An unmissable wine dinner with Giacomo Boscaini of Masi Wines at The River Lee

 

An unmissable wine dinner with Giacomo Boscaini of Masi Wines at The River Lee

 

 

The River Lee, in partnership with Findlater & Co., presents an exclusive wine dinner with Giacomo Boscaini of Masi Wines, a seventh-generation winemaker of the

Beer of the Week. Wide Street Mill Pils Farmhouse Pilsner. A hoppy Pils from Longford.

Wide Street Mill Pils Farmhouse Pilsner, 5.5% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

A hoppy Pils from Longford is Beer of the Week

Ballymahon (Co. Longford) has one of the widest streets in the country and that is where this Mill Pils comes from and from where the brewery takes its name.

The town may be part of hidden Ireland but this superb beer has international influences. Wide Street: “The inspiration behind this beer is an Italian Pilsner style”. It is fermented with the famous German Strain 34/70 at 12C and the hops are of German and Czechian origin.

Hallertauer Mittlefruh is known as the Kaiser of German Hops. This Noble Hops tends to a clean crisp style and has mild bitterness and is ideal for lagers and pilsner. This is indeed a lager with hops on.

Colour of this Longford Pilsner is a pale gold, and cloudy. No shortage of hops here so you notice them straightaway on the nose and soon on the palate, where you come across plenty of that earthy character and a hint of spice and then a good dry finish. Something that bit different and well worth looking out for, a lager with Attitude and Very Highly Recommended.

Wide Street Brewing Company specialises in mixed fermentation methods and 100% Brettanomyces beers. The vision is to brew innovative beers with alternative fermentation methods. Their house yeast is a custom blend of Brettanomyces, saccharomyces and lactobacillus strains from Bootleg Biology, a yeast laboratory based in Nashville, USA. This gives the beer a distinctive dry mouthfeel and enhanced fruity flavours.

Very pleasant from start to finish. Vale de Cabanas Vinho Branca Tejo.

Quinta Da Ribeirinha Vale de Cabanas Vinho Branca Tejo (Vinho Regional) 2023, 12% ABV.

€13.00 (€10.00 on offer) at Matson's Bandon, Grange, Youghal.

very pleasant from start to finish

It comes in a light citrus colour and the aromas also have you thinking “citrus”. It is fresh and young and that shows on a relatively lively palate, a simple everyday wine for conversation rather than contemplation. It may be simple but is very pleasant from start to finish.

Serve at 10 degrees especially with grilled fish (get a bunch of sardines midweek from Pat O’Connell), shellfish (mussels from Ballycotton Seafood) and Japanese food (sushi from Maki Sushi). You might want two bottles but is also very affordable at the reduced price of ten euro. Highly Recommended.

The label says the fruit is Fernao Pires while I read on their website that it’s a blend of the Fernâo (70%) and Arinto. Don’t worry too much about the details. I visited a cidery a few years back and saw they had two varieties in the orchard. I asked how much of each went into the cider. The cidermaker just smiled and said it could be fifty-fifty but wasn’t too sure. In any case, the cider was top-class, and still is!

The Tejo refers to the Tejo river (best-known to us as Tagus) and the wine lands here lie either side of the river as it runs southwest from the Spanish border in central eastern Portugal to Lisbon and the Atlantic Ocean. According to Wine-Searcher.com, it had two apellations DO Tejo and IG Tejo.

We enjoyed this grape Farnão Pires a few weeks ago in a different expression in the orange wine Contracena Curtimenta by the same producer. A very different wine indeed, a few extra details here.

Thompsons: A New Steakhouse Sensation in Cork City

 Thompsons: 

A New Steakhouse Emerges in Cork City

Head chef Cormac cutting it down to size!

Thompsons
founded 2020

Thompsons Restaurant in Cork City has undergone a thrilling transformation, emerging as a premier steakhouse that celebrates the best of local produce. With a commitment to quality and exceptional service, Thompsons is quickly making a name for itself as a must-visit destination for steak lovers.

A Passion for Local Ingredients

At the heart of Thompsons' ethos is a

Superb Climax to FEAST 2024!

Wobbly Circus street performer Dee Tierney

The climax of the 2024 fEast, the East Cork Food and Drink Festival  took place on Midleton main street last Sunday. Organised by Midleton & Area Chamber of Commerce, the annual

Real Ciders from the Cider Mill and Apple Farm. Each is an honest expression of the orchard and the fruit.

