Wilson on Wines

Northbound 08 Kölsch

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

From the Irish Times online ‘Take it Home’ 31st July,2015

€4.15 / £2.99 – 5%

I have very fond, if slightly hazy, memories of Kölsch from my student days working on building sites in Germany. If you were in Düsselfdorf, you drank Altbier, a copper-coloured fruity beer. If you were a little further south in Köln (or Cologne) you drank Kölsch. You were treated with contempt if you asked for Kölsch in Düsseldorf or an Alt in Köln. Kölsch is pale-coloured, like a lager, but top-fermented like an ale. It is light with a delicate fruitiness and subtle malt flavours. It is not an easy beer to produce but a few craft breweries around the world have tried their hand at it including, now, one in Ireland.

David and Martina Rogers emigrated to Sydney in 2004 as backpackers with a difference – David was an engineer with a residence permit. He started working with Tooheys Brewery, one of the largest in Australia. Included in his work description was “must be able to taste beer at 6.00am every morning”. He qualified as a master brewer in 2013. Drawn back by family ties and the beaches of Donegal, they returned to Ireland and set up Northbound brewery in Derry.

To keep things going, David consults with breweries and distilleries in Ireland and Scotland. In Sydney, Martina worked in sales; here she does “everything the master brewer doesn’t want to do”.

The brewery took two years to set up. “We are coming out of the madness I hope,” says Martina, “We bought our first house, had our third child and took delivery of the brewery in a very short space of time”. Their Kölsch is very good, with subtle malts and a refreshing crisp edge. It brought me straight back to Germany and those building sites. Mine was sourced in Whelehan’s, Loughlinstown.

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Black Donkey Brewing Sheep Stealer Irish Farmhouse Ale

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

From the Irish Times online “Take it Home’ 7th August, 2015

5.6%
€3.39 for a 500ml bottle.

Black Donkey Brewing is based in Ballinlough, Co. Roscommon. Richard Siberry and Michaela Dillon returned here from New York, having learnt the art of brewing in their garage. ‘Next Thursday marks a year since our first sale to the Salt House in Galway,’ says Siberry, ‘ so we’ll be having a tap takeover with our three beers there. The following Friday we will have four on tap in 57 The Headline in Clanbrassil St., including Beyond, our new rye pale ale.’

But it is the Sheep Stealer we look at today. ‘When we launched it people said it wouldn’t take off, but it was a favourite style of mine and we have been very pleasantly surprised by the reaction. It is very accessible, but that doesn’t make it bad. I think it’s where spaghetti or pizza was twenty years ago. People will fall in love with it. I suspect Irish brewers were brewing something similar a hundred years ago, even if it is seen as a Belgian style nowadays.’

The Sheep Stealer is a cloudy, funky Saison, full of sweet maltiness and peaches with a clean dry citrus finish. Thirst-quenching and moreish, this is one of the best beers I have tasted in quite a while. You can certainly enjoy it with food – mine went very well with a few cheeses – but I would happily sip this solo any day.

If you feel like going one step further, try Buck It, which Siberry describes as a malt-bomb. ‘Buck It is divisive’, he admits. ‘Some people love it, others can’t bear to be in the same room as it. But that’s fine with me – if I had wanted to please everyone I would have made Budweiser!’

Available from specialist off-licences

Tags: beer, Black Donkey, craft beer, Sheep Stealer

Posted in: Beer, Beer & Whiskey

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Côtes du Rhône 2013, Domaine Saint Gayan

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

14%
€16.95

Available from Searsons Wine Merchants, Monkstown.

This is a young wine with real concentration and length; never too big or alcoholic, but full-bodied with masses of dark fruits and liquorice. Worth every penny.

Drink with substantial stews and casseroles or roast venison

Côtes du Rhône comes in all shapes and sizes; this vast area produces huge quantities of inexpensive glugging wine at very cheap prices. The more ambitious producers aim to make far better wines with real character, and charge a little more. Some offer great value. Domaine St. Gayan, with vineyards in the posher areas of Rasteau, Sablet and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is one such producer.

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100 Hügel 2014 Riesling Trocken Wittmann, Rheinhessen

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

12%
€18

Available from On the Grapevine,Dalkey; Cabot & Co, Westport; One Pery Square, Limerick.

Fresh crisp Riesling with light exotic fruits – pineapple and peaches, with a good dry finish.

