Casa Silva Wines Impress At Jacques

Casa Silva Wines Impress At Jacques

No water? No problem to Casa Silva at Paredones 

Don’t particularly want to be anywhere else during this current spell of warm sunny weather but offer me a stay at the guesthouse in the Chilean winemaker Casa Silva and I wouldn't hesitate.

It is best best known for its Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc but, having sampled five of their wines in Jacques in a very convivial tasting last Tuesday, I'll be adding Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the list!

David Prentice, Casa Silva’s European Commercial Director, was our host at Jacques and we soon had their delicious unoaked Chardonnay in hand. It may be their “entry level Chardonnay” but this comes from one of the country’s top producers and is well worth seeking out. You may get it for €12.50 at www.winesoftheworld.ie.

Two Cool from Paredones

David said: “We prefer to make the wine mainly in the vineyard. No oak here as there’s no need for it. The vineyard is 25km from the coast, cool at night and there is a short hot spike during the day, ideal conditions. Yield here is very close to that of Chablis.”

Five generations - a 6th on the way - show that Casa Silva is a family affair. “The first generation brought their vines from Bordeaux, in 1892! And the aim is to keep the business within the family. Seventy year old Mario Silva has dedicated much of his life to recovering the old vineyards and wine cellar and has acquired a unique understanding of the terroir in the Colchagua Valley.  He still works every day, still checking, still tasting.”

In Chile, you can find a micro-climate for virtually any grape. The long narrow country has the Andes to the east and the ocean to the west, desert to the north, ice to the south and, in between, there is a great diversity of soils and climate.

 Our next wine was the Sauvignon Blanc 2015 reserva and that went down very well indeed. By the way, David emphasised that they use natural local yeast in the majority of their wines.

They are not afraid to be brave. The grapes for the second Sauvignon Blanc, the terrific Cool Coast 2013, came from the Paredones vineyard, in an area where no vines had been grown previously due to lack of water. But Casa Silva pumped the water up from the river (filled by winter rains) and that storage “lake” is the centerpoint of the beautiful vineyard, now earning quite a reputation.

Here there is “granite, older than the Andes” and this Sauvignon is “more chiselled”, “more friendly than New Zealand counterparts, intense aromas, refreshing acidity. Paredones is very interesting,  has a great terroir, ideal temperature range (23 by day, 8 by night).”

And there was further proof of that with the next bottle, the Cool Coast Pinot Noir with its red robe that bit deeper than you’d expect, its inviting aromas of raspberry and strawberry, excellent balancing acidity, refreshing flavours and long finish. Very impressive indeed.

Such has been the success of this new vineyard that one or two other wine producers are now moving into the area. Los Lignes is another famous Casa Silva vineyard and the source of our final wine, a top notch 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. “The Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon planted here reach extremely high quality with unique character.” We could see that in our glass! Superb. The Carmenere is now on the wish list.

David Prentice (left) with Yours Truly

And with all that acidity and freshness calling out for food, the kitchen in Jacques stepped up to the plate, as they always do. Our first dish was Goats Cheese with Rhubarb and Orange on Toast, the second Fresh Crab and apple in lettuce, the finalé a terrific slice of rare beef, complete with potato, horseradish cream and a surprising smoked tomato!

So thanks to Casa Silva, to David, to Kate Barry and her crew from Barry Fitzwilliam and to the 38 year old Cork restaurant for a very informative and relaxing evening of good wine and food. Don't forget to check out the Casa Silva wines at www.winesoftheworld.ie, in your local restaurant and in selected off licences

Mrs. Brown’s Boys ‘Winnie McGoogan’ Joins The Mayor's Hooley

Mrs. Brown’s Boys ‘Winnie McGoogan’ to join County Mayor for charity Hooley

Micheal Sheridan, Mercy University Hospital Foundation,
County Mayor Cllr. John Paul O’Shea and Angela Horgan, Pieta House Cork  at the launch

~ Actress and Author Eilish O’Carroll of Mrs. Brown’s Boys fame has graciously accepted an invite from County Mayor, John Paul O’Shea to be Master of Ceremonies for his upcoming charity event ‘Hooley in The Hall’ taking place next month.

