brian clayton » fun

twebt the aftermath

Brian Clayton — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:33:43 +0000

Well, we had #twebt 2 last night. It went very well, I think we had about 15 people actively tasting and a good few more joined in with guesses from the comments people were making.
Curious Wines supplied a lovely bottle of an Italian Merlot. It went down a treat with everyone, I’d recommend it highly.
The richness and complexity threw a few of us well off, but impressively a few people also honed right in on the fact that it was an italian wine. kudos to them!

I made a few short youtube videos for the event.

Welcoming everyone to #twebt:

opening the mystery bottle:

the big reveal!:

and finally one to say thanks to everyone:

massive thanks to everyone for taking part, to @kevatfennsquay and @curiouswines for all the organisation – hope to see more of you at #twebt 3 in early March!

wine tastings are fun

Brian Clayton — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:52:59 +0000

Last night I went to my first wine tasting – hosted by Curious Wines at the Ambassador hotel in Cork City.
I had no idea what to expect – I know very little about wine in general so I was hoping to learn something and move outside my ‘choice’ comfort zone.
I was travelling in a party of 4 – my sister and two friends. Unfortunately my friends had to cancel at the last minute. We landed in to see a number of tables laid out with spittoons, glasses, tasting notes and glasses of water. Suddenly I had that feeling you get at the dentist when you see the instrument tray laid out by the chair. No matter, I said hello to Mike and my sis and I took a seat.

Mike opened proceedings and introduced Joyce Austin of New Zealand Boutique Wines. Mike was careful to put our minds at rest and made it clear that things were informal. Joyce was a fantastic MC for the evening, explaining the wines and giving lots of useful information on wines in general, not just the ones she was promoting.

For the procedurally curious, the wines were poured “blind” into the glasses on the table. We then had time to swirl, smell and taste them before she explained what we had just tasted.
You could then either finish the glass or abandon the contents into the buckets on the table.

I confess I did taste the intruiging looking bucket at the end of the night. I won’t reveal the results of that taste test though.

All in all, it was a smashing night. I met a number of Irish wine names, everyone was very friendly and in great form. I was stunned by some of the revelations, mainly to do with how different in character a different ‘breed’ of a familiar grape can be.
If you get any chance at all to attend a wine tasting, grasp it with both hands.

incidentally, if anyone wants to see how seriously I take life:

independence of the seas 2

Brian Clayton — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:58:24 +0000

Cobh puts on a good show for the liners, with food stalls, music, stuff for the kids and more.
It’s worth a trip down when the liners are in. you can see the schedule here.

it’s good fun and a good idea to get the train down, the parking can get a little exciting!

brian at brianclayton.ie