Cabernet Sauvignon. Both Sides of the Andes

Cabernet Sauvignon

From Both Sides of the Andes

Cono Sur winemaker Adolfo Hurtado in the Opera House last year.

“The Los Cardos wines are readily available and are among the world’s great values.” So says the recently published Wines of South America. Not that readily available around here but did find this one in the city centre Tesco a few weeks before Christmas and alongside it was the Block 18 which is made by Cono Sur winemaker Adolfo Hurtado who, coincidentally, was hosting a wine tasting in the Opera House at the time. “That will be good,” he told me. And he was right, as he usually is! The prices at the time of purchase were €18.00 for the Doña Paula and €20 for the Block 18 (a Tesco Finest).

Cabernet Sauvignon makes wine that can age for decades. The two below are very young but don’t worry. “South American Cabernets...are bursting with flavour at only a couple of years old.” declares Grapes and Wines. I think this pair confirm that.

Doña Paula Los Cardos Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Mendoza (Argentina), 14%

Los Cardos means thistles, “a sign of good terroir” according to the bottle. The vineyards, by the way, are at about 1050 metres up. Doña Paula is the Argentinian arm of the Chilean company Santa Rita. Malbec is their signature wine but they are also well respected for their Cabernet Sauvignon and more as you can see from the Wines of South America endorsement.

Despite the large size of the company, they make quite a lot of wine, including this one, from estate grown fruit. Colour is deep ruby and the aromas are quite expressive, featuring mainly dark fruit including typical blackcurrant scents. Quite an intense attack from this one, smooth fruit, spice and fine tannins and a long finish and Highly Recommended.

El Recurso Vineyard Block 18 Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Valle de Maipo (Chile), 14%,

This is also a dark ruby and the aromas are a shade more intense with dark berries and plums to the fore. It is smoother and rounder and more complete on the palate, more full bodied than the Doña Paula and the long lingering finish too is superior. Twelve months in French oak has had the desired effect in terms of complexity and smoothness. Very Highly Recommended.

The El Recurso Estate has vineyards divided into blocks and the grapes for this wine, carefully selected by Adolfo, come from number 18, selected for its privileged location in the upper north east Maipo Valley. The rocky, alluvial soil here contributes to the impressive colour and marked intensity. Great with grilled, roasted or barbecued meat.

Cork Coffee Weekend. Cuppa Joe’s On The Rise

Cork Coffee Weekend

Cuppa Joe’s On The Rise

Jamie and multi-tasking Theresa

 Cloud Picker's Theresa is a coffee geek. “The more gadgets the better,” she enthused as she welcomed us to their demonstration at Ali’s Kitchen, part of the Cork Coffee Weekend.

The Dublin firm was established in 2013 by Frank Kavanagh & Peter Sztal. “Having worked in graphic design and corporate banking respectively, we took the leap and opened up our own coffee roastery. The name Cloud Picker came from our trip to Northern Thailand where we visited a coffee farm in the Doi Chaang area on the Thai / Burma border and where we went up through the clouds to see the coffee pickers!”

Cloud Picker is Dublin City’s first micro coffee roastery. We hand roast to order on the esteemed Giesen roaster. Borne from passion, curiosity and the quest to create a unique coffee product for the Irish market. While we roast on Sheriff Street, our café is in Science Gallery on Pearse Street. Feel free to pop in and say hello and grab a coffee. As well as the Science Gallery Café we also wholesale to cafés and restaurants around the city and nationwide. Ali’s Kitchen is their first outlet in Cork.

And yes, they know their farmers, have visited the places where their beans come from. Read more here.

Back now to Ali's Kitchen. While colleague Jamie was setting up his roaster in a corner of Ali’s, Theresa was making us cups galore on her V60. Among the samples handed out were a top end Veracruz from Columbia and her own Kenyan favourite. Thirty grammes of coffee with 500 mls of water was her recommended recipe and that should take two and a half to three minutes.

