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Weekend wine with Blake Creedon
WHAT do you think the word ‘natural’ means?
I’ve begun to wonder what the term suggests to consumers after it cropped up in a TV advert for a brand of ham, puzzlingly described as ‘natural’, and again at two recent wine tastings.
But I have already tried three purportedly natural wines (that is, made without the addition of sulphites) on the Irish market — two stocked by O’Brien’s and one by O’Donovan’s. To my palate, all three fell on both of my two fundamental questions (Is this any good?
And is it reasonably good value?). Nothing actually wrong with any of them, but I wouldn’t recommend any (unlike the rather good other wines I tasted at O’Donovan’s highlighted below).
You’d wonder why wineries would want to bother sidestepping sulphites. Sulphites are naturally-occurring compounds used as a preservative in wine, cheese and other foods for hundreds of years. As ever, if you’ve a query about health, check with your doctor, but my understanding is that a tiny minority of people have difficulty metabolising excess sulphites, and that they are otherwise harmless.
I wonder too about the claim of naturalness.
Given the elaborate processes essential to produce wine or ham — and any number of other normal healthy food products, from beer to charcuterie to cheese — the word ‘natural’ wouldn’t suggest itself. Try instead words like delicious, healthy, traditional craft foods.
Sound good to you?
Well, the Irish Examiner Cork Food Festival continues today and tomorrow at Fitzgerald Park in Cork.
Alongside a strong contingent of fine restaurants offering inexpensive tasters will be some of Ireland’s top class producers of fine deli items — McCarthy’s of Kanturk are just one internationally acclaimed example.
And the wine contingent is represented by retailer O’Donovan’s, and by the equally impressive importer/distributor Classic Drinks whose wines crop up here regularly.
Tomaiolo Orvieto Classico, O’Donovan’s, €7.99
Produced by the posh Castellani wine family, this simple everyday fresh white is made in Umbria with a trio of native grapes led by trebbiano (also known in France as ugni blanc). It’s a floral scented refreshing lemony white with a faint slightly waxy, nutty undertow.
Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz, O’Donovan’s off-licences, €9.99
Peter Lehmann is a great source of reliable value for money wines and this is a good example: a sun-kissed generous and expressive shiraz from the Barossa — one of Australia’s most famous regions which is by now synonymous with the grape.
Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling 2006, O’Donovan’s off-licences, €9.99
This riesling is like a game of two halves — a lovely spicy scent followed up by a mouth-watering rich complex palate.
Chateau Haut Gay Comtes de Tastes 2010, O’Donovan’s, €12.99
Beware — wines in the Bordeaux Supérieur AOC aren’t necessarily better than regular Bordeaux. I like this charmer though. Although a whopping 14% alcohol, it pulls off a great balance between plump sweet-scented fruit and whiff of coffee and spice.
Pegos Claros 2008 DOC Palmela, O’Donovan’s, €12.99
Not for everyone, or every occasion — this distinctive wine is almost meatily rich with a distinct whiff of vanilla due to a substantial period of oak ageing. And yet it’s relatively light in tannin — it might be a good match for milder flesh (like pork or fowl) in spicy rich sauces.
St Hallett Barossa Faith Shiraz 2007, O’Donovans, €13.99
Gorgeous rich plummy shiraz. You’ve got to take a balanced outlook on price — while many wines are pointlessly expensive, yet again this, the most expensive wine on this page is, I reckon, the best value. But at least priced under €14 it won’t bust the bank.
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