County Mayor Cllr. John Paul O’Shea is set to mark the end of his term as Mayor of the County of Cork by hosting a “Hooley in The Hall” and in aid of Cork charities, The Mercy Hospital Foundation and Pieta House, and it has just been announced that comedienne, actress, performer and writer Eilish O’Carroll (of Mrs. Brown’s Boys fame) will take up the mantle of Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

The summer charity event will take place at County Hall, Cork, on Friday June 17th, and is kindly supported by The Kingsley Hotel, part of The Fota Collection.

Shaping up to be one of the biggest charity events of the summer, the Hooley in The Hall will be hosted ​by one of Ireland’s best known and most loved faces, Eilish O’Carroll, and have a line-up of awesome blue grass and Cajun sounds from ‘Ray Barron & Friends’ (of Two Time Polka) and the hugely popular ‘The Whole Hog Band’. The night is perfect for groups of friends and neighbours, that office night out or just an excuse to don a Stetson, break out those blue jeans and strut your stuff.  With finger lickin’ homemade BBQ, the Mayor’s Moonshine, fun games and DJ ‘til late, the evening is set to raise the roof while raising funds for The Mercy Hospital Foundation and Pieta House, Mayor John Paul O’Shea’s chosen charities.

Eilish is easily recognised for her work on her Brother Brendan’s hit TV show, Mrs Brown’s Boys. Since the late nineties she has embodied the character of lovable neighbour, Winnie McGoogan and endeared herself to the nation as a bit of a national treasure. Despite the multiple recordings, stage productions, and even the filming of Mrs Brown’s Boys Da Movie, Eilish has achieved her own separate success in Snap, Sparrow’s Trap and a short film called Noreen, as well as having penned and performed her own one-woman award winning show called ‘Live Love Laugh’.  Although hailing from Dublin Eilish is now settled in Castltownshend, West Cork and has become an adopted resident of Cork County, which made her a great choice for the role. 

Speaking in advance of the Hooley in the Hall Eilish said “Cork has always been so welcoming to me, and so to be asked to MC this event is an honour. Immediately the country theme struck me, my inner performer can’t wait to get involved and encourage fun in aid of such worthy causes. Pieta House does marvellous work, as too does The Mercy University Hospital Foundation, so I absolutely can’t wait! My thanks to the Mayor for inviting me to be a part of the night.”

Kicking off at 7.30pm, the whole ground floor of County Hall will be themed in a country-style, with the freedom to mill about the food and drink stations, join in the dancing with a lively DJ who will take the reins from midnight. Tickets for the whole evening, including all of the above unique and memorable entertainment, are priced to please at just €40 per person.

Speaking of today’s announcement Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. John Paul O’Shea said ‘A comedienne in her own right, musician, actress and writer, Eilish O’Carroll has been a tv personality many of us turn to at the end of a long day to make us laugh. When considering who I wanted to MC the Hooley in the Hall, marking the end of my term as County Mayor, there was no doubt Eilish would be a great fit. Pieta House and the Mercy University Hospital Foundation see so much sadness and darkness; I knew Eilish would be ray of light to shine through. It is my joy and pleasure to announce today that she has accepted our invitation and will be present to entertain and guide us through the night'​

Cork’s Pieta House will put all funds raised towards continuing to provide a safe place for people who are in suicidal distress and/or self-harming. ‘The Hooley is our ideal opportunity to support these two organisations in the good work they do for the people of Cork while having a great night out with our colleagues, neighbours and friends. Everyone’s welcome!’ said the Mayor. 

Mayor O’Shea went on to acknowledge the continuing outstanding support of The Kingsley Hotel, part of the Fota Collection as main sponsors, stating:  ‘The team at The Fota Collection have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to this and several other worthy causes in Cork and County since their arrival in the region and they are to be congratulated on their willingness to row in behind good causes with such graciousness’.