The Cider Mill Ciderkin, 4.0% ABV, 

500 ml bottle, Dunnes Stores

amongst the finest drinks produced in Ireland.

A cider for harvest-time or indeed any other celebration. The aromas are not as delicate as some reviewers write; they are expressive, undoubtedly so, and hint strongly enough too of

Blarney Castle Gardens. 30th August & 7th September

Blarney Castle Gardens.  

30th August 2024. Colourful Foliage. Carnivorous plants.

7th September. Fern Tree Garden. Rose & Hips. Sneezeweed.

EIR SET TO CONNECT TASTE OF KILDARE

 EIR SET TO CONNECT TASTE OF KILDARE

Rachel Allen

 

eir, Ireland’s leading telecommunications provider, is set to connect the Taste of Kildare Festival of Food & Drink and has been announced as the sponsor of the Talk Stage at this brilliant event which takes place from 20-22^nd of September at Naas Racecourse.

The Talk Stage, Powered by eir will be hosted by food writers, Dee Laffan and Ali Dunworth and will be the place to be at the festival to hear all the latest foodie news.

Taste of Kildare has been created by I

fEast Cork 2024 is up and running.... Ballyvolane House the venue for some Craicly Stories

 fEast Cork 2024 is up and running.... Ballyvolane House the Craicly Stories venue last night

Shane McAuliffe from Crosshaven, Rory O'Connell of Ballymaloe Cookery School, and Christopher Braganza of The Spice Genie, pictured at the Craicly Stories event at Ballyvolane House.

fEast Cork's Craicly Stories was hosted at

A soft and generous wine. Tezza, Corte Majoli Valpolicella Ripasso (DOC) Superiore.

 Tezza, Corte Majoli Valpolicella Ripasso (DOC) Superiore 2021, 14% ABV

€21.00 Bubble Brothers

Warm and engaging from the very first sniff, this bright ruby Valpolicella with its cherry aromas invites you on. Cherry again and blackberry on the palate, ripe and fresh with a streak of spice. The lingering finish is dry, savoury and very satisfying indeed.

A soft and generous wine, it is aged for twelve months in oak and six in bottle prior to release, and it goes down a treat with pizza, casseroles and strong cheeses. Other suggestions include slow-braised beef short ribs and duck. Serve at 16 degrees. Very Highly Recommended.

The fruit is grown organically in Valpantena (near Verona). Maceration is in steel vats at 25°C and refermentation is on Amarone marc. Eighteen months of aging follows in their own local winery.

As it is a Valpolicella, the usual “suspects” (Corvina mostly and Rondinella) are involved in the blend. Not quite your usual Valpolicella though as this is Ripasso. 

Ripasso is an Italian term meaning 're-passed', for the technique of adding extra body, flavour and alcohol to Valpolicella by refermenting the young wine on the skins of Amarone wines after these dried-grape wines have finished their fermentation in the spring. It is a very popular style. For a step by step guide to Ripasso click here 

• This post is part of a series on Italian wines made from native grapes and produced by usually small or medium-sized organic wineries. Taking some “guidance” here from the recently published VINO. Mightn’t always net the hat trick but hope to score two from the three each time. I have quite a few lined up but I’m happy to consider any suggestions or help. #OrganicItaly
• See the expanding list of #OrganicItaly wines here

Taste of the Week. O'Flynn's Gourmet Blackwater Sausage

Taste of the Week

O'Flynn's Gourmet Blackwater Sausage.

O'Flynn's Gourmet Sausages created The Blackwater with renowned Irish chef Paul Flynn. This delicious pork sausage is made using a blend of grated apple and their own black pudding and is our Taste of the Week. Add the tomato sauce by Tipperary's 3 Men in a Trailer to enhance the full-flavoured taste of the Irish countryside.

On the Craft Trail with Whiplash, Wicklow Wolf and West Cork

On the Craft Trail with Whiplash, Wicklow Wolf and West Cork

Whiplash Slide Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This Whiplash Pale Ale has a hazy Light gold colour and a soft white head. There’s an immediate and lasting hit of dankness from the aromatics. On the palate, the big hitters are

Delicious Delights at Garryvoe Hotel. A Beacon of Culinary Excellence

Gastronomic Delights at Garryvoe Hotel

A Beacon of Culinary Excellence

The Lighthouse Bistro at Garryvoe Hotel is a shining example of culinary brilliance, presenting a delightful array of dishes celebrating the finest local Irish flavours. From beloved classics to creative innovations, there’s a dish to please every taste, as we experienced during