Wine with Leslie Williams: Wines for the bank holiday weekend
The June Bank Holiday is easily my favourite holiday especially as it heralds the beginning of summer.
We always seems to get better weather and we are still blissfully optimistic about the prospects for the weeks ahead.
There are lots of festivals of course and if you are in Kilkenny for Cat Laughs insist on Costellos Red Ale or O’Sullivans Maltings Red Ale or follow the city’s whiskey trail.
The biggest festival has to be Bloom and if you are in the Phoenix Park this weekend make sure to visit the Santa Rita Vida 120 Garden where there will be wines to try especially its new tasty rosé.
You will also of course have to visit the Bloom Inn which is located in the food producers area.
There will be 24 drink producers this year up from 14 last year. Ballykeefe distillery from Kilkenny and Pearse Lyons from Dublin make their debut and also watch for Beara Distillery with its seawater gin, Blackwater
Distillery with its new raspberry gin and also Glendalough with its new summer botanical gins.
Glendalough will have its forager Geraldine Kavanagh on hand if you need advice on foraging — she sources almost all the Glendalough’s botanicals within a few kilometres of the distillery.
West Cork Distillers, Bonac 24 and Muff Liquor Co will be there as will Sliabh Liag with its excellent seaweed gin and the Shed Distillery from Leitrim (Gunpowder Gin) will be showcasing its Sausage Tree Vodka made with nettles and the fruits from the sausage tree or kegelia africana to give its Latin name.
Kinsale Meadery is worth a visit and there is a good selection of brewers and cider makers such as Hope, St Mels, Dundalk Bay, and the Porterhouse.
Finally, you definitely need to try Stonewell’s new Cucumber and Apple Cider.
My selections are a mixed gathering of wines I tasted recently so don’t fit a particular theme though all should be excellent for picnics and barbecues.
Don’t be afraid to chill the reds, it is certainly not a sin as you may have heard although I realise many Irish people still like their red wines at blood temperature.
Chilling down a Barossa shiraz a little (say to 14C) will temper the sweet dark fruits and make it a better match with a barbecue.
Best value under €15
Stockist: Aldi
I realise this wine is ridiculously cheap but I have a soft spot for this Valencian wine with its light crisp red fruits.
Made from local grape bobal, this is best served well chilled and is perfect for warm weather in the garden or
with spicy food and barbecue.
Stockists: Bradleys, Jus de Vine Portmarnock, Morton’s Ranelagh, Nolan’s Clontarf, /www.wineonline.ie
Peter Lehmann died in 2013 but he had a huge impact on Australian winemaking.
His company is now owned by the Casell Group which own Yellowtail.
This is classic Barossa with chocolate and blackberry fruits and big flavours.
I serve it a little chilled to dull down some of the sweetness.
Stockists: Hole in the Wall, Martins, Jus de Vine, Mortons, La Touche, /www.wineonline.ie, Donnybrook Fair.
Like many wineries in Ribera del Duero, Protos has an outpost for white wines in Rueda just an hour away.
From 100% verdejo this has mineral and citrus aromas with tropical hints, fruity, crisp and dry with chalky touches making it a perfect wine for barbecues and outdoors.
Best value over €15
Stockist: Marks & Spencer
Champagne has always had a high proportion of female influence and here the all women winemaking team under cellarmaster Elisabeth Sarcelet has crafted a lovely supple juicy Champagne at a great price.
A blend of 51% Meunier, 34% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir and a huge 47% of reserve wines this has red fruits, fine tiny bubbles and a creamy texture.
Stockists: Hole in the Wall, Martins, Jus de Vine, Mortons, La Touche, /www.wineonline.ie, Donnybrook Fair, No. 21
The gorgeous Protos winery in Riebera del Duero is around an hour north of Madrid on a high mountain plain.
Run as a co-op the wines are consistently good and affordable compared to their neighbours.
This has pure taut fruits, blackberry and spice and a hint of smoke.
Stockists: Wines Direct Arnotts and Mullingar, www.winesdirect.ie
A new wine on Wines Direct’s list and a great find for them.
A blend of 50-50 Fiano and Greco grapes from a bio-dynamic estate in the heel of Italy with minimum intervention and low sulphur addition.
Exotic and fragrant with floral aromas and tropical touches, fruity and mouth-filling with lemon drops and gorgeous textured fruit and freshness on the finish.