You can purchase your tickets for the Hooley in the Hall at reception in The County Hall, at any of the Council’s eight Municipal District Offices or through the Mercy University Hospital Foundation website www.mercyfundraising.ie/hooley-in-the-hall. You may also e-mail mayorshooley@corkcoco.ie or call Edel (Howard) Bodie on (021) 4285367 for tickets. Group bookings most welcome.

Tickets are also available countywide in the Cork County Council Municipal offices in West Cork (028-21299), Bandon/ Kinsale (021-4772154), East Cork (021- 4631580), Ballincollig/Carrigaline (021-4285352), Cobh (021-4811307), Fermoy (025-31155), Blarney/ Macroom (026-41545), Kanturk/Mallow (022-21123)

A special overnight rate for the night of the Hooley is available at The Kingsley Hotel (just across the road from County Hall) - €145 based on 2 sharing, including breakfast.  Bookings to: www.thekingsley.ie – special event packages, or call 021 4800500.

Press release

Taste of the Week. Toons Bridge Cacio Cavallo

Taste of the Week

Toons Bridge Cacio Cavallo

In the Big Shed during LitFest16, I met Toby of Toonsbridge Dairy with two big rounds of cheese over his shoulder, one to the front, one to the rear. “I’m like the horse,” he joked. And, having read a piece on their website a few days earlier, I knew that he was talking about his Cacio Cavallo, now our current Taste of the Week.

It is a cow's milk cheese, made in Toons Bridge by their Italian cheesemaker Franco.  Translated it means "horse cheese", as it is traditionally tied in pairs and transported to market by pack horse. No horse in the Big Shed at Ballymaloe so Toby took over! That’s what stallholders do.

Cacio Cavallo is the cheese of Southern Italy. It is, like mozzarella and scamorza, made from raw milk with the addition of whey starters. It is ripened and, when ready after some hours, stretched in boiling water.

We bought a big slice - it is cut on the length from the five or six kilo round - and enjoyed every bit. Cracks appeared on the paste and it comes away in soft slivers, beautiful and creamy. You’ll read that the Piccante version - one of  our Toons Bridge versions - has a spicy background but it is quite mild.

Must try the Dulce version, as it looks very much like the Spanish Tetella.

Toons Bridge Dairy

Toons Bridge Macroom Co Cork

Contact:

087 3457790 (texts work as well)

or by email toonsbridgeshop@therealoliveco.com

Toons Bridge cheeses at Ballymaloe Litfest16

Ballinwillin House & Farm. Where the deer and the wild boar roam.

Ballinwillin House & Farm

Where the deer and the wild boar roam

We are in a country town. We have been feeding the deer and checking on the goats and Wild Boar pigs. Time now for a drink in the Hungarian wine-cellar. A red, appropriately named Young Bull, goes down well. It is made from the Hungarian grape Kékfrancos.

Back to the main house now for dinner which will start with a plate of charcuterie, all from the farm. The mains will feature both venison and pig. The southern town is Mitchelstown and we are having the time of our lives in Ballinwillin House (built in 1727 by the local Earl of Kingston for the famous agriculturalist Sir Arthur Young).

One of the pucks

When we arrived in the late afternoon, we were welcomed by Patrick Mulcahy. Patrick and his wife Miriam have been owners since 1985. The estate once had 1240 acres but the Mulcahy’s are doing very well indeed with 162 acres, divided into various parcels. In 1985, they started with the house and 16 acres.

The first thing you notice when you come through the gate is the herd of deer in the nearby field. Patrick told us the original deer were brought in from Hungary and there are now 850 of them. The field we were looking at had about twenty five, a “small harem” for the single stag. What we didn't see though were the first of this season’s “babies”. Just born and about the size of a hare, they were hidden away in the long grass of a far corner by the cautious mothers but they will be out and about in a few days.