Jamie

“Buy the beans as fresh as you can and of course buy your own grinder”. She got lots of backing in the audience for that, no shortage of confirmed coffee drinkers here, many of whom seem to love the ritual, particularly on Saturday mornings!.

Now the attention switched to Jamie who compared the roasting process to “baking bread” - Ali was all ears at this point!  “There are different ways of processing coffee on the farms and there are many different varieties of bean”. We were moving from the bakery comparisons (despite the aromas coming from the roaster) to wine, even potato, comparisons.

Meanwhile beans of various types were handed around, some pre-roasting, and later we saw and smelt the roasted ones. The little roaster is one that Cloud Picker use themselves to evaluate the samples they get but it follows the same principles as the big ones! “The first crack comes about three quarters way through the roasting.” And yes indeed we began to hear the pops at about that time. “You need good temperature controls on your roaster”, said Jamie as he had to manage this model manually. But it all worked out well.

Just like with other grown produce, it is important to have a seasonal buying policy. “It pays off hugely,” he said. But there is some flexibility in the market as different producing countries have different harvest times. “Now, for instance, is the time to buy from East Africa.”

Jamie was enthusiastic about the rise in the interest of good coffee: “The standard is up immensely over the last ten years.” He got a lot of agreement from the group in Ali’s, most of whom were on their way to another coffee venue as part of the three day event.

Cloud Picker

Unit 5, Castleforbes Business Park,

Sheriff Street, 

Dublin 1, DO1 F8C2, Ireland.

Email: hello@cloudpickercoffee.ie

Call: +353 1 697 8170

Accounts: +353 1 855 7700

Skype: cloudpickercoffee

Opening Hours: 8am-4.30pm Monday-Friday 

(Roastery visits by appointment only)

Ali’s Kitchen

Rory Gallagher Place

Paul Street, Cork

Open Tuesday to Saturday 9.00-17.00
Will be open Mondays soon, and looking to do Friday & Saturday evening menu!

infoaliskitchen@gmail.com

021 2390680

http://www.aliskitchencork.com/#1

Twitter: @AlisKitchenCork

Taste of the Week. Cookies of Character.

Taste of the Week

Hazelnut & White Chocolate Cookies

I’ve never really held cookies in high regard, especially those chocolate chips ones. But West Cork’s Cookies of Character have changed my mind and my favourite (current!) is their Hazelnut & White Chocolate version. Rich and luxurious, these cookies are packed with toasted hazelnuts and creamy milk chocolate and made using vegetable oil in place of butter and are our Taste of the Week!

These delicious handmade cookies are made by Richard and Jane Graham-Leigh at their Regale bakery near Dunmanway. They started making the cookies by hand through necessity, then realized how much better they were made that way, rather than on a machine.

And the other good news is that they are widely available in Cork and also in several outlets in Dublin along with a  scattering of stockists in Galway, Louth, Meath and Waterford. And if you visit Mahon Point Farmers Market any Thursday (10.00am to 3.00pm), you’ll find their stall there and quite a selection to choose from. Check stockists here

Ali’s Kitchen. Pleasures of the Bakehouse

Ali’s Kitchen

Pleasures of the Bakehouse

 It is a bakehouse, a café. And a pleasure to visit. It is Ali’s Kitchen, newly opened and right smack bang in the middle of Cork city. Ali Honour has long been renowned for her baking skills and they form the tasty basis of the menus here.

The menus change regularly and so too does the array of tempting cakes and loaves on the counter. Loads of choices, generous sizes, amazing sweet things and you may wash them down with the excellent Cloud Picker coffee - new to the city.

Ali’s is in the old Connolly Bookstore. Those of you who title by title trawled your way through the packed high shelves and stacks of books will hardly recognise the place, now complete with a pair of very attractive metal gates, made locally.

 About half of the former bookshop is now filled with a spanking new kitchen where Ali and her crew make and bake and display their wares. The other half, with exposed brick and stone walls, is all ready for you. Would you like a table for two, with chairs? A seat by the wall, with cushions? Or if you're a group, maybe six, get one of the high tables and a bunch of high stools to go with it.