Sip before dinner or with crab salad.

I am reliably informed that this is what Dalkey is drinking this summer, and possibly Westport and Limerick too. I can only admire their good taste. Phillip Wittmann produces some of the finest wines in Germany from his small estate in the Rheinhessen. The top wines cost over €30 a bottle, so I usually go for his Trocken at around €22. This is new, an entry-level dry Riesling. A hügel is a hill, and nothing to do with those people in Alsace.

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Custoza 2014 Cantina di Custoza, Veneto

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

12%
€12.95

Available from Bean & Berry, Wexford; Blackrock; Listons, Camden St.; Hole in the Wall; D7; SuperValu, Sutton; Nectar Wines, Sandyford; Michael’s, Deerpark; The Wicklow Wine Co.

A well-made light crisp fresh dry white from Italy. Better than most Pinot Grigio in this price range, a great everyday option.

By itself or with light fish dishes and shellfish.

Custoza (once Bianco di Custoza) is one of the lesser-known names from the Veneto in north-east Italy. I have always been very fond of its wines. They fall into a category that the Italians do very well; light and zesty whites to drink with fish. They prefer these to wines with too much aroma or flavour – sort of like a vinous squeeze of lemon to go with plainly cooked fish served hot or cold with a few herbs and maybe some olive oil.

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Pegos Claros 2010, Palmela, Portugal

Posted by admin on August 14, 2015

14%
€14.99

Available from O’Briens, and independent wine shops.

A bold and very beautiful wine; medium to full-bodied with a dangerously moreish palate of ripe liquorice, figs and dark fruits, finishing on a smooth note. Over-delivers at every stage.

I would go for a big beef or lamb casserole or maybe a nice steak.

This is an old favourite but I hadn’t tasted it for a while and was blown away by it in a tasting yesterday. Palmela is a small region on the Setúbal peninsula, across the river Tagus from the capital Lisbon. In the sandy soils running right down to the Atlantic ocean the Castelão grape produces unique fruit-filled wines, that have the ability to age very well.

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Mr. Jeffares and his Cordial

Posted by admin on August 12, 2015

I try to avoid alcohol from Monday to Wednesday (note the word try!) each week in an effort to give my poor liver a rest. This is sometimes honoured more in the breach than observance, but at least I make an effort. One major difficulty is finding a soft drink for grown-ups. I have never really liked any of the fizzy soft colas, oranges and other sweet concoctions, and water gets a little boring after a while. Over the last few years I have tried out various fruit syrups and cordials with some success. Now at last I may have solved my dilemma.

Last week I travelled down with a horde of scribes and foodies to the launch of Mr. Jeffares Irish Blackcurrant Cordial, a cordial with a difference – it isn’t sweet. Des Jeffares is the third generation of his family to grow blackcurrants on Ballykelly farm in Wexford. He is the only commercial blackcurrant farmer in Ireland. Until recently all of his crop was bought by the makers of Ribena; indeed those of you with good memories may remember him from various TV ads a few years ago. Two years ago, Ribena terminated the contract, so Jeffares had to make alternative plans. Mr. Jeffares cordial is made from 100% blackcurrant juice with no added sugar – a little stevia or sweetleaf extract takes the edge off, but it ‘drinks’ dry. It is available through various food retailers, so keep an eye out.

If fermenting cider is the nearest thing we can do to winemaking, growing blackcurrant is the closest we can get to growing grapes. I have met Des a number of times over the years (his wife Margaret is the driving force behind Good Food Ireland) and have been fascinated by the similarities that planting, trellising pruning, and harvesting blackcurrants have with viticulture. When we visited the farm, Des had a mechanical grape harvester hard at work garnering this years crop. This year’s vintage was looking quite healthy.

As for Mr. Jeffares cordial, there are all sorts of culinary uses to which it can be put; see their website mrjeffaresblackcurrants.ie for a few ideas. I tried out a variety of drinks and cocktails where it worked very well. As it isn’t as sweet as crème de cassis, it makes an excellent Kir (or cardinal with red wine) or Kir Royale and went down very nicely with another local product, Dungarvan Black Rock Stout. However, it is delicious drunk solo. I enjoy it at home with soda or sparkling water as a very delicious refreshing aperitif – three days a week!