The young ones

After that we were taken to see a small herds of goats and then the Wild Boar pigs and their young. To see more about the Wild Boar and how they came back to Ireland check out this Ear To The Ground feature on Ballinwillin.

Patrick, from West Limerick originally, has some more “ordinary” animals too, including cattle. We saw a mother and her newly born twins. The birth had been very tough on all three but tender care and no little muscle from the Mulcahy's saw them all pull through. They were on the point of calling the vet but didn't have to. Indeed, the vet is rarely involved here as the operation is organic and healthy.

All calm for the twins after a tough start to life

And those healthy meats, most of which are sold online by the way but also to hotels and chefs, are used in the house for entertaining. They have nine rooms for B&B, six of them in a courtyard and three in the house itself. They also entertain groups with a convivial start usually made in the wine-cellars built for Patrick by some of his Hungarian friends.

He has made many friends in Hungary over the years and that is how the wine came into it, a wine that is now combined with the other produce of the farm. His wines in Hungary are bottled under the Chateau Mulcahy label and there too you’ll see a deer silhouette. The wine names are usually in honour of relations or friends: Clos de John Patrick, Amy Rose, South Winds (after a friend’s house).

A big welcome
from Patrick

The Kékfrancos is a native Hungarian grape but most of the others are the familiar international grapes such as Chardonnay, Merlot (for the rosé), Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for example. All in all 14 wines, including a dessert one, are available so you’ll have plenty of choice either in the atmospheric cellar or in the dining hall. 

The cellars are dimly lit and not very big but that just tends to get people closer to one another, all the better to smile and chat and laugh. You won't be checking the colour of your wine - but you sure will be enjoying it and the occasion. Indeed, you may book a cellar visit as a standalone.

In the cellar

The high roofed dining room was our next call - we were with a group of about twenty from the Munster Wine & Dine. Starter was a generous plate of charcuterie, all from the farm, all delicious.

Hard to beat the mains. Miriam is well able to turn her hand to virtually any hearty meat dish and on this occasion we enjoyed a five star Venison Bourguignon with all the trimmings. About halfway though that, a stuffed fillet of Wild Boar was added to each plate. More wine was ordered and we were on a roll!

Dessert, Miriam’s Raspberry Cake, arrived in due course.  Then a little sing-song broke out - Patrick chipped in with There’s An Isle - and it was a very happy gang that trooped into our bus back to the city.

• The brilliant day out had started with a visit to the Grubb family farm at Beechmount, near Fethard, the home of Cashel Blue and other beautiful cheeses. Read all about it here
• If you’d like to join the fun with Munster Wine & Wine, please send email to mwdcircle@gmail.com

The Grubbs And Cashel Blue. Passion. Place. Precious.

The Grubbs And Cashel Blue

Passion. Place. Precious.

When you listen to Sarah Grubb speak about cheese and particularly about the cheeses that her family produces, including the famous Cashel Blue, you hear passion (and the occasional hearty laugh). But listen carefully and you realise that the passion is built on attention to details, little and large, and on hard work, on experience of course and also on a love for the locality, their terroir, the green fields of Beechmount Farm where their “new” dairy (2010) is located.

If the planners had their way, the building that we (members of Munster Wine & Dine) visited last Friday would have been on an industrial estate. But the Grubbs (including founders Jane and Louis, Sarah’s parents) were convinced that the dairy should be on the farm, in the place where the cheese had been made since 1984 and in the very area where their own workers came from. And, with help from friends and neighbours, that is what happened.

If you’re interested in starting with sheep, you’ll need to know your breeds. Sarah told us that Dorset is best for meat but Friesland is best for milk. We actually started with a taste of sheep’s milk and then moved on to the curds which two recent visitors separately described as like “ a very good tofu”.