We called in for lunch last week and were well fed indeed. If you're in town early you can have breakfast here, a breakfast that will keep you going when other’s batteries have run flat. And if you need a pick-up at anytime, then pop in for a coffee and a cake! Can’t make it during the week? Then Saturday brunch is made for you!

 We loved our lunch. Especially the Black Pudding Brioche, with fried egg, cheddar, tomato and rocket (€6.95). And, no less especially, Chorizo (piquant yes, and pleasantly so), Avocado and Tomato on toast, topped with fried egg and Harissa (€9.95).  We could also have had the Coughlan’s Corned Beef, salsa verde, Hegarty’s Cheddar, leaves and slaw. And another tempting one the list was the Lime Halloumi and Puy Lentils, organic leaves, walnuts, pickled red onion, croutons, roast tomato and toasted seeds. Wow! Well made, well priced.

And then it was time for some coffee and Ali introduced us to her “bunnage”.  No shortage of choice but do remember that she bakes everyday so the list is always changing. But we were extremely pleased, CL delighted with her absolutely delicious  and amazingly moist Flourless Apple with Almonds while I concentrated lovingly on my Lemon Curd and coconut crumble brioche (each at €3.75).

If you don't have time to sit down and enjoy, there is good news for you: everything on the counter is for takeaway so that means all the cakes, scones, breads, brioche and buns! And the soup and sandwiches are also available for takeaway!

Wouldn't you love to be able to bake these gorgeous creations yourself? Ali has thought of that too and the master-baker has arranged some “buntastic” courses beginning February 25th, then 3rd March, 10th March, 15th March, and 24th March. Contact infoaliskitchen@gmail.com for more details.

Ali’s Kitchen

Rory Gallagher Place

Paul Street, Cork

Open Tuesday to Saturday 9.00-17.00
Will be open Mondays soon, and looking to do Friday & Saturday evening menu!

infoaliskitchen@gmail.com

021 2390680

http://www.aliskitchencork.com/#1

Twitter: @AlisKitchenCork

Amuse Bouche

I stopped going to the farmer’s market years ago when some hipster chick came screeching at me “DON’T TOUCH THE PEAS!” After that, we just ordered directly from the farm and had it delivered to the restaurant. Of course, I'm in love with the toothless guy...He’s everything I grew up with, he’s the end of an era, he’s the last of what it was like to just be a good eater and a good grower. A time when we just grew it and cooked it and ate it and didn't talk so much about it. When we didn’t crow all over town about your artisanal, local, organic fwa fwa. We just went to the farm and bought the milk. I bought everything I could from that old guy.

from The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton

The Wines of Springfield Estate. Unfiltered. Unfined. Oozing Class!

The Wines of Springfield Estate.

Unfiltered. Unfined. Oozing Class!

Springfield Estate “The Work of Time” 2008, Robertson Valley (Western Cape, South Africa).

The Wines of South Africa's Springfield Estate are unfiltered, unfined, unstabilised. No pumps. No crushers. So how does this 2008 Bordeaux blend stack up? Brilliantly! And I'm not the only one impressed. In the latest edition of the Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book, the Springfield wines are lauded: “All ooze class, personality.”

The blend is Cabernet Franc (31%), Merlot (30), Cabernet Sauvignon (25) and Petit Verdot (14). They made their “maiden” vintage in 2001 from specially planted vines that were then nine years old.

This is how they produced the 2008: Grapes fermented whole (according to our ancient custom) and left for five weeks on their skins. A slow 2 years of barrel maturation followed and a further 4 years of bottle maturation. Finally, we released this wine, rich, classic and complex from age - of vines and wine. This long wait, justified only by our passion, does bear fruit. Its called “The Work of Time”.

Three of my Christmas five

In the aromas there is an immediately attractive mix of dark fruits (berries,plums) and the superb first impression is maintained on the palate, a delicious mix of fruit and spice, a fresh and lively personality, really well-balanced fine tannins too and a long finalé. Very Highly Recommended.

