Wines to give your dad this Father’s Day
Words such as “feminine” and “masculine” get thrown around at wine tastings quite a bit and can be difficult to define but I suspect you can guess which categories Australian Shiraz and Provence Rosé fall into — there are no Rosé recommendations below (despite the fact that this dad loves them!).
Men buy a lot less wine than women (mainly because they do less grocery shopping), but it is also true that the sexes approach wine in different ways.
Women tend not to intellectualise wine and they tend to drink more whites, while men sometimes think too much about wine and probably spend a lot more per bottle, usually on red, but also on punchy white wines.
If your dad has even a mild interest in wine I warmly recommend Oz Clarke’s new book The History of Wine in 100 Bottles.
The book is part wine education but also part geography and history and of course wholly entertaining as you would expect.
The book begins with the Georgians who were probably the first to make wine around 6000 BC and continues through the Phoenicians and Romans, to the invention of Claret and Champagne and memorable bottles like the 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port (the rarest of all vintage Ports).
Never one to be snobbish about wine Oz also covers those wines that changed our tastes — from Mateus Rosé to Lindemans Bin 65 and in more recent times Catena Malbec and Natural Wine.
Oz himself recently became a father for the first time and the book is dedicated to his daughter — “her first book” which makes this even more appropriate as a gift for tomorrow.
As it is only just published it may be difficult to find so an order receipt from your local bookshop may have to suffice.
My wine selections today take cues from the wines mentioned by Oz and are also wines I consider to be “manly”!
For the diary: Friday, June 26, Albarino Food and Wine Tasting (with Leslie Williams), L’Atitude 51, Union Quay, Cork; Contact: 021-2390219.
Stockist: JJ O’Driscolls, Ballinlough
Produced from 30-40 year old vines in the coastal region of Darling in the Western Cape of South Africa, around 40 miles from Cape Town. Aromas and flavours of ripe blackcurrants and savoury red fruits with good freshness and acidity (thanks to the cool sea breezes).
Stockists: O’Donovans, Cork; World Wide Wines ,Waterford; Vineyard, Galway; Redmonds, McCabes, Greenacres, Wexford Argentina is an excellent source of good value rich reds — watch for Cabernet, Bonarda (an Italian grape) and of course Malbec. This Pascual Toso is one of the best value Malbecs in the country, smoky and rich with soft, supple fruit; it’s a perfect match for lamb or beef.
Stockist: Molloys, Karwigs, www.KarwigWines.ie
I love Albarino for its combination of weight, fragrance and acidity. I’m hosting an Albarino masterclass in l’Atitude 51 next Friday if you want to learn more, there will of course be food to match. This has light peach and floral aromas and crisp pear and peach flavours with a good dry (almost salty) kick on the finish.
Stockists: Dunnes Stores, O’Briens, O’Donovans (selected stores)
Nicolás Catena changed the way people thought about Argentinian wine according to Oz Clarke and I agree. Catena Malbec is also a classic — ripe, sweet plum and damson fruits with a distinct, spicy kick; almost every butcher I know recommends Malbec as the perfect match for their best steak.
Stockist: O’Briens
Torbreck specialise in finding old patches of ancient Shiraz vines in the Northern Barossa. This is dark, deep and rich and about as “big” a wine as you will find for under €50. Packed with aromas of black fruit and spice with injections of menthol and chocolate. The GSM is also great and on sale at the moment.
Stockists: O’Briens, Vintry Rathgar, McHughs
Oz Clarke credits Marques de Murrieta and Marques de Riscal with bringing Rioja into the modern world and both are indeed classics. I have a slight preference for the power/elegance of the Murrieta with its vanilla, spice and dark chocolate flavours. The Gran Reserva Especial is outstanding if you can push to €40.
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