Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Recap of Wine Club Dinner in Dali's

I am a bit late getting my act together as I was away for the weekend, but we had a great night in Dali's last week. The food, as you would expect was very, very good and we had 27 people there to sample some good food and wine. The wine lineup was La Riva dei Frati, Fattori and Enzo Boglietti. The wines were introduced by Giussepina Andreacchio, seen here in full flight.

In general, the prosecco, as always went down very well, all the whites went down well, with some differing views about the favourite choice between the Pinot Grigio, Soave and Sauvignon which are all clean, well-made wines, feflecting well their respective characteristics. With the reds, I felt the Nebbiolo, while very good, needed a bit more time. Lots of people preferred the Dolcetto, but I felt the Barbera was the star. The surprise of the night was the universally liked Recioto di Soave which washed down dessert very nicely.

A good time had by all, more photos on www.facebook.com/onthegrapevine ...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Italian Dinner in Dali's tomorrow

Line up for dinner in Dali's tomorrow night:


Prosecco La Riva dei Frati

Fattori Pinot Grigio

Fattori Soave

Fattori Sauvignon

Enzo Boglietti Dolcetto

Enzo Boglietti Barbera

Enzo Boglietti Nebbiolo

Fattori Recioto

Monday, May 17, 2010

Baudry Chinon in Irish Times last Saturday

John Wilson's tasting nore from Irish Times, Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Chinon Les Granges, Domaine Bernard Baudry 2008, 12%, €14.99.
I mentioned Baudry in passing a few weeks back as one of my favourite producers of Cabernet Franc in the Loire. Since then I have had the opportunity to taste this wonderful elegant wine once more. It offers up some very intense, pure summer fruits and leafy notes, bound lightly by some dry tannins. It may improve further, but irresistible now. This would go perfectly with slightly fatty pork dishes, hot or cold. Stockists: On the Grapevine, Dalkey; Liston’s, Camden Street (both Dublin); World Wide Wines, Waterford; Market 57, Westport; The Wine Room at No. 1 Pery Square, Limerick.

Couldn't have put it better myself...

Monday, May 10, 2010

Wine Dinner Wednesday May 19th

We are hosting an Italian Wine Tasting Dinner in Dali's Restaurant Blackrock. The theme is Northern Italy, food will be provided by Dali's ( always excellent) and wine provided by us.

The cost is a very keen €50 per head to include all food and wine on the night.

Call 01 2353054 to book or email sales@onthegrapevine.ie.

Special Offers for May

Verdicchio, Velenosi – was €13, now €10.50
Crisp, fresh and summery, this is a delicious Italian white that is great on its own or with seafood, salads etc. If you want a change from Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon, try this.



Araldica Gavi – was €16.00, now €13.00.
See above, but from Piedmont. Lovely fresh fruit, with a medium body and a slight hint of almonds. Excellent value.



Rully, Domaine de l’Ecette – RRP €20, now €15
Drinkable and affordable make uneasy bedfellows in Burgundy, so this is an offer not to be missed. Easy-drinking, delicious Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this is one to stock up on for the summer.

Domaine de Fondreche – Cotes de Ventoux
This is one of the top estates in the Southern Rhone operating to biodynamic principles and always very high quality wines:

Cuvee Nature (no sulphites) – was €16, now €13
Cuvee Fayard – was €16, now €13
Cuvee Persia – was €25, now €18

Please note these wines are very limited!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Baudry Chinon Les Granges


On Wednesday, we opened this for a couple of customers to try and finished the remainder of the bottle that night with a bowl of spaghetti carbonara - not necessarily the most obvious food and wine matching, but this is what happens on a Wednesday night in the real world where you eat and drink what is to hand.

Happily, everything worked well, the crisp acidity natural in Cabernet Franc cutting through the carbonara nicely. I really like Cabernet Franc and Baudry's wines are always in the top tier of what is on offer from Loire reds. Loads of fruit, crisp acidity and frim tannins make for a delicious food wine, perfect for summer, if we ever get one.

Catch up

Very slack this week, so a quick catch up. On Monday (it was a bank holiday), we treated ourselves to a bottle of Darviot Perrin Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Bondues" 2005. Something of a rarity, red Chassagne can be a good value offering from the Cotes de Beaune, often coming in less expensive than its more sought-after white cousins. This is from a great producer and a great vintage. still a baby, we decanted it and it was still quite tight, but had an intense core of dark fruit, more fruit of the forest than the red fruits you might expect. Long, mineral finish, this has a long and glorious life ahead of it.

Nothing on Tuesday.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Baudry Chinon Rose

We had fresh tuna last night- it was supposed to be a salad nicoise, but the potatoes didn't look like salad material, so I fried them instead - tasted good anyway. With the tuna, we had the Baudry Chinon Rose. As you can see from the picture, this is a very delicate salmon colour. It is delicate all over actually, delicate nose and delicate fruit on the palate. Crisp acidity and a real mineral finish make this a great food wine as opposed to a sitting-in-the-garden type of rose. We liked it and finished the bottle, which is always a good sign.

I think this might feature in the Irish Times soon as well, so keep an eye out...