Springfield is a fairly common Irish placename. I live in one such and had over the years toyed with the idea of getting my hands on some wines from Springfield Estate. This Christmas (2015) I did something about it  and, as you can read, it proved to be something of an eye-opener! (Next year? Well, I notice there is an English sparkling wine called Mayfield!).

In a Cork connection (admittedly a rather roundabout one), the family that run Springfield Estate is the 4th generation of Huguenot refugees that left the Loire (with bundles of vines) in 1688. This particular group headed to South Africa while others made their way to Cork. And there is another Cork connection as Springfield's Jeanette Bruwer visited Cork a few years back and indeed gave a tasting during a class in the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Thanks to the hard-working brother and sister team of Abrie and Jeanette, and using a combination of sometimes risky winemaking techniques (natural wild yeast for example), traditional methods and modern technology, Springfield produces a wine they are proud to call their own. Made on honour, as the bottle states. “Our honour is our conscience.” We need more producers like this, and not just in wine. An amazing story and you may read more of it here.

In all, I've tasted five of their wines recently including a pair of Sauvignon blanc. “Life from Stone” is one and, as the name suggests, this has a clean minerality about it. The other, “Special Cuvée” is more fruity and floral.

The Whole Berry Cabernet Sauvignon is another gem, intense, juicy and easy-drinking. Didn't make too many notes on these as we had them at the Christmas dinner. The rich creamy Wild Yeast Chardonnay was another that went down well on the day.

This beautifully balanced Bordeaux blend though is the star and Very Highly Recommended as indeed are the remarkable people behind Springfield Estate. The wines are imported by Classic Drinks.

Abrie and Jeanette Bruwer

Regional Cooking Of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Regional Cooking

Of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales

Download here

Things have moved on, I see, since boxty……..

Chefs busy now doing fancy things with golden-tailed scampi and cajuned chicken.*

Things culinary have certainly moved on. And not just in Ireland. In England, Scotland and Wales as well. But should we throw out all the old recipes? No, according to a new ecook book, Regional Recipes by Jurys Inn, a collection of soups, sides, stews and pies… tarts, bakes, puddings and cakes.

Many of the regions often provide their own unique take on some of the traditional, well-known recipes. A meat pie in Manchester varies from a pasty in Cornwall, and the distinction between a Lincolnshire sausage and a Yorkshire banger could make all the difference in a casserole.

Most of you will have heard of the Scottish Cock-a-Leekie Soup. But the London Particular? Under Sides and Bakes, you'll find the Soda Bread Farls from Northern Ireland, Staffordshire Oatcakes and, with all the craft beer available now, why not try the Gloucester Cheese and Ale?

The Irish Stew and Welsh Cawl feature under Casseroles and Stews as does the Liverpool Scouse! Ever wondered why people from Liverpool are called Scousers?Legend has it that the dish comes from Northern Europe, originally called ‘lobscouse’, which was then shortened to ‘scouse’. The scouse became popular in Liverpool’s seaports, eventually lending its name

to the people of the city.

Britain, of course, is famous for its pies and there’s quite a selection here: London, The Shropshire Fidget Pie, Suffolk Fish Pie, the Cornish Caudle Chicken Pie. But no football pie. Even though Morecambe FC’s Chicken, Ham and Leek, won the title of Supreme Champion at the British Pie Awards 2012!

The Irish Barmbrack, that traditional Halloween treat, makes its appearance under Cakes & Loaves as does the Welsh Bara Brith and the more famous Dundee Cake. Lots of treats follow in Desserts including the well known Derbyshire Bakewell. The Eton Mess is here too along with the Norfolk Treacle Tart.

No Cork favourites in the book - no sign of Tripe and Drisheen, for instance - but I reckon there’s lots of fun to be had from constructing a meal or two from these traditional recipes and Jurys Inn have done some service by getting them all together in the very well laid out ebook. It can be easily downloaded by using ‘PayWithAPost’ (where the user tweets or shares to get access) from here.

