PepperBox Shiraz Will Spice Up Your Home Cooking

PepperBox Shiraz Will Spice Up Your Home Cooking 

PepperBox Shiraz SE Australia 2019, 14% ABV

€13.50 in Supervalu and Dunnes Stores; also available in Carry Out stores

“Bring your food to life with the spicy aromas and blackcurrant and cherry flavours of Pepperbox Shiraz. The wine's sublime intensity is hard to resist, especially if you are slow cooking, searing or grilling.” That’s the encouraging call from producers Casella to try their Australian Shiraz.

So let us try! The colour is a deep ruby. Aromas are rich, and peppery. And these aromas accompany superb flavours, ripe fruit character (blackcurrant and cherry) and smooth tannins, all the way to a spicy finalé, a peppery punch which is a trademark of Shiraz, especially Australian Shiraz. As the label says, “It’s what makes the PepperBox the perfect partner if you are eating chargrilled, seared, roasted or slow cooked…..”

Might be no harm to put a few bottles aside for the Christmas as it pairs well with most meats right the way through to chocolate desserts. Naturally intense, it is the perfect partner for great food and the ideal choice for get-togethers and special occasions with friends and family.

Specific parcels of fruit were selected across a variety of regions in South Australia. These parcels had a full, rich flavour profile and contained certain characteristics the winemaking team wanted to showcase. The fermentation of the fruit was across a span of 5-7 days at mild to warmer temperatures. Wines then spent up to 9 months in contact with a mixture of new and second-year oak prior to bottling.

PepperBox comes from sunny South Eastern Australia. It's a part of Casella Family Brands, the largest family-owned wine brand in Australia. Started in 1969 by Filippo and Maria Casella and is now run by their son John Casella.

While Casella had a long experience of wine in Italy, it wasn’t exactly an overnight success in Oz. But their turn-of-the-century partnership with a leading American distributor changed all that. Their spectacular rise to prominence in the US led renowned Australian wine writer AD Halliwell to call Cassella “A modern-day fairytale success story”. 

So there are good reasons to keep an eye on this relatively recently launched PepperBox which is aimed at “the more adventurous shopper who has a keen interest in cooking at home, and who is prepared to pay a little more for their wine to match this food and impress their hosts, or indeed for the guests to choose a wine to take round to their hosts and impress.”

I reckon they are pretty much on the bullseye with this Shiraz. Highly Recommended

A Quart of Ale± #77. On the craft journey. A session with Wide Street, Larkin's and Curious Society

A Quart of Ale± #77

On the craft journey. A session with Wide Street, Larkin's and Curious Society

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Larkin’s Drench IPA 7%, 400 can Bradleys

This one’s got a lemon/orange colour and is very hazy indeed, more or less opaque with a white head sinking slowly. The aroma is not the most intense but it is pleasant with notes of exotic mango and passionfruit. And it is more of the same on the smooth and supple palate, hops and malt in good balance. An excellent beer with a formidable finish. Would love to do a head to head with a draught version of this and Crew’s Polly.

It appeared in May and Larkin’s were delighted:  “It's been a while! It's fair to say the lockdowns haven't been ideal for us here at Larkin's. But we've adapted in a few ways to overcome these challenges and we're coming out the other side stronger and better for it. We, along with all the other independent breweries, have had great support from everyone and this has made more difference than we've been able to express so THANK YOU! Thank you for buying craft and thank you for spreading the word to others who are now curious to try new styles and breweries.”

“..as a taster of things to come, here's Drench!  A 7% absolute banger of an IPA with an uncalled for 20g/litre dry hop of Strata, El Dorado and Idaho 7. This is new England through and through with big malt body to carry the hops and enough bitterness to balance it out.”

Bierhaus Cork soon had it on tap: “It’s literally been tapped up in at @bierhaus_cork for the weekend! Incredible beer- this is the best brew I’ve had on tap in a year.” Encouragement there for a “dank and juicy” beer.

Curious Society Immortal Game American Wheat Beer 5%, 440 can Carryout Ballyvolane

Another in the Curious Society series by Larkin’s of Wicklow, their impressive collection of budget beer offerings.

Colour of this American Wheat Beer is a lemon/orange, a hazy one with a soft white head that contracts reasonably quickly on pouring (from the can) but it does leave a reasonable crown. Aromas have a hint of orange peel which is indeed an adjunct here.

Straight off, I found this smooth customer very refreshing on the palate and on the finish. Bitterness is on the low side and there’s no sign of the clove or banana that you  find in European wheat beers. The producers suggest enjoying it on its own or with a slice of orange. It is very drinkable, for sure.

By the way, they suggest that if you enjoy the artwork to check out the "immortal game”, one of the most famous chess games of all time. I’m sure if you’re curious, you will!

Curious Society Night Tide Cold-Brew Coffee Oatmeal Stout 5%, 440 can Carryout Ballyvolane

“For this .. beer we teamed up with #cloudpickercoffee to bring you a full bodied velvety coffee oatmeal stout.” That’s how Curious Society introduce their Night Tide.

It pours black as night in a Wicklow wood with, yes, a coffee coloured soft head. It smells of coffee, from the dark roasted malts - coffee is an ingredient. It is close to full-bodied and rich. “Subtle flavours”, they say,  “but none of the bitterness that you can get from coffee.” Perhaps so, but there is a lively edge to it, not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it gives it a refreshing quality.

A doubt arose in my mind when I looked closely at this can. Of six cans bought (including this one) on the day, three were within days of the best before limit. Of the three, one was very poor, the other two lack-lustre. The expiry date on this is a few months off at Jan 22 but, once the doubt has set in, you’re left uncertain and wondering would it have been better a few months back. Purchase and Drinking date: 19th October. Note to myself: “Get into the habit of checking the dates!”

Wide Street Cashmere IPA, 5.6%, 440 can Bradleys

“When West Coast bitterness meets the citrus-y fruity flavour and aroma of an East Coast IPA. Whirlpooled and dry-hopped with Cashmere and Citra hops.” That’s the introduction to this IPA by producers Wide Street.

Colour is a mid-orange, hazy, with bubbles galore streaming towards to the soft white head. Aromas and flavours are both packed with citrus (lime, grapefruit, orange), mango and more. No shortage of bitterness either though, as promised. And the finish is good and dry.

They say: Unfiltered, unpasteurised, and can conditioned containing yeast sediment. Whirlpool and dry hop additions of 15g/l Cashmere and Citra hops provided the bitterness of a West Coast IPA and the citrus fruit aroma and flavour of an East Coast IPA. An all encompassing IPA. Refrigerate, store upright and pour carefully.