Blue is doing well here on a 6 week Crozier

“The French,” she's said, “call sheep's milk liquid gold”. Perhaps because it is precious - they produce so very little per ewe - and because too it is nice to work with. But you have to have patience with it. The milk contains more solids than cow's milk and so the cheese takes longer to develop.

Goat's milk, she told us, is closer to buffalo than sheep (which is creamier). And, Sarah (who like husband Sergio, another key player at Beechmount, has a wine background) emphasized that sheep’s milk is a product of its terroir. “It varies from place to place. Fascinating!” And another thing, sheep’s milk is easier to digest.

She showed us the display of wheels. “Our cheeses are not particularly large - Stilton is much larger.” The smaller size is down to practical reasons. In a small operation, smaller wheels are easier to handle and quite often it is women doing the handling. The big wheels have one advantage though: “The larger the cheese, the longer it will last.”

We had a tasting of the various cheeses. These included a young Crozier Blue. It was rather “dry” at this stage. The trademark creaminess develops with age!

Salt is the only preservative in cheese and it is essential and the mould too is extremely important to the development of the cheese. She then led us through the dairy, explaining the various parts of the process. You may check out the more important steps right here.

Some of the thousands of wheels in the Maturation Room

Small beginnings

“One sunny summer’s day my daughter Sarah and I were watching my husband, Louis, herd his cows in from pasture. What a deliciously rich and creamy milk they gave! I started to experiment. Eventually, in 1984, I created Cashel Blue, a cheese I believe truly represents the outstanding quality of Tipperary milk. I hope you will agree.”

This is Jane Grubb telling how Cashel Blue cheese came into being and we do agree, as do thousands of customers worldwide, from the US to Australia. “All areas of the market are supplied," Sarah told me on a previous visit and, on Friday, she confirmed that they don't put all their eggs into the one basket! This is a deliberate decision, as they want everyone to try their cheese, not just those that shop in elite outlets.

I should of course say cheeses as Cashel Blue has been joined by other products, including Cashel Cream Cheese, a convenient cheese in a tub for everyday use, a mix of Cashel Blue, Natural Cream cheese and 5 per cent cream. The other well known cheese is Crozier Blue, developed in 1993 from sheep’s milk. You may also come across their Shepherd’s Store, a gorgeous hard cheese, and watch out in the near future for Cashel Blue organic.

But back to Jane and those early days. She had decided to make cheese but didn’t know how. So she got herself a library book. Even that wasn't available locally and had to be obtained via the inter-library route. That book, lots of experiments and then the acquisition of a small vat, led to the famous Cashel Blue.

Over twenty years later, the new dairy was established near the original farmhouse (which had become almost overwhelmed by the success) and opened right in “one of the best fields” and locally became known as Louis’ shed. Louis is Jane’s husband and the entire family were glad to get their home back.

Main cheesemaker Geurt van den Dikkenberg, using the cheese harp

The early cheesemakers too needed encouragement as they tried to find their way. And that encouragement came in the shape of an early prize (up in Clones in County Monaghan)  and soon they were on the right path, choosing to make the blue rather than what many others were making. “We continue to specialise in blue,” Sarah told us last Friday

Cheesemaking is no easy job. Lots of muscle and hands-on work is required. Cheesemaking starts at 6.00am and work goes on everyday, though they do try and keep it that bit less demanding at weekends. Still, someone has to be there 365 days a year!

It is hard work too drawing that cheese harp through the curds and whey in large vats time after time; cheesemakers back is an occupational hazard. Not easy work at all and yes that Cheese Harp has to be re-strung from time to time.

With all that hard work, some people would be tempted to cut corners and speed up the process. But glad to say, there is no compromise here. The quality of the milk is all important and the care that it gets from the time it is piped into the vats, through to the final wheels in the Maturation Room, is hands on.

There is of course some mechanical help with placing the curd from the vats into moulds and also with the injection of the wheels to allow the blue to occur and also the turning of the wheels but nothing whatsoever to compromise the integrity of this natural product. Find out more about the Cashel way of cheese making here.