*Mayoings by Pat Upton

Edible flower arrangements. Incredible Bouquets.

Edible Flower Arrangements
Incredible bouquets look too good to eat

A big one for something, or someone, special! 

Sometimes, when you've got something big in front of you, it's best to start with a small piece.

I was amazed looking at my newly arrived Celebration Bouquet from Ballincollig’s Incredible Flowers. But Denisa had included a few small chocolate covered pieces separately and I picked up one, and bit. The apple wedge, covered in white Belgian chocolate, was surprisingly gorgeous!

I had first spotted Denisa’s amazing creations, handmade edible flower arrangements, at the Garden Festival in Ballymaloe. And the eye-catching combinations of fruit and chocolate (both white and black) were stopping visitors in their tracks.

My Celebration bouquet

My sample this week was her Celebration, a delicious bouquet of gourmet treats. This fruity fiesta will be sure to leave your guests impressed thanks to its delicious mix of juicy pineapple, fresh cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwi and orange slices, strawberries and grapes, strawberries dipped in milk chocolate and chocolate flakes, and apple wedges dipped in dark chocolate. Yum!

Just had to get stuck in after that. As they are fresh fruit, you won't have much time to waste, though you can put the leftovers in the fridge. As you can see, there was quite a selection of fruits on the Celebration and all were delicious, though the cantaloupe and the strawberries (especially those totally covered in dark chocolate) were especially so.

The Celebration is one of her bestselling items but she has quite a range of Edible Fruit Arrangements, running to four pages on her website. The site is brilliant. You can even shop by occasion under headings such as Valentine’s, Birthday, Corporate Gifts, Happy Anniversary, Communion, Mother’s Day, Wedding, and Thank You.

You may buy small sample bags, from 5 euro

And, indeed, these tempting arrangements are sure to be a talking point at any occasion.  As she says herself: You can make any occasion extra-special with our array of irresistible products, including delicious and impressive fresh fruit arrangements and gourmet chocolate-dipped fruit. The perfect gift for any occasion!  And they have been used as table center-pieces at some large functions.

The fruit baskets and bouquets are designed to resemble flowers, and include a variety of fruit such as sweet pineapples, kiwis, fresh strawberries, juicy melon, crisp apples, mouth-watering oranges and more. Fruit bouquets and baskets are a novel and delicious gift for any occasion. And they will deliver to the home, office or corporate events in the Cork city and county areas.  There is free delivery in Ballincollig and Ovens and there is a charge for other destinations.

The business is quite new but has proved very popular already. The concept is well known in the UK and the US but very new to Ireland. And Denisa finds that some people are a bit unsure about the terminology and what to order. But she is very helpful and that excellent website has a Frequently Asked Questions facility that will fill you in on all you need to know. Check it out here.

Taste of the Week. Social Circles

Taste of the Week

Social Circles

It wasn’t exactly the feedback I was expecting. Shortly before Christmas, I was visiting friends and one of the little food gifts I had left was a pack of Social Circles from Seymour Biscuits in Bandon. I met my hosts a few weeks later and they told me that the Social Circles were absolutely gorgeous but “we were fighting over them!”

So there you are. If you decide to try Social Circles, our Taste of the Week, then my advice is to get at least two packets. These biscuits are seriously addictive! I did get the two packs for a post Christmas get-together and they vanished in no time.

Everybody seems to love them. A pack contains six shortbread biscuit pieces which have been immersed in Belgian chocolate with added Madagascan vanilla pod, pecan, cardamom spice and natural orange extract; you get three of Cardamom Orange and three of Vanilla Pecan. I got mine at Bradley’s (Cork) and they are also available at the best gourmet stores and hotels in Ireland and their new website allows customers throughout the world buy online.

They make lots of other biscuits too - the fresh milk comes from their own farm nearby - and you can check them all out here

Cafe Paradiso. Back to the Garden.

