Pleasant stop at Farran's Wunderkaffee. An hour or two of coffee and a taste of local history

 Pleasant stop at Farran's Wunderkaffee

An hour or two of coffee and a taste of local history

For quite a few months now, I have been meaning to visit the Wunderkaffee in Farran. For much longer, it has been my intention to visit the nearby Kilcrea Abbey ruins. I got both done (and more) one sunny day, perhaps the only sunny one, last week.

The cafe stands on a rural road just (a minute) off the main Cork-Macroom Road. You park by the side of the road and walk in. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday and serves coffee, teas, and hot chocolates and lots of sweet treats and has indicated it is considering doing lunches in the future.

There are strong links between the Farran café and the two Filter Coffee outlets in Cork City, so you feel confident the coffee will be good here. And it is, very good indeed. We tried a selection of good things including a lovely croissant. Then onto a superb Rhubarb Crumble studded with blackberries. But the best of all, I thought, was the Flapjack, packed full of flavour thanks to the fruit, the nuts and an injection or two of chocolate.

There is much more there, hence the “Wunder” bit! You may choose plants from quite a selection. There is a large display of wine, much of it organic and from the Mary Pawle portfolio. Local crafts are supported including silverware, lampshades and more. And do look out for local honey and chutneys. If you are hunting for a last-minute gift, just call in; you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

There is a lively buzz here, a neighbourhood buzz, though I’m sure quite a few passersby also call. Service is friendly and efficient, very helpful. They don't rush you and indeed look out for you.

*****

Just a few minutes’ drive from the café, is Kilcrea Friary, built in 1465 by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy who is buried here. We called to see the extensive ruin. Buried here also is Áirt Úi Laoghaire, a young Irishman shot dead in May 1773 because an English planter wanted to put him in his place and could so do because of the brutal Penal Laws.

That year, a horse owned by 26-year-old Áirt won a race, beating a horse owned by the planter. Because of the penal laws, a Catholic was not allowed to own a horse with a value of over five pounds, so the Englishman sought to take advantage by offering Áirt that amount for the horse. The Irishman refused and was declared an outlaw and was later shot dead.

Áirt's tomb

The first indication that his wife received of the tragedy was the arrival of the mare without her rider. And that is recalled in Caoineadh (keening) Áirt Úi Laoghaire, the love poem, one of Ireland’s greatest, that his wife Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill composed as she keened.

is níor chreideas riamh dod mharbh

gur tháinig chúgham do chapall

is a srianta léi go talamh,

is fuil do chroí ar a leacain

Here is the translation by Thomas Kinsella

I didn’t credit your death

till your horse came home

and her reins on the ground,

your heart’s blood on her back

You may read the full poem in Irish here.   The Kinsella translation is also available online.

The founder remembered

‘Natural and unpretentious’. This beautiful Beaujolais is just like winemaker Karim Vionnet!

‘Natural and unpretentious’. This beautiful Beaujolais is just like winemaker Karim Vionnet!

Vionnet “Du Beur Dans Les Pinards” Beaujolais Villages (AC) 2020, 14% ABV, 

RRP €24.95. Stockists: Le Caveau, 64 Wine, Greenman Wines, Bradleys Cork

The fruit for Du Beur dans les Pinards comes from a parcel which belonged to the late Jules Chauvet and the cheeky label is a Michel Tolmer /  Philippe Quesnot creation. 

“Who is Jules Chauvet?”

Chauvet was a Beaujolais wine dealer, winemaker, and wine scientist, who throughout the 1980s mentored the Morgon vigneron Marcel Lapierre and his collaborator Jacques Néauport, prefiguring many of today’s ideas about natural wine. 

From the 1980s, other natural wine heroes such as Breton, Lapierre, Foillard and Thevenet emerged. Our winemaker here Karim Vionnet learned from them and especially from Breton with whom he worked. And he learned well. 

Very Highly Recommended.

I didn’t have to get it into the glass to get the amazing aromatics. They can't wait to meet you and make a merry dancing impression immediately the cork is removed. The colour is a little darker than normal though not around the rim. The juicy red berry character continues on its merry light-footed delicious way across the palate before a long and refreshing Beaujolais finish.