Wheels, ready for turning

The cheesemaking operation at Beechmount Farm was in good hands from the start with Jane and her husband Louis the pioneers and is in good hands now and for the future with Sarah and her husband Sergio Furno and their team.

Some Beechmount facts:

·         Fifty per cent of the cheese output is sold abroad.

·         Crozier is white while the Cashel as it matures tends to be more of a yellow colour.

·         The sheep milk, used for the Crozier, is heavier and that means more muscle needed especially while it is in the vats.

·         The wheels are salted by soaking in brine, the better to preserve it. Previously the salt was added by hand but soaking in the tanks of brine gives a more consistent result.

• The brilliant day out ended with a visit to the Mulcahy family at Ballinwillin House, also the home of Deer, Wild Boar Pig and Hungarian wine! Great dinner too! Read all about it here.
• If you’d like to join the fun with Munster Wine & Wine, please send email to mwdcircle@gmail.com

Amuse Bouche

Indeed, starvation wages were paid to those who were hired….landowners proclaimed that unemployment was an invention of the Republic…… In Jaén, the gathering of acorns, normally kept for pigs, or of windfall olives, the watering of beasts and even the gathering of firewood were denounced as ‘collective kleptomania’. Hungry peasants caught doing such things were savagely beaten by the Civil Guard or by armed estate guards.

From The Spanish Holocaust by Paul Preston (2012)

Poff’s, The Tops of Kenmare. Supporting Local

Poff’s, The Tops of Kenmare.

Supporting Local

Poff’s of Kenmare is my kind of place. And, though I’ve never met her, chef/patron Helen Poff is my kind of person. She and her bright and airy café on New Street support local producers.

It is up there on the board in black and white: Star Sea Foods Kenmare, Coolea Cheese, St Tola Cheese, Harrington Bakery, Folláin Jams and Marmalades, Peter O’Sullivan Sneem black pudding and juicy burgers, Ashes of Annascaul sausage and white pudding, Kenmare Select Smoked Salmon, and Billy Clifford’s organic salads and vegetables.

Put all that gorgeous food into the hands of the experienced Helen Poffs and you're on a winner, for breakfast and lunch. And as some parts of the breakfast menu, including the Full Irish, are available at lunch time, you have a great choice all the way through the day.

But there is much more: daily specials, quiches, salads. Sweet stuff too if you're just in for a cuppa! Take a look at the lovely little place here. Rotate the view and you’ll see that they have a few seats outside too, for the good days that are ahead.

We called in there in late April - it is just off Henry Street. With a big dinner coming up that evening, we weren't looking for anything majorly filling! We had to restrain ourselves as we were seated right alongside the display cabinet!

The soup changes daily and there was an attractive one on, indeed I think there was a choice. CL picked the Broccoli and Blue Cheese (4.50) and I can guarantee every drop was finished off. One happy customer.

Spick and span

And I was very happy too. Helen opened this place last year having been Head Breakfast Chef at the famous Park Hotel. So when I noted “fluffy” on the pancake description, I thought to myself, I could be on a winner here. And I was.

The full description read: Fluffy American style pancakes with Maple syrup, fresh berries and cream (6.5). I know pancakes regularly turn up on breakfast menus in hotels and guest houses but mostly they are disappointingly stodgy. Not so here. Fluffy she said and fluffy she delivered. Perhaps the best pancakes I’ve ever had. I know many of you love nutella and they also do a version for you!

A couple of excellent coffees (2.00 each) later and we stepped out into the April sunshine. Or was it showers at the time?

• By the way, at the recent regional Restaurant Association of Ireland awards, Poff’s won the Best Kerry Café Award.

Poff’s

New Road

Kenmare

Co. Kerry

Phone 064 6640645

Email poffskenmare@gmail.com

Wed-Sun: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Check Facebook for seasonal changes.

Web: http://poffkenmare.wix.com/poffskenmare

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Poffs-1120429981318029/