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Bründlmayer & Muhr van der Niepoort tasting at Greenacres, Wexford

Posted by admin on August 11, 2015

I went to a wine dinner in Greenacres, Wexford last Friday, featuring the wines of the two producers above. It was a great night, with very good food, very good company, and some fantastic wines.

I am more used to meeting Thomas Klinger at the Bründlmayer stand at various trade wine fairs. At these he manages to pour an endless stream of wines to half a dozen clients while imparting a huge amount of information, all without missing a beat. Thomas is hugely knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm. It helps that he works for Bründlmayer, one of Austria’s greatest winemakers.

Willi Bründlmayer produces a large number of wines, mainly white, from his vineyards on the terraced slopes of the Kamptal. Over the last five years, I have come to prefer the wines of this region compared to those of the neighbouring Wachau, which has a higher reputation. Wachau wines tend to be rich and powerful, those from the Kamptal more elegant. The Bründlmayer reds are delicate and refined; the whites are always good and often profound. Thomas showed three wines before dinner, including the stunning rich Grüner Veltliner Kaferberg 2013 (€40). With dinner the stars were the delicious Grüner Veltliner Ried Loiserberg 2011 (€20) and the amazing Gelber Muskateller TBA 2002, transported over by Thomas from Austria but sadly unavailable commercially. In addition to the above wines, I am huge fan of the Bründlmayer Rieslings; my value pick from Greenacres would probably be the 2013 Riesling Kamptaler Terrassen for €17.50.

Dorli Muhr attends the same wine fairs, but is a very different presence with far fewer wines. She runs one of the leading PR agencies in Austria, representing many of the wine producers. However, she is also very involved in her own winery. Having bought a vineyard in Tuscany some years ago, she met Dirk Niepoort of the eponymous Port house. They fell in love and she moved to the Douro. However, when the relationship ended, they collaborated on a project in Austria, where the cooler climate allowed them to produce more elegant refined wines, the style that Muhr herself preferred. Until recently the wines were made by South African Irishman, Craig Hawkins who worked with Eben Sadie and now makes wine at Lammershoek. The vineyards are on the Spitzerberg in Carnuntum. Muhr has planted a mix of grape varieties on the limestone soils, but the star is Blaufränkisch, Central Europe’s native red grape that is now attracting interest worldwide.

Before dinner, we tasted Cuvée Vom Berg, a very decent Cabernet, Merlot, Blaufränkisch blend, the Samt & Seide below and the wonderful Liebkind Blaufränkisch 2012. At €25 this is very good value and a great expression of Blaufränkisch (made from very young vines), a svelte fresh wine with piquant dark fruits. Over dinner, we tried a very good Merlot, Rote Erde 2012 (€22.50), but the conversation switched to Syrah, and Muhr called for a bottle of her 100% Syrah Sydhang 2011, the surprise of the night for me. I am tired of producers telling me how their Syrah is ‘just like the Northern Rhône’, when it clearly isn’t, but the Sydhang certainly had some resemblance, along with a lovely character all of its own. Great value at €22.50 too.

Dorli & Thomas try out Irish cheese

Wines to buy

All of the wines below are available from Greenacres in Wexford. You may also find the Muhr van der Niepoort wines in a few independent wine shops around the country as well. Greenacres have a wide range of both producer’s wines. I have yet to come across a dud from either.

Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner 2013 Kamptaler Terrassen
€17.50

Delicious light fresh crisp dry wine with hints of ginger spice and subtle green fruits.

Muhr van der Niepoort Samt & Seide 2012
€20.00

Superb silky soft wine with blue fruits, balanced acidity and an easy finish. Pinotesque in style, a restrained and elegant wine.

However, if I were wandering around Greenacres, I would certainly be sorely tempted to buy a few bottles of the Bründlmayer Rieslings and the Sydhang Syrah too.

Tags: Austria, Blaufrankisch, Brundlmayer, Greenacres, Gruner Veltliner, Muhr van der Niepoort, Riesling

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The wonderful wines of Alsace

Posted by admin on August 9, 2015

From the Irish Times Saturday 8th August 2015

Tucked away in a corner along the eastern border of France, Alsace is often passed over by wine lovers. I admit to being guilty of this myself. I cannot remember when I last featured the wines from this region. It holds a place dear in my heart, and not just because of the lovely wines, for it was here that I spent my honeymoon.Mind you, it was bitterly cold in early March so romantic walks among the vines were not really an option. I have been back several times since though. This is a beautiful region with great walks and delicious food too. I would highly recommend a visit, preferably avoiding the summer months when picturesque towns such as Riquewihr are jammed with tourists. Alsace offers a range of great wines including a few light red wines and some very good rosés, both made from pinot noir. But the region is best known for its fantastic dry white wines. These deserve to be better known by the Irish wine drinker.