Karim Vionnet started his own production in 2000. He farms his parcels without chemicals and makes his wines without additives and jokes that he makes wines that look like him: ‘Natural and unpretentious’

He certainly learned well from Breton and company and fully deserves a bit of butter on his spinach (Du beur means a North African and there is a bit of wordplay going on with beurre the French for butter and Vionnet’s first name). Must get Pascal at le Caveau to explain it better when next we meet.

Karim’s parcels are located in the villages of Quincié, Beaujeu and Lantignié, on very varied types of soil, ranging from marls, schists, granite and sand. Since 2020, his daughter Noemie has joined the estate, and proud dad Karim hasn’t stopped smiling since. Thanks to Le Caveau for much of this info!

Stroll by the River Lee, on the Tivoli side, on a Saturday morning.

Stroll by the River Lee, on the Tivoli side, on a Saturday morning. 

Saturday's a good time as rowing crews are training. Usually some wild birds there also.

Lady Tivoli (or a lot of old rope)

Traffic near the Shandon BC slips.

The Norwegian flagged Isbjorn heading downriver. Is it the ocean going boat in this very interesting story here?

Carrig House (being restored), reportedly c. 200 years old

Lee Rowing club, one of three operating on this stretch of the Lee.

Morning after the night before!

Gull gossip

Making a splash x4

This Kinsale Barrel Aged Mead is a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness.

This Kinsale Barrel Aged Mead is a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness. 

Kinsale Merlot Barrel Aged Wild Red Mead (Limited Edition) 2022, 70 cl bottle, 12% ABV 

RRP: €31.75. Stockists throughout Ireland, also in GB and NI, in Europe and beyond. Full list here.  

Mead (Miodh in Irish) is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, unique in that its primary ingredient is honey but also incredibly diverse – it can range from dry to very sweet, which may surprise you when you think of honey as its primary ingredient. It is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, fermented from honey and fruit and sometimes with herbs or spices added. 

Kate and Denis Dempsey are the couple behind the Kinsale Mead Company venture. In 2016, they went to work to rediscover the ancient art of mead-making and to create a world-class range of light and refreshing drinks. 

Much has been achieved since then. They have certainly opened many eyes (and palates), both here and abroad, to the flavours and possibilities of the ancient drink. Some meads have no fruit included but when it is (as is the case here), the drink is called a Melomel Mead.

Colour of this barrel-aged mead is a dark ruby with flashes of a lighter red coming through, depending on the light. Aromas are fruity, that mix of blackcurrants and cherries and a hint of the Merlot Barrel in which it spent the last year of its 3-year maturation. 

Smoothness is the initial impression on the palate, then the fruits, the cherry and the tartness of those Wexford blackcurrants well balanced with attractive forest honey notes and caramel from the Bordeaux oak barrels, a harmony that continues through to the dry finalé.

They say: it is a gorgeous 3-year-old berry mead fermented off dry and silky smooth and matured for the last 12 months in French Merlot wine barrels to add intriguing structure and depth. “An exceptional, unique mead, a lively, attractive drink with a decadent richness. ….We were over the moon when this mead won the Drink of the Year from the Irish Food Writers’ Guild in 2021…..”

It was also awarded Drink of the Year from the Irish Food Writers’ Guild.

Denis and Kate suggest it is delicious served at room temperature on its own or with fine food. Other suggestions include pairing it with cheese boards or quality chocolate, with roast duck, grilled ribs or sausages and rich tomato-based Italian dishes.

The beautiful label was inspired by the story of the “Wild Geese” Irish who emigrated in waves from Ireland to the continent at the end of the Jacobite wars and settled in France. Many of them began to start trading and making wine. Today, in Bordeaux, you can find the names of those resilient Irish emigrants on the streets and vineyards of the region – Lynch, Barton, Boyd, Phelan – alongside other trading connections to the wine ports of Ireland.

Photo from the Kinsale Wine Museum in Desmond Castle.
The museum has since closed down.

Kinsale Mead: “In a sense, we are completing the circle, bringing those precious barrels back to Ireland. Kinsale in the 18th century was a thriving port, one of several in Ireland licensed to import wines from France, Spain and Portugal. The harbour and warehouses were full of barrels of the finest wines, ports and sherries.”

Much easier in those far-off days to get your hands on an empty cask.

Click on link for all the info on the full range of their meads at Kinsale Mead Company.

Redbreast Tawny Port Edition, One for my short list!

