Four Countries. Four Bottles. Your Euro Wine Trip.

Four Countries. Four Bottles.

Your Euro Wine Trip.

Itinerary: Meet at Karwig Wines, Carrigaline 11.00 any weekday. Countries visited: France, Germany, Spain, Austria. Virtual trip possible on-line.

Chateau Mouret Graves blanc (AOC) 2014, 12.5%, €16.90, Karwig Wines

Advice from Graves on choosing a wine.

Start without preconceptions, start simply. I like. I do not like. Then try to explain why. But always return “to the notion of pleasure”. This wine made ​​me happy . Did not make ​​me happy. So yeah I bought. No, I did not buy.

I was also talking to Joe Karwig about the Mouret and he admitted that he loves the blend. He was speaking to the converted. Still, the question remained: Would this wine make me happy?

The blend of Sauvignon blanc and Semillon can vary quite a bit but this is of classic proportions with sixty per cent SB. The nose and finish are probably more Sauvignon. On the palate it delivers fruit and refreshment; it is light, clean and crisp. Green fruit, herby and grassy aromas are followed by a bright acidity in the mouth, all the characteristics you’d expect to find in a blend of these proportions.

This classic example did indeed make me happy and is Very Highly Recommended.

Moselland Riesling Classic 2014 (Mosel), 11.5%, €13.60, Karwig Wines

When people chat about Riesling, there is often a noticeable division of opinion between those it pleases and those who don't like it. This one could go some way towards bridging the divide as, on the label, it is recommended for a chat. It is also recommended for chicken, salads, fish and seafood.

It has a light straw colour and pleasing floral aromas. Nicely balanced and pretty full-bodied with no shortage of fruit, no shortage of finish either from this crisp dry wine. Moselland, created over 25 years ago, is the largest wine-growing co-op in the Rheinland-Pfalz. It pleased me and is Highly Recommended.

Las Renas Monastrell 2013 (Bullas DO), 14%, €12.45 Karwig Wines

We reviewed the 2012 edition of this wine a few months back. The 2013 is also good, maybe even a little better. Monastrell is the Spanish equivalent of Mourvedre.

Bullas

Color is cherry red and it has rather intense aromas of red and black fruits. It is fresh, young and fruity, smooth, medium bodied, very pleasing and easy drinking, well balanced with average persistence at the finalé. An excellent well-priced wine and Highly Recommended.

Winzer Krems, Sandgrubel 13, Blauer Zweigelt trocken 2013, St Severin (Austria), 13%, €14.45 (check net) Karwig Wines

Blauer Zweigelt, or just plain Zweigelt, is the grape here and the colour is a light red, almost see through. Red fruits, cherry (mainly) and strawberry, in the aromas. Fresh and fruity too on the palate, traces of spice, mild and velvety, with good acidity. Light and lovely indeed, ideal for summertime recreation rather than winter mediation. Delightfully different and Highly Recommended

Taste of the Week. Ballintubber Cheddar with Chives

Taste of the Week

Ballintubber Cheddar with Chives

This traditional West Limerick cheese has been handcrafted on Cahill’s Farm . It is wonderfully creamy and the chives give it a soft little crunch. It is an international gold medal winner* and our Taste of the Week.

I like producers who provide the consumer with hints and recipes and Cahill’s do just that on the back of the packet. They suggest grating it onto a pizza “for a gourmet twist”. They even suggest a wine: a spicy Syrah/Shiraz. Ideal they say for any cheese board - serve at room temperature with honey or red grapes.

I didn't have red grapes handy but the cheese, purchased at Dunne's Stores in Ballyvolane, sure went very well with the excellent Lisanley honey that you can buy at Bradley’s, North Main Street. And it also matched well with a wee drizzle of Highbank Orchard Syrup. So there you go, plenty of ways to try the Taste of the Week.

* In 2014, it took gold at the International Cheese Festival which is held annually in Nantwich, England.

Wexford's Johnstown Castle. Agricultural Museum. So Much More

Wexford's Johnstown Castle.

Agricultural Museum. So Much More

Wexford’s Johnstown Castle  is a must visit. I enjoyed my first trip there more than a decade ago and it was even better second time around. It is the home of the Irish Agricultural Museum and current highlights include a Country Kitchens exhibition and a very informative Great Famine exhibition.

Barrel-top caravan and Horse-drawn bread delivery wagon.

The castle itself is not open to the public but you can take a walk around the grounds as well, see the lakes, the walled garden and the sunken garden and there is a Tearoom and Shop in the museum area. Today Teagasc, the Agricultural and Food Development Authority, is the owner of the Johnstown Castle estate and has a research facility on site.

The museum is divided into 18 exhibition areas. And the first section that caught my eye last month was the Transport area, in particular, the brightly painted bread delivery van, a horse drawn one. There are other horse drawn vehicles, carts and traps and a reaper, and more on display here.

Horse-drawn hay cutter and Ford Model 8 Nan Tractor (1947-52)

There is a Tractor Room, a