Weekend wine with Blake Creddon
Lots of us will be heading out two-by-two to restaurants, of course, but there’s an intriguing alternative on the menu in Cork.
Threshold, the national agency providing advice and advocacy for people with housing problems, is hosting a dinner for couples, singles and bunches of friends at The Farmgate Restaurant in the atmospheric English Market on Feb 14. Tickets (€50 from 021-4278848 or The Farm Gate) cover top-class food, entertainment and drinks — including old favourites Campo Viejo and Brancott Estate.
See blakecreedon.wordpress.com for more details about this terrific event.
*First though, I caught up recently with some of the mid-priced wines at Bubble Brothers. You’ll find all today’s highlights (below) at their stores in the English Market and on the Marina in Cork, and on www.bubblebrothers.com. Stockists of their wines include the following. Cork: O’Keefe’s deli, St Luke’s; Cinnamon Cottage, Rochestown; West Cork Gourmet Store, Ballydehob; Uruu, Bandon; The Stuffed Olive, Bantry. Dublin: Wild & Green, Milltown; Butler’s Pantry (www.thebutlerspantry.ie). Galway: Morton’s. Waterford: Nude Food, Dungarvan.
* The two Portuguese wines are imported by Wine Alliance. Stockists include Cork Bubble Brothers; Curious Wines, Kinsale Rd; Bradley’s off-licence, North Main St; JJ O’Driscoll’s, Ballinlough; Ó Crualaoí, Carrigaline; Ó Crualaoí, Ballincollig; 1601 off-licence, Kinsale; Barry’s, Midleton; Manning’s, Ballylickey. Dublin McHugh’s, Kilbarrack Rd; McHugh’s, Malahide Rd; Drinkstore.ie, D7; Twister Pepper, D1; The Bernard Shaw, D2. Galway Cases. Kerry Der O’Sullivan’s, Tralee; Stacks off-licence, Listowel; Der O’Sullivan’s, Killarney; Manning’s, Killarney Kilkenny The Wine Centre. Wexford Partridges, Gorey. Wicklow Hollands, Bray; The Parting Glass, Enniskerry.
Looking for great value reds? First stop, Portugal. This modest Vinho regional Peninsula De Setubal punches way above its price point, full of dark baked berries and lovely spice bedded in a rounded, quite creamy texture.
Another vinho regional (the equivalent of “vin de pays”) from the same winery as above. This one is in my view every bit as good as the one costing a euro or more extra. It’s another perfectly-crafted, well-balanced Portuguese red. The only answer? Try a bottle of each.
The verdejo grape, a speciality of Spain’s Rueda region, is usually associated with crisp, if neutral, whites. But this one (blended with viura) has so much more to offer — a generous tropical fruit aroma and a pleasingly dense texture.
Now here’s a style to introduce to your friends — but do warn them it’s quite different if they haven’t encountered viognier before. Paired with marsanne it delivers a deliciously taut but soft-textured white with deep, rich honey and creamy scent. Oh and it’s made with organically-grown grapes.
You wouldn’t normally expect much of a Valpolicella unless it were at least a superiore, but here’s a basic level one that’s head and shoulders ahead of its peers: lovely cherry and vanilla on the nose and lipsmackingly tart and savoury on the palate.
As Bubble Brothers’ website points out, the Cabardès appellation is that unique spot in France where Atlantic grapes (in this case merlot) meet their Mediterranean counterparts (syrah and grenache). And to great effect. This is another wine that won me over on the first sniff — its delicious sweet farmyard scent giving way to a well-weighted medium mouthful.
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