Cafe Paradiso. Back to the Garden

Eden may have been lost with a single bite of forbidden fruit but the garden can always be regained, at least in the Cork region, with a visit to Cafe Paradiso. No fruit, no vegetable forbidden here! Every meal in the city centre restaurant reinforces what one of my friends, who travels widely in the hospitality industry, told me a few years back: "It is not alone the best vegetarian restaurant in Ireland, it is probably the best restaurant in Ireland".

And what is perhaps not generally known, except to the regulars of course, is that Paradiso has a superb wine list. The lower end and the slow-moving higher end have been chopped from the list and what remains is packed with quality, great choices, between approximately thirty and forty five euro a bottle.

We were part of a seven person group the other night so the wines were shared, along with many a good laugh. Good advice on the wine list is also available and so we started with the Höpler Grüner Veltliner 2014, 12.5% Burgenland, Austria and finished with the Friedrich Becker Spatburgunder Pinot Noir 2011, 13.5%, Pfalz, Germany.

Aubergine parcels....

Others we could have had included the Susana Balbo ’Crios’ Malbec 2013, 14%, Mendoza, Argentina and the Alvaro Palacios La Montesa Rioja 2012 in the reds while among the whites that caught my eye were Wittmann Riesling Trocken 2012, 12% Rheinhessen, Germany and the Dos Victorias ‘Jose Pariente’ Verdejo 2013, 13%, Rueda. But it is easy to get a good one here as the list is really superb. If you’re not sure, just ask your server! By the way, all the wines are available by the glass, by 250ml and 500ml carafe and by the bottle.

Back to the food then and I'm not going to bore you with all the details. We picked the three course option here and you have lots of choice for forty euro. Two courses will set you back thirty three euro.

I had been toying with going for the truffled sunchoke soup with hazelnut gougere and buttered shiitake from a list of six starters (all tempting) but settled instead on the Macroom Buffalo Mozzarella with roasted carrots, pickled fennel, chermoula, preserved lemon and pistachio dukka. Amazing flavours and textures on this plate and the roast carrots came in for compliments all around the table.

Choc dessert...

CL meanwhile was delighted with her choice: roast beetroot, braised scorzonera and Knockalara sheep’s cheese with watercress, orange pickle and ras-el-hanout crumb. Colour, flavour, texture all combined, the dish showing that beetroot goes as well with sheep’s as goat’s. Great stuff indeed.

There were also six choices of mains but, amazingly, the majority of our group went for the roast aubergine parcels of cavolo nero and coolea cheese with miso gravy, beluga lentils,

pumpkin gnocchi and a green pepper and caramelised walnut salsa. Aubergine is one of my favourite vegetables in any restaurant but this was vegetable heaven, every little bit, the gravy, the lentils. Even CL polished off the gnocchi, usually left on the side! “These were good ones”, I was told.

And you must try the sides as they are superb as well. They do include sprouts but not like you've known them. Here they are served with tomato, chilli and ginger and well worth the fiver as are the Paradiso chips with truffled aioli.

Time then, and desire too, for dessert. Lots of temptation but I made up my mind early on the Orange and Date Bread and Butter Pudding and its Rum Custard. Oh la la! And other desserts enjoyed at the table included a Dark chocolate mousse with gingered pear and salted caramel popcorn and also Vanilla pod ice cream with brutti ma buoni, espresso and a shot of frangelico. A sweet end to a terrific meal and service was flawless throughout. Very Highly Recommended.

More desserts, including popular Orange and Date pudding

The menu here is based largely on local and seasonal produce.  Gortnanain Farm is the primary source of veg (and honey). All cheeses (which include Coolea and Macroom) are Irish except for Feta and Halloumi. Mushrooms are Ballyhoura or foraged. More details on the restaurant, founded 23 years ago, here.

Cafe Paradiso

16 Lancaster Quay

Cork

(021) 427 7939

Opening Hours: Dinner Monday – Saturday, 5.30 – 10.00pm