One for my short list!

Redbreast Tawny Port Edition 46% ABV

This eagerly awaited Redbreast Tawny Port Edition was recently launched and glad to say I got my hands on a wee sample. I haven't seen any independent reviews, but I was delighted with it; it may well be my Whiskey of the Year. 

Midleton's finest Single Pot Still Whiskey infused with the rich flavours of port wine makes for a truly unforgettable experience. I have a birthday coming up and Christmas won't be too far behind; my list will be brief, just the one item each time. Now you know!

Whiskey tasting notes can be even more convoluted than those of wine so I’ll give you the shortcut version. It is smooth from aroma to finalé. Croisannt and almond on the nose and a wee squeeze of honey also. On the palate, it is again smooth even if there is a tiny little hint of burn (a tiny drop of water cures that); it is rich (think ripe figs) with a streak of smooth limoncello. Spices linger at the smooth finish, vanilla, the fruit still prominent. Great to be back in Porto!

This Port Edition has been expertly created by esteemed Master Blender Billy Leighton and Blender Dave McCabe and is another expression from the Redbreast Iberian Series. RRP: €100.00

It is a single pot still Irish whiskey, initially matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. To add a new dimension to the flavour profile, a portion of these maturing whiskeys were re-casked into tawny port casks for a number of years. All of the whiskeys were then skilfully blended and completed their maturation journey by marrying in freshly seasoned tawny port hogsheads for a final maturation period of 14-25 months.

The Iberian series is inspired by Redbreast’s long-standing connection to some of the Iberian Peninsula’s most celebrated cooperages and winemakers, combining the craft and rich heritage of the region with the excellence of Midleton Distillery’s single pot still whiskeys to create expressions that are truly extraordinary. Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition is the second limited edition to join the series, following the 2021 release of Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition, and permanent expression and series anchor, Redbreast Lustau Edition.

Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition is bottled at 46% and is now available in the USA, Ireland, UK, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Global Travel and online at the RRP of €100, £79, $100.

IG: @RedbreastIrishWhiskey   #RedbreastTawnyPort    #PassItOn

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CorkBillyBeers #46. Craft with Ballykilcavan, Brehon and Boyne Brewhouse

CorkBillyBeers #46

Craft with Stout, Red Ale, and Pils, featuring Ballykilcavan, Brehon and Boyne Brewhouse .

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Ballykilcavan Blackwell Stout, 4.4% ABV, 440 ml can Pettitt’s SV Athy

The Walsh family have been farming here since 1639. This stout is brewed with barley and water from the farm.

The Blackwell is black (surprise, surprise). And there’s a soft fluffy milky-coffee coloured head of the slow sinking variety. Coffee and chocolate in the aromas plus toasty stuff as well. And it’s pretty traditional on the creamy palate also, with coffee and caramel and toasted notes plus hints of smoke and spice in the background. Good dry finish in this pretty faultless stout, redolent of ages past - remember those old-time threshings and bottles in generous supply - but well capable of holding its own in the current climate.

Good dry finish here, not as creamy as some. Very Highly Recommended.

The Griffin is the symbol of the Walsh family, who have been farming at Ballykilcavan for 13 generations. “We have lived and worked here since 1639, and diversification has always been important to keep our farm viable for future generations. When I took over Ballykilcavan from my father in 2004, my motivation was to try to sustain it so that someone else would be able to take it over from me,” says current owner-operator David. And the brewery is one way of doing that. Already, they are exporting.

The brewery is installed in the original stone grain store for the farm, which was built around 1780. In previous centuries, the building was used to store barley and oats after harvest, and then to mill them for bread making, feeding animals and maybe even making beer. Like most of the buildings in the 240-year-old farmyard, it is too small for modern farm equipment, but it is the perfect size to fit a small craft brewery.

Since David and wife Lisa set up the brewery business in 2017 - the brewery itself followed a year later - the Ballykilcavan beers have earned quite a reputation in the craft world. We had an online chat with David - a busy man - and you can read about his drive and hard work, the pride in his area and county, a drive and pride shared by Lisa and the younger members of the family. You’ll find the January 2023 article here .

