A Pair of Primitivo. And one top Riesling!

A Pair of Primitivo

And one top Riesling!

The Primitivo grape came from Croatia and has been grown in the Puglia area for 200 years or so. It is regarded as the brother or sister of Zinfandel in California. It is an early ripener as the Italian name indicates.

Puglia is in the heel of Italy, an area called Oenotria (land of vines) by the ancient Greeks. It is flat and hot and capable of producing high alcohol wines, though these two, both from the Salento area, aren't over the top at all.

Li Veli Orion Primitivo 2013, Salento IGP, 14%, €17.25 Karwig Wines.

The grapes are hand-picked (from 11 year old vines) and collected in small cases. There is further manual selection on rollers in the cellar. Malolactic fermentation is in French oak and there is also 6 months barrel aging. Perhaps this is why it is a little more expensive than the Per Tutti.

Dark red is the colour and it has red fruit aromas. It's fruity and fresh, with some spice, a fruity aftertaste and a very good finish. Really pleasant and Highly Recommended.

Per Tutti Primitivo 2013, Salento IGP, 13%, €15.50 Karwig Wines

Another dark ruby wine with pleasant aromas of warm red fruit. A lovely full sensation at the introduction on the palate, some little sweetness, some spice evident also, fine tannins too, quite smooth overall and a longish velvety finish. Really well-made wine with a low (for Primitivo) abv of 13%. Highly Recommended.

This Riesling is Class!

Carl Ehrhard Rudesheim Urstűck Berg Roseneck Riesling trocken 2013 (Rheingau, Germany), 12.5%, €24.90 Karwig Wines.

Colour is an attractive medium gold with intense aromas (white fruit, floral too). Then the beautiful full flavours, a very pleasant mouthfeel (including a wee tingle), good acidity and a long finish. Not too much to be said, no need really, just Very Highly Recommended.

Catch Your Fish at Fenn’s Quay

Catch Your Fish at Fenn’s Quay

Hake (left), salmon, croquettes. Mackerel is hidden behind the salad.

If in Cork, go catch your fish at Fenn’s Quay.

Once upon a time, Fenn’s Quay was actually that, a quay. As was nearby Cornmarket Street, as was Patrick Street (check the bend of the river!). Indeed, once upon a time, maybe in the 1970s, there was a proposal by a local businessman to concrete over the south channel of the River Lee and make a road of it. Glad to say that outrageous proposal - it got a lot of newspaper space - never off the ground.

Cork city centre still remains an island. And fish is everywhere, white, slippery, in the markets and stunningly fresh and tasty in many of the local restaurants. Kate Lawlor’s Fenn’s Quay restaurant is where we found some excellent dishes during a midweek lunch.

The fish platter, a regular feature, was an enticing option (€15.00). It was a perfect assemblage, a well judged mix of textures, flavours and colours, quality and quantity giving an elegant sufficiency on the black slate. In plain words: Fish croquettes, cured salmon, beer-battered hake, and smoked mackerel paté. Add in a perfect salad and you have a happy customer, singing a shanty on the way out the door.

Fenn's Quay hadn't been too busy when I arrived - on the early side - but when I looked up after finishing that mega-platter - I noticed it was getting close to full. It is a popular spot, just off Patrick Street and conveniently close to the Courthouse area. No doubt briefs are studied (and discussed) here, after the menu is perused of course!

CL too had made an excellent catch: Baked Hake with roast cauliflower, leek, carrot and mash (choice of salad also), all for 16 euro. Hake has become an established favourite in local restaurants - just a decade ago it was seriously under-utilised here but a successful Bord Bia campaign, improved the siutuation. The piece in Fenn’s Quay was white, moist, impeccably cooked and deliciously delicate. Vegetables could have been a touch softer.

Now, before I go any further, I'd better make clear that Fenn’s Quay is not a fish restaurant. One of the highlights on the Specials Board was a Featherblade of Beef dish, another speciality here. Lots of choice, both at lunch and in the evening.

Soup

We had started with their French Onion Soup with Gubbeen Crouton (€4.50), a magical little bowl of the stuff. The soup and the Gubbeen were a match made in heaven but there was also a little dark magic added back in the kitchen, much more back-bone to this than you get in your regular French Onion soup. Highly recommended, especially on a winter’s day.

Indeed, day or night, winter or summer, fish or otherwise, Fenn’s Quay is very highly recommended indeed. But do watch out for those fish specials!

