Wine Alliance had a wine tasting in Bradleys on North Main St this evening.
They had 4 wines on offer:
Star of the night for me was the Kangarilla Road.
Thanks very much Bradleys and Wine Alliance!
The lads at the Corkscrew in Dublin run a couple of
wine fairs each year, raising money for charity in the process.
This time around, with The Winter Wine Fair, they hope to raise urgently needed funds for Focus Ireland.
So, what’s on offer?
An enjoyable few lazy hours on a Sunday afternoon in Dublin’s prestigious Westbury Hotel, with an opportunity to taste over 100 of the best wines available in Ireland with great discounts on any purchases, all while enjoying the feel good factor of giving to charity.
The details
The Corkscrew Winter Wine Fair, in aid of Focus Ireland
Sunday, November 20th 12.30 – 5.30pm.
Westbury Hotel, Dublin
Tickets €25 and available online
About Focus Ireland
Homelessness in Ireland is on the rise, while funding for charities like Focus Ireland under immense pressure. Their services for people who are homeless are especially important in winter.
If you’re not sure about wine tastings, Blake Creedon (of the Examiner) has a great guide to attending one. They’re always good fun and this one also supports a worthy charity.
On Monday I went along to Fenns Quay for a Dinner and Sicilian Wine tasting.
Victoria Curatolo of Villa Tonino and Liberty Wines were supplying and presenting the wines on the night.
There were about 20 people at the dinner, some of whom I’d met before. I had the pleasure of meeting Billy Lyons and his wife. Kevin had seated them at our table and we discovered a shared love of France, wine and a common history in Glounthaune, our native parish.
The dinner was fantastic, 4 courses with each being really tasty. As always in Fenns Quay, the service was top notch and the dinner was nice and relaxed, with no hint of a rush. I’ve attached the menu, with a grainy shot of the Osso Bucco and a grainier shot of Victoria.
Fenns Quay Sicilian Wine tasting and Dinner menu
For the wines, we tasted 6 from the range.
Villa Tonino Inzolia, 2009
Villa Tonino Grillo, 2009
Villa Tonino Nero D’Avola 2008
Villa Tonino `Baglio Curatolo` 2007
Villa Tonino `Baglio Curatolo` Syrah, 2007
Villa Tonino Marsala Superiore Riserva, NV, Curatolo
I loved the 3 reds, and if I really really had to chose a favourite, I’d go with the Baglio Curatolo. I’d be very happy with any of them though. I also very much liked the Inzolia – I reckon it’s tailor made for sipping on a hot summers day.
I had 3 of the clan with me, and in true family style we all had different favourites. We all liked a lot of the range though, which is an unusually high hit rate.
Victoria presented the wines in turn, with lovely stories of the history of the family Vineyard. I love hearing stories about where wines are made and the people that make them. It really adds to the experience for me.
It was a brilliant night, thanks to Kevin and all at Fenns Quay, and Victoria and Jerry.
You can read what Billy thought of the night.
As always, I’ve attached a scan of my tasting notes. Best of luck reading them 
On Monday 26th July at @19:30 Fenns Quay are hosting a Sicilian dinner and wine tasting.
“We have a four course dinner paired with six different wines. The price is €50 which includes the food and wine (Plenty of it!!). There will be a draw at the end of the night when one lucky attendee will win a 6 bottle mixed case of wine.”
sounds like it’ll be a great night – I’ll be there.
I’m delighted to announce that O’Briens will be the suppliers for twebt 4.
Please follow them on twitter.
twebt 4 will take place at 21:00, Sunday April 25th.
You can buy the bottle from their website or in their shops in Beacon South Quarter, Donnybrook, Limerick and Galway or you can even contact them and buy it in one of their other shops!
We’ve been listening to your feedback, so this time it’ll be a white wine.
If you’re not familiar with twebt, our twitter blind wine tasting, you can read lots more about it on my blog.
I hope you can join us!
p.s. we’re planning something special for this twebt, but it’s still a secret. watch this space
This evening we tasted a selection of white wines in tall bottles, a.k. bottles that don’t fit on the shelves. This was the third meeting of the Blackrock Castle Wine Club. I had missed the second, being snowboarding in Austria at the time, and discovered that The system was modified slightly since the first one.
In response to patron feedback Julian was now speaking through a PA system, so as to reach even the most distant listener and the sequence of pouring and tailing had been refined. Tonight they poured, we tasted, we talked amongst ourselves and then Julian told us a little about the wine and we played guess the price. It’s a nice way to do it, I think everyone gets to enjoy the tasting and still hears the background information, which for me is a huge part of the experience.
The event went swimmingly – excellent organisation from Blackrock Castle and the Bubble Brothers team.
A brilliant addition to the system was the introduction of a “guess the mystery bottle” round. We were all poured a glass from a mystery bottle and wrote down our thoughts as to the provenance on a piece of paper. The first piece of paper incorporating a correct guess as to the country of origin drawn from the hat (cardboard box) would win a mysery prize! It took some persistance but eventually a winning answer was drawn and the mystery bottle identified. I’m quite proud to say I didn’t recognise the bottle of Blue Nun at all!
As always, I’ve attached my notes from the evening. I’m afraid they’re rather more sparse than usual. This is a reflection on my personal lack of affinity with Rieslings and no reflection on what was another splendid evening.
If you’re thinking of attending one of the next meetings – do. They’re great fun, you’ll learn a bit about wine, meet some nice people and best of all, taste some lovely wines.
You can sign up here.
This evening I attended a wine tasting presented by Bubble Brothers in the Aga Shop in Cork.
Julian from Bubble Brothers presented 8 wines, all from the Langeudoc region in France. This is a region I’ve visited a couple of times and found it to be lovely, so I had high hopes for the wines.
It may be the scientist in me, but I’ll have to explain the procedures for this tasting. Julian would pour us all a glass, and then tell us a little about the producer of the wine. We’d then taste it and at my table at least, would all have a different opinion and argue about it. Noone at our table was spitting, but we used the supplied bucket to (regretfully) dispose of the remaining wine after we’d tasted a sufficient quantity. Some of the drivers and local critics were spitting with impressively tidy technique. Not something I’m interesting in learning though, I’ll keep on drinking. Anyway, there was plenty of time to ask questions and look for further information. I was delighted that one of the wines on the list was on my list of wines to try. It’s now on my list to buy.
At my table I had 3 members of my clan, my father, my uncle and my sister Emma, newly returned as a Dr. from Edinburgh. I don’t think that we had more than 2 people with the same opinion at any one time. I suppose that’s family for you.
The venue was lovely, the company was jovial, the wines were nice and the experience was a delightful counterpoint to the doom and gloom omnipresent in todays media.
If you’re looking for some wine related fun, or you just want an evening out with a difference try a wine tasting.
For anyone interested, the wine list and my scrawled notes. Up top are random thoughts that struck me, in double quotes are things said either by Julian (our host) or someone in the room, single quotes came from people at my table.