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Brehon Brewhouse Killanny Red, 4.5% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This red ale from Brehon is quite a dark red indeed, with a “deep, russet ruby hue”. The head is light coffee coloured. The aromas of the malt are evident, biscuity and caramel.  It is malt, with deliciously nutty notes, that also features on the palate. Pretty well balanced too to be fair, with flavours of toasted hazelnut and a tart berry touch playing a role towards the end. Really stands up for itself in the mouth and makes you take notice. Excellent balance and overall not bad at all!

Very Highly Recommended

They consider it as “A traditional Irish ale … Described by many as “The perfect example of an Irish Red.” And also tell us it is hopped with Magnum and Willamette. Food recommendations are “…. great on its own and just perfect with BBQ red meats, lamb, stew, roast beef, black pudding or mature cheddar”.

 

Geek Bits

Alcohol: 4.50%
Ingredients: Water, Malted Barley, Hops, Yeast
Allergens: Malted Barley

Hops: Magnum and Willamette.

“The McMahons have lived on our farm for 10 generations (but who’s counting?) We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the years, but we always loved a good pint — except for my mother and father who never touched a drop. We keep family close and raise a glass every day to those who came before, surrounded by photographs of generations of McMahons. Sláinte!”

 Seamus McMahon: Brewer, Farmer, Drinker

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Boyne Brewhouse Oatmeal Stout, 6.2% ABV, 500 ml bottle Pettitt’s SV Athy

The 'Cauldron of Plenty' belonged to The Dagda, leader of the Tuatha dé Danann. It is said that this magical pot bestowed endless gifts on his army in battle. Drink to the mighty God with this smooth (roasty) and robust oatmeal stout.

The brewery is inspired by the myths and legends of the Boyne Valley and beyond. “We craft all our brews using original recipes, natural ingredients and a generous dash of Irish intrigue.”

Lots of promise here but, as the song goes, “Don’t mean a thing if it ain't got that swing”. So what has this Boyne Oatmeal Stout, with a highish IBU 61 number, got?

Certainly, it has the inky black colour with the more or less usual light off-white head (of short to medium duration). And it has those unmistakable intense roasty aromas. And that supple roast comes through strongly on the creamy-feeling palate, slightly fruity (raisin and dried fruits) and sweet towards the finale.

An excellent example of the type and Highly Recommended.

And speaking of recommendations, Boyne Brewery suggests food pairings of roasted or braised meats; seafood, especially oysters; rich stews; chocolate desserts; and blue or aged cheddar cheese.

By the way, Boyne Brewhouse is (since 2020) a subsidiary of Carlow Brewing of Carlow where the beers (and myths presumably) are now produced.

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Learn, Eat and Enjoy A Taste of Italy in West Cork.

 Learn, Eat and Enjoy A Taste of Italy in West Cork

Donowen's Kela Hodgens (left) and Chef Atilllio from Burlamacchi.
Pic: Michelle Coughlan

 The beautiful Dunowen House in Clonakilty will host an Italian cooking series this Winter with midweek and residential weekend cookery classes

If you dream about being able to rustle up velvety pasta, slow-cooked Italian sauces and delicate Italian desserts at home, then this is the cooking experience for you. 

The team from Burlamacchi Villa in Lucca will be travelling to Dunowen House in West Cork to co-host two weekends, the 24th to 26th of November and the 1st to 3rd of December, plus day courses on the 28th and 29th of November of Italian food. Guests can expect to be fully immersed in Italian culture without facing an airport.

 

You can expect to learn the skills of creating ravioli, perfecting panna cotta and making your own homemade pasta plus much more and a lot of fun along the way. 

Kela is looking forward to welcoming guests to Dunowen, she says “Ever since perfecting my own pasta-making skills in Tuscany earlier this year, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to bring this authentic experience to West Cork. The team from our friends, Burlamacchi Villa near Lucca, will be coming to Dunowen for the series to ensure participants learn from the masters! ”

The weekend residential course includes two nights' accommodation in Dunowen House, three demonstrations and hands-on classes plus all meals while staying. The price for the weekend experience is €950 per person sharing. 

The price for each mid-week day course without accommodation is €190 per person, which includes a welcome cake and coffee, two demonstrations and hands-on classes plus lunch. 

All participants will receive a bound copy of the recipes to take home.

To book your place email kela@dunowenhouse.ie or call (023) 8869099

Keep up to date with the latest news by following Dunowen House on social at @dunowen_house

press release