By the way, they will be open on the 13th and 20th of December (both Sundays), serving both brunch and early dinner.

No 5 Fenn’s Quay

Sheares Street, Cork

Opening hours: 8.00am to 10.00pm, MOn-Sat

Tel: +353 21 427 9527

Email: fennsquay@gmail.com

http://www.fennsquay.net

Christmas Wines at SuperValu

Christmas Wines at SuperValu

When you find yourself in a wine shop or the wine section of a supermarket, do you get somewhat confused with the huge choice available? I know I do. Here's a tip if you intend taking advantage of the current SuperValu Christmas Wine offer. Pick up a copy of their Uncorked, a free magazine available in store.

It has some terrific articles and information on the available wines. Not just wine. Kristin Jensen has a few pages explaining all about craft beer. Port is of course a type of wine and the Examiner's Leslie Williams guides you through this one. Lots of other informative articles too, all written in plain English and easy for wine beginners to understand.

And if someone in your life is more than a beginner or if you want to treat yourself, go to Page 11 where Ross Golden-Bannon highlights a superb gift, at less than half-price. This is a vertical vintage offer of Bordeaux's Chateau La Croizille St Emilion Grand Cru. The pack features the top six vintages of the past decade: 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. Price is €150, down from €354. Yes please!

Now that you have your information, maybe even a shortlist, let us head off to the shelves.

Chateau Camp De La Hire 2010 (Castillon, Cotes de Bordeaux), 13%, €12.00 (15.99).

Intense colour here; the fruity aromas are also quite intense. Medium to full bodied, with soft tannins, it is fresh and elegant, well balanced and pleasingly complex with long finalé. Highly Recommended.

The Castillon wines are produced by mainly small family farms (230 of them); this is not the Bordeaux of the big chateaux. But the same grapes are used, mainly Merlot in this case. Castillon, one of four Cotes de Bordeaux areas, is squeezed between the Dordogne River to the south, St Emilion (no less) to the immediate west and the Dordogne department to the east.

No weedkiller is used in the production of this particular wine and indeed the cultivation is traditional. They recommended pairing it with spicy noodles, dumplings and red meat stews. Maybe they have an Asian audience in mind but my match came from much nearer home.

I found it on the recipe section of the Bord Bia site: Pan Fried Duck Breasts with Red Wine and Orange Sauce. It is delicious and the sauce itself (with some of the wine included) was a star and indeed may lend itself to other dishes.

Union Wine’s Kings Ridge Pinot Gris 2013 (Oregon), 13%, €15.00 (19.99)

Pink skinned Pinot Gris, a mutation of Pinot Noir and a cousin of Chardonnay, is associated with Alsace and, as Pinot Grigio, with Italy. It is a “specialty in Oregon” according to the World Atlas of Wine and SuperValu have this excellent example from the Willamette Valley, known as Oregon’s home for cool climate vines.

This has a lovely gold colour, a ring of bubbles around the top (they don't last!). There are gorgeous white fruit aromas. The palate is almost creamy, with pleasing white fruit flavours (pear, citrus), excellent acidity and the finish is more or less perfect as well. A really well made wine and Highly Recommended.

By the way, Oregon's reputation for Pinot Noir and Riesling is high as well and SuperValu have these on offer also.

Terres Blanches Alchimie Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (Coteaux du Giennois AOC), 12.5%, €10.00 (14.99).

This little known little appellation (202 hectares) on the eastern edge of the Loire Valley northeast of Sancerre (4181 ha) produces almost equal amounts of light-bodied red and white wines. With extensions of Sancerre limestone geological formations into the area, you can expect good Sauvignon Blanc and this doesn't disappoint.

Light gold is the colour and the minerality on the nose is coupled with floral elements. The attack is bright with those citrus elements to the fore, minerality too of course, a crisp acidity, even a wee tingle. A very pleasant surprise indeed, Sancerre in style but not in price! Highly Recommended.

Also in the Christmas sale:

Maison Andre Goichot Meursault (AOC) 2014, 13%, €35.00 (44.99).

Colour is a greenish gold, limpid and brilliant, and here the fruit and acidity match up in an exceptional balance. Fresh and smooth, it has an excellent refined mouthfeel with a streak of minerality and a long finish that keeps giving. Highly Recommended.

Maison Andre Goichot Mercurey (AOC) 2013, 12.5%, €18.00 (22.99).

