Weekend wine with Blake Creedon

SOMETIMES you do have to suppress a giggle at the flowery language used to describe wine — the cherries, roses and truffles, let alone the rubber, farmyards and even cat’s pee — which are fairly commonly used to describe wines.

But it does serve a purpose.

Imagine trying to describe a colour. A shade of red, for instance, you could describe as crimson, ruby, scarlet, cherry, fuchsia, rose ... Or if it’s hair, auburn, copper, and just ‘red’.

Now try doing the same with aromas. Do you have even one word for the taste of an apple, or a piece of grilled steak — apart from ‘apple’ and ‘steak’? We simply don’t have the language. So instead we use metaphors — stand-ins in the shape of other items (mostly, but not always food) which share similar scents. So while I’ll try not to be too over-the-top, do permit me the occasional blackcurrant while I look at some of the wines reduced at Tesco til Tuesday.

* Today and tomorrow in Cork, Octoberfest continues at the Franciscan Well Brewery on North Mall, including a beer and cheese tasting today. And there are still a few places left for Wednesday’s Neudorf wine dinner at Star Anise restaurant, Bridge Street, Cork. For these and other delicious events see blakecreedon.wordpress.com.

Wyndham Estate Shiraz Bin 555 2008, Reduced to €8 at Tesco until Tuesday

You may not recognise the bottle from the picture above, as it’s likely to be swathed in medals. Widely available around €12, this is a great price for a perfectly-weighted crisp and rich shiraz.

Ogio Primitivo 2010, Reduced to €6 at Tesco until Tuesday

Any budget-conscious fan of flavour should have a few primitivos in the repertoire. This one for instance is as cheap as chips but gorgeous — a glossy ruby colour matched by a lovely tarry earthy savoury scent.

Tesco finest Gavi, Reduced to €6 at Tesco until Tuesday

Yet another excellent white alternative to the twin icons of chardonnay and sauv blanc — a pleasingly acidic but rich textured cortese from Piedmont in northern Italy with the bite of a not entirely ripe pear.

Banrock Station Chardonnay Verdelho reserve 2010, Tesco, €13.99

Big, plump, citrusy, chardonnay with the verdelho — a grape native to Portugal but which Australia has made its own — adding an Intriguingly rich, smokey undertow. A quality white to put with roast chicken.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Philip Shiraz, Reduced to €10 at Tesco until Tuesday

Another terrific Aussie shiraz, albeit from the Hunter valley. A perfectly well constructed dinner table red — fresh red berries with delightful spice and vanilla.

McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon 2005, Reduced from €19.99 to €10 at Tesco

The underrated semillion grape is again given quite a showcase in the Tesco sale with this mouth-watering Hunter Valley number, along with Tim Adams Semillon 2008 and their ‘Finest’ Denman Vineyard Semillon 2006 also reduced to a tenner.

Warsteiner Premium Verum 500ml 4.8% ABV, Around €2 each and three for €5 in Dunnes

THIS is all about delightful contrasts — delve into the soft-textured beer through the generous foamy head, and encounter fresh tart as crisp and white linen. It’s far from the strongest German pils you will find — that style often reaching 5.5% or 6% — and it’s all the better for it: combined with the tight dry finish conspire, its lightness is what makes it so moreish.

Another? Yes please.