us so we can share all the photos with you. Feel free to share this page with your friends and enemies.

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Christmas is coming and the goose will be a miserable looking effort after Brian Lenihan gets us in his radar for the Budget. So before all of that, Red Nose Wine makes a galant effort to bring a little continental flavour into your lives.

As you all know, the Irish travel well, and have made great success of themselves across the globe. We all have the relations who made good in America. To this day Irish names resonate across the wine world. Bordeaux in particular has Lynch, Kirwan, MacCarthy, Barton and Phelan stil commanding prices and respect across the world.

Another Irish Family done good

The latter day Wine Geese found themselves moving a little further south and one of the great modern Irish vineyards is based in a wonderful little part of Provence. It is called Domaine des Anges and Kilkennyman Gay McGuinness owns it and Dubliner Ciaran Rooney makes the wines, and they have been fantastically received all over the world. They have been very popular in Red Nose Wine since we started taking them in.

After that rather long winded introduction, what’s the point. I am delighted to announce that Red Nose Wine is having a wine dinner with winemaker Ciaran Rooney on Wednesday November 24th in Befanis Restaurant in Clonmel Co. Tipperary.

Menu

This promised to be a fantastic night where a menu of fresh in season food will be prepared to match the artisan and organic wines of Domaine des Anges.

Gary Gubbins climbes the hill above Domaine des Anges

For those of you not familiar with the vineyard, it is basically “over the hill” from Chateaneuf du Papes and its Reds reflect the style, especially in its entry level offering. I would suggest the Archange is more like a nothern Rhone in style and the high altitude definetly helps here, but its whites are where the real surprise occurs. Countless critics from Oz Clarke to Jancis Robinson and Tomas Clancy have raved about these wines. I haven’t even told you the best bit. They are fantastically priced and a real bargain from €12.50 up Retail.

Tickets can be purchased from Red Nose Wine or from Befanis, but places are limited and with all the food and wine included for only €45, this could sell out very quickly.

Maradona and the fan letter

Where to now on our rocky road through the technical aspects of tasting wine? Do we have to endure more statistical nonsense about sweetness and acidity? All we really want to know is if the wine tastes good. And so shout the gallery from the rooftops of my imaginary fanbase. Is anybody reading? Does anybody care? Well I can tell you that someone is reading because I got a fan letter. I am not sure they were supportive of the articles or not as it was a bit of a rant, but I am framing it and putting it on the toilet wall with my signed Maradona shirt. To answer the earlier question, yes we do have to endure more wine talk. It is a wine column after all.

Margaux or Pinot Grigio?

And so on to all things grapey, if such a word exists. I appreciate the recent articles may be a little heavy in terms of the technicalities behind wine tasting, so I think I will talk about something a little less taxing. To be honest, it is exhausting writing in that detail, so we’ll all take a week off. The break will do us good and we’ll be ready to talk about something magical or mystical next week. So what to fill the pages of the paper with in its place? I’m banned from talking about France for a while yet, and I have a few things on Italy planned soon. I think use the information we have been amassing these last few weeks should be used, so I will approach a sensitive subject on wine. Do people pretend to like complex and expensive wines because they think they should, when really they would prefer the cheap €10 euro bottle instead? When I attend family gatherings there is often a silent assumption that I will bring something nice to the table. I personally prefer to use up their current stock of Red Nose Wine so they will be forced to buy some more. In any case, I have often arrived with what would be referred to as a serious wine, with layers of complexity. It takes every amount of self control not to recite poetry on the spot; such is the inspiration within this liquid gold. It usually goes in two directions. One person claims to see the light and bows down in adulation before the alter of this most wondrous creation. The other finds it too tough and sneaks away to return with a nice and easy Pinot Grigio. The question is – who is right and who is wrong and is it fair to strip it down like this.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine at Chateau Margaux

Days of Wine & Roses

I am not talking about the times when you are tired and want an “easy” wine by choice. I am talking about the wine when someone else is buying and money is not a major option. We can all close our eyes and remember the days of wine and roses. As the old song goes, “The days of wine and roses laugh and run away like a child at play. Through a meadow land toward a closing door. A door marked “nevermore” that wasn’t there before”. I think that’s a good summation of the Celtic Tiger actually. Sometimes bitterness can add to the wine, but we’ll get back to the subject at hand.

For all the people who buy cheap new world wine. Are they wrong to like it? Should they aspire to something more. For me, and this is only my opinion, they are right and wrong at the same time. If they like it how can they be wrong, so in this regard they are right. However, as human beings we all should aspire to something better, and the Celtic Tiger proved where this can lead. With regard to wine this doesn’t have to more expensive, and negative equity probably won’t kick in between the purchase and consumption of the bottle. In fact, the ‘better’ wine can often be cheaper. If you recall the sugar article, the added sugar in a lot of the cheaper wines masks the true integrity of the wines, so a bad wine can be very drinkable. We all like a bit of sugar, and the global popularity of Coca Cola and chocolate can attest to this. I know I used to have a problem with Coca Cola ( I don’t want to use the abbreviated version in case there is a whole other misunderstanding ). I would drink a bottle of it without thinking and absorb the sugar at speed. I now only rarely have it, unless I am on holidays in the country I am not allowed to speak of. They still serve it in the tall glass bottle with ice and lemon. I can almost taste it. Maybe I still have a bit of a problem.

Coca Cola

Taste the Difference

The true essence of a wine is when it reflects the people who make it and the land where it comes from. If that is a wine style you don’t like, then that is fine. However, I do think we should all be drinking a wine in its purest form, and that doesn’t ecessarily mean organic. It means there is nothing added or taken away from the essence of the fruit, be it a very cheap wine or a hugely complex monster. There is always a temptation to say wonderful things about complex expensive wines as many people feel they should. I love it when people come into the shop and tell me they know nothing about wine and want me to recommend a wine. I try to determine if it’s for food or if they like it sweet or dry, and the vast majority of the time I will give them a cheap, cheerful but authentic wine. It is usually a cheaper wine because if they are not used to drinking it, the expensive one will be wasted. I love it even more when regular wine drinkers around the 9-11 euro mark ask me for something special. When you go above 12 euros towards the 15 euro mark you should be getting wines that really make you stop and think. No amount of added sugar can replicate this experience and I never tire of people coming back and telling me about tasting the difference. It took me a long time to appreciate the really complex wines and I am still learning and that is a really great part of the job. Ultimately you must enjoy the wine. It should not be hard work so I understand why my Pinot Grigio loving relation likes it so much. However, the same person will not be found hiding when a good bottle of Red comes around. I think it is much easier for the amateur wine taster to appreciate a fine red, compared to a fine white, but it could be argued that some of the world’s most interesting fine wines are white.

Kilkenny team sponsor a case of Wine

By the time you (hopefully) read this, the hugely popular Tipperary Food Producers Long Table dinner will have happened. I am supplying the Kilkenny owned Domaine des Anges for the dinner in The Old Convent. I asked the owner, Gay McGuiness to sponsor a case for the night, and he kindly agreed, but on condition. If Kilkenny win the All Ireland, I pay for the sponsored wine, and if Tipperary wins, he does. So, for all of you, who enjoyed this wonderful organic wine from Provence, be sure to shout for Tipperary on September 5th, or I will be broke. Please visit the website www.tipperaryfoodproducers.com to see highlights from the night.

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For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”