At first glance the wine nomenclature seems very clear. Alsace is the one region of France that has always allowed varietal labelling. A wide variety of grape varieties are permitted, but you are most likely to come across riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot gris, pinot blanc and muscat for white wines, and pinot noir for red and rosé. The majority of wines are crisp, clean, fruity and dry, exactly the kind we like to drink. Alsace also makes some great sweet wines. The term “vendange tardive” on a label means that the grapes were harvested late and the wine is likely to be medium dry.The classification Sélection des Grains Nobles (SGN) indicates a wine made from grapes affected by noble rot, as with a Beerenauslese in Germany. This is likely to be sweet, although with both of the above wines it depends on the grape variety and producer. Again this seems fairly clear. The problem with Alsace for wine drinkers is that in recent years, some wine producers have started to make off-dry wines. This is partly a result of rising temperatures and lower yields. But very few give any indication on the label, making it difficult for the consumer to know what kind of wine they are buying. A few grams of residual sugar is not a problem, but I have bought a number of sweet flabby wines that lacked acidity.This trend seems to be reversing a little, but when buying a bottle it is best to stick to well-known names or ask the shop assistant for advice.

As in Germany, riesling is held in the highest esteem. The very best are brilliant, compelling wines, powerful and complex with a taut steely acidity.Lower down the scale, you get lovely fresh apple and citrus fruits. Gewürztraminer seems to have fallen out of fashion a little, but when made well, the wines can be a great match for Indian and other Asian dishes, as can pinot gris, which tends to made in an off-dry style in Alsace.The surprise of my tasting were two pinot blancs, one each from Hugel and Trimbach. Both were light (12-12.5 per cent) elegant wines with plump juicy fruits and a pleasure to drink as an aperitif. Alsace also produces large quantities of sparkling crémant d’Alsace, some of it very good. The best vineyards in Alsace are designated grand cru. There are some 50 of these. Generally these are made from a single variety (although some producers are allowed to blend several) and it will appear on the label.

The two big names are Trimbach and Hugel. Both are good. I am particularly fond of Trimbach. Two co-operatives, the Cave de Turckheim and the Cave de Hunawihr, widely available through independents, produce a solid range of wines. Look out too for anything from Josmeyer, Zind-Humbrecht, Weinbach, René Muré, Sipp Mack, Meyer-Fonné and Kientzler.

jwilson@irishtimes.com

Trimbach Riesling 2012
12.5%
€19.50

A lifted floral nose followed by lovely crisp lip-smacking green apple fruits, and a bone dry finish.

Stockists: widely available in independent wine shops.

Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes Abbés 2012
12.5%
€21.95

Enticing fresh quince and honey fruits with a lovely lingering finish.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown.

Muré Riesling Grand Cru Vorbourg Clos Saint Landelin 2012
13.5%
€38.99

Riesling at its imperious best. Complex intense honeyed fruit with a steely backbone.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca Kilmacanogue.

Tags: Alsace, Grand Cru, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, René Muré, Riesling, Schlumberger, TRIMBACH

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Viognier 2013, Terre d’Eglantière Vignerons Ardechois, IGP Ardèche

Posted by admin on August 8, 2015

Viognier 2013, Terre d’Eglantière Vignerons Ardechois, IGP Ardèche
14%
€16.95

Available from Red Island Wine, Skerries; Hole in the Wall, D7; Deveneys, Rathmines; The Wicklow Wine Co.

Sumptuous rich textured peach and apricot fruits overlaid with grilled nuts and toast and a hint of honey. A nicely balanced full-bodied wine that coats the mouth with flavour.

Try with rich fish and seafood dishes, or roast pork with apples or plums.

Les Vignerons Ardéchois is a large company, made up of fourteen co-operatives and over 1,500 growers. It produces almost 60 million bottles of wine a year. Despite its size, it succeeds in making a series of sound reliable wines at keen prices, and one or two real gems such as the Viognier above.

Tags: Vignerons Ardechois, Viognier

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