Colour is a light, and bright, red while the aromas give you a nice mix of raspberry, cherry, strawberry. Red fruit flavours, cherry prominent, on the palate, light as you'd expect, the lightness of a classic youthful Pinot Noir; acidity and tannins combine well as you go into the dry finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Goichot Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Feuilles d’Or” 2014, 13%, €18.00 (down from 22.99)

Colour is a medium gold and there are aromas of citrus and white fruits among quite a medley. In the mouth, it is smooth, close to creamy, richly fruited and soft with good acidity too plus a lingering finish. An elegant wine indeed and Very Highly Recommended.

Il Capolavoro Appassimento Rosso 2014, 14%, €10.00 (14.99)

This palate pleasing beauty is produced from grapes that have been partially dried (appassimento) and the result is a rich red colour and, more importantly, a greater concentration of fruit flavours. And that concentration means a very pleasant easy drinking wine with a little spice both on nose and palate. Add in a silky mouthfeel and you've got a winner. Very Highly Recommended.

Barone Montalto Ammasso 2013 Rosso Siciliane (IGT), 14.5%, €15.00  (€18.99)

The varieties blended in this gorgeous and complex wine are the locals Nero d’Avola and Nerello Mascalese and the internationals Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. A serious work of wine is the result and it is Very Highly Recommended.

Medium red is the colour and the aromas, of dark fruit, are pretty intense. There is a luscious concentrated fruit, hints of sweetness, spice too; overall, a rather plush wine, tannins just about in play, and the finish is long.

Price in brackets indicates the normal price per bottle.

Taste of the Week. Con’s Irish Cider

Taste of the Week

Con’s Irish Cider

If you haven’t tasted real Irish cider before, you're in for a treat. This is packed with flavour and it just waiting to get out of the bottle and impress. Your palate will initially be overwhelmed - after all, 85% (maybe more) of the content is apple. You soon get used to it and begin to enjoy the genuine taste of an Irish orchard.

Made in Cahir (County Tipperary) by Con Traas, from his own apples, this cloudy small batch cider is a great example of the craft. Taste of the Week, any week.

That initial burst in the mouth reminded me instantly of something Brooklyn brewer Garrett Oliver said at Ballymaloe LitFest earlier in the year: “You hear people say, when they taste a craft beer: This is nice, doesn't taste like beer." He had an explanation: ‘The beer they grew up with didn't taste like real beer!’”

Visit Terriors and taste NASH 19 Aged Plum Puddings

Visit Terriors and taste NASH 19 Aged Plum Puddings

All of our Christmas expectations are shaped by family traditions and our Christmas culinary expectations are no exception. At Nash 19 when we say ‘traditional’ we mean recipes and produce we have created and improved and you have established as firm favourites.

Christmas Hampers full of soggy foam fillers, strings of empty padding and shocking baskets inspired us to introduce our Christmas Hampers some years ago. The Nash 19 Pudding is a must in all our Christmas Hampers. They are aged beautifully, whole fruits selected from Peter Ward and imagine NO butter, lard or fat. The whole cherries soaked in Hennessy Brandy are the surprise.

You will have to add your own!

This year we are again delighted to stock our Aged Plum Puddings in Terroirs Fine Food and Wine, 103 Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Claire Nash will be in Terroirs on Saturday the 5th of December from 12 noon to 5pm for an exclusive tasting for all our Dublin customers of our pudding’s brandy butter and mincemeat.

Meet Trish Deseine in Sternview Gallery, Nash 19

Nash 19 Restaurant, Cafe and Food Shop are delighted to have Trish Deseine sign her new book “Home” in Sternview Gallery at Nash 19 Restaurant, Princes Street, Cork City on December the 9th from 10.30am.

“Home” is a fantastic addition to the Nash 19 food hampers this year.

Call in on Wednesday the 9th to meet Trish, sample Nash 19 Aged Plum Pudding and their Christmas treats.

Nash 19 Restaurant, 19 Princes Street, Cork City 021 4270880

SuperValu Glanmire Christmas Fair. Such an enjoyable evening!

SuperValu Glanmire Christmas Fair

Such an enjoyable evening!

Clotilde

Congratulations to Liam Ryan’s SuperValu Glanmire who put on a tremendous Christmas Fair last Thursday night. Lots to eat and drink, Chef Kevin Dundon demoing too, and a terrific friendly atmosphere and a good cause (three local charities supported). The family has three SuperValu stores in the Cork area; Grange support Douglas Lions Club, Glanmire aid St Vincent de Paul while Togher is backing Cork Simon Community.

We each got an impressive Christmas Recipe booklet on the way in and that was just the start of it. As we did a circle of the bright and well laid out store, we were able to sample their own in-house goodies and there was also an array of Food Academy start-up food producers sampling their local produce.

Didn't stop at all the tasting spots - no point in being greedy. But great to meet up again with Des Jeffares from County Wexford, better known as Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants . He produces a refreshing cordial and last night he was offering a lovely warming mulled version. Loughbeg Farm  with their now famous Oat Loaf and Tea Brack had come all the way from West Cork.

Also from west along came the three sisters of the Natural Larder Company (Macroom). They produce a range of seasoned breadcrumb mixes, and also a Cheeky Chilli sauce, Rollicking Red Onion pickle and Bodacious Baba Ganoush sauce. Interested? Check them out here.

Michael Corbett, a Tipperary farmer, was proudly displaying his Emerald Oils cold pressed rapeseed oil. Every single stage in creating this oil is completed directly on the family farm. As you know it can be used for stir-frying, roasting baking, salad dressing and marinating. He had some examples of the baking so we dipped a piece into the oil. Gorgeous!

Mulled cider, courtesy of Longueville

And then we were treated to Clotilde’s Fruit Compote, all the way from France, via Glanworth. These are really tasty sugar free compotes that can be used as a daily snack or with natural yogurts porridge, cereals, desserts and more. Clotilde is French and these pots are just like her mother used to make in France. They are absolutely divine. And so versatile.

Time now for a drink or two! Rupert from Longueville House was on hand with their gorgeous mulled cider. Then Barry from St Patrick's Distillery treated us to a drop of his Sloe Gin and Honey. No shortage of craft beer either with both Cotton Ball Brewing and Black’s of Kinsale in attendance.

The circle was now completed and we entered the area where the main event was being held. Before we knew it, we had a glass of wine in hand and were queueing for some delicious store food. Tender flavoursome beef (and other meats too) and all the trimmings, even desserts! Amazing array of food and soon our plates were full. And all this even before Kevin Dundon’s entertaining demo started!

The food was brilliant and so too were the staff - a whole battalion of them - all keen to serve and to tell us exactly what we getting. You often hear about the soulless supermarket. Well this sure isn't one of them. Everyone we met last evening as we did our rounds was helpful courteous and busy!

Des Jeffares

So good quality all the way with the food and the same with the wine tasting, conducted by Supervalu wine-buyer Kevin O’Callaghan. He had an amazing selection in front of him, including an excellent wine from Margaux - not bad for a Thursday night!

By the way, if you want to check out SuperValu wines and other drinks, be sure and pick up your copy of the in-house magazine Uncorked (Winter 2015). Lots of info here and articles by Leslie Williams, editor Ross Golden-Bannon, Tomas Clancy, and Raymond Blake. And it’s free.

It was a big night for Liam Ryan and his team and they certainly played a winner. Well done to SuperValu Glanmire.

Some of the wines for tasting

Amuse Bouche

For breakfast, all the representatives had jook, a Korean dish, which was somewhat like porridge but with meat and diced turnip in the rice. The word jook, I thought, must be derived from the Chinese word zhou, which means porridge. Every one of us was served a full bowl of it, and a plate of kimchee sat in the center of each table… The Koreans couldn’t live without kimchee….. Chaolin and I didn't care for kimchee; the chili was too hot for us… The jook, however, was tender and tasty.

from War Trash by Ha Jin 2004

Return to Miyazaki. Umami by the spoonful

Return to Miyazaki

Umami by the spoonful

Salmon sushi

Grabbed my opportunity to return to Miyazaki, Cork’s amazing Japanese Take Away, when in the Barrack Street area during the week. Open since March, it is located at the junction of Evergreen Street and Barrack Street.

Enjoyed a salmon dish during the previous visit so this time I picked something different: Miso Butter Tonkotsu Ramen (Miso Butter Tonkotsu, pork stock noodles with corn and chashu). And there was a little extra, a Nitamago simmered egg. Quite a special dish indeed, full of flavour and appropriately warm for a cold November day.

My pork

My bowl by the way was eat-in only so just as well we got in early and got a pair of the limited sit-down places! But most of the menu is available to take out.

Salmon features regularly on the menu here as indeed do pork, beef, and chicken. There is a regular menu and a Daily Specials board and you may check them out on their Facebook page, updated daily with all those lovely specials.

Seared salmon

They had a couple of salmon offerings up on the board in mid-week and CL chose the Seared Salmon with ikura, garlic chips, mixed seaweed and ponzu. This looked amazing, so inviting, and tasted so well.

Soup

Mural

We had started with a couple of bowls of soup, delicately delicious, umami by the spoonful! The one we got was: Bamboo shoot and Shimeji Mushroom soup. Go treat yourself.

As on the previous occasion, we bought something to take home for later on. There is so much to choose from here including Donburi (rice bowl dish with your choice of topping), Bento boxes, a variety of noodle dishes, salads, and Japanese Curry.

And sushi of course and we picked a lovely salmon box, attractive looking and all neatly wrapped in Nori seaweed! They are open Tuesday to Sunday: 13.00-16.00 and 17.00- 21.00, phone 4312716.

California Cheering. Star Reds: Predator and Rhiannon

California Cheering

Star Reds: Predator and Rhiannon

Rutherford Wines Predator Old Vine Zinfandel 2013, 14%, €25.99
(Stockists: independents including D6 Wines, Donnybrook Fair, Clontarf Wines, Matsons Cork & Bandon, Ardkeen Waterford.)

The cup that cheers comes from the California, not quite from the West Coast but from inland Lodi, known locally as the Capital of Zinfandel mainly because there are some two thousand acres of Zinfandel old vine planted here.

Colour of the Predator is violet and so so bright and healthy looking. The berries are prominent in the inviting aromas. Colour and aromas may well lead one to believe this is a lightweight. But the first attack, rich and full of flavour, announces that this a serious wine. Aged in French and American oak, it has fruit and spice and fine tannins too, a delightful balance and a lingering finish and is Very Highly Recommended.

You don't see Zin very often around here but you have more than likely heard of it. It is the red grape of California, even if it apparently came from Croatia via Italy (Primitivo). Wines from the old vines have more flavour and intensity. For a Californian viewpoint, check here.

The Predator refers not to some large monster of the place but to the humble Ladybird (Ladybug in Lodi). This little bug is encouraged in the vineyard and rewards the winemakers by feasting on the destructive aphids, one of many eco-friendly strategies adopted by Rutherford Wines.

Speaking of feasting, they recommended trying it (the wine, not the Ladybird!) with short ribs or a juicy burger. My tip (from experience!) is Poulet Basquaise.

Rutherford Wine Rhiannon 2012 red (California) 13.5%, €25.99.
(Stockists: independents including D6 Wines, Donnybrook Fair, Clontarf Wines, Matsons Cork & Bandon, Ardkeen Waterford.)

This is a blend of Petite Sirah (44%), Syrah (42%), and Barbera (14%); proportions can vary from vintage to vintage. The Petite Sirah is a half brother of the Syrah and the Petite refers to its grape size.

Deep ruby is the colour and there are quite intense aromas (cherry, blackberry). Rounded fruit flavours in the palate, tannins too; it is smooth and elegant with a lush mouthfeel, beautifully balanced and with a long finish. Continuous pleasure from vibrant start to refined finalé. Complex, yet so approachable. Very Highly Recommended.

Rhiannon was a Celtic goddess - magical birds and horses featured in her portfolio - and she is used here “in homage to our family’s Welsh roots”.  Use it to accompany grilled meats and chicken. Divinely (of course!) delicious as a glass on its own.

Taste of the Week. St Gall Cheese.

Taste of the Week

St Gall Cheese

Fermoy Natural Cheese Company is a small family farm run by Frank and Gudrun Shinnick. The farm uses raw milk from their Friesian cows to produce several varieties of cheeses, yogurt, kefir, labneh, and raw milk. Gudrun learned her cheesemaking skills in her native Germany and later in Switzerland.

St Gall, it is said, was an Irish monk who brought cheese-making skills to Appenzell in Switzerland. And this Fermoy cheese, available at On the Pig’s Back in the English Market, is based on a recipe for the Swiss cheese.

St Gall is hard and dry, with a pale golden colour and scattering of small holes. In the mouth it is smooth with a creamy sweetness, a very lovely taste with a slight herby flavour. A delightful cheese and our Taste of the Week.

I certainly enjoyed my few slices at lunchtime but the guidebooks recommend using this cooked hard cheese in fondues and sauces. You might also consider grating it in recipes which call for grated gruyere. St Gall is a good cooking cheese as it keeps its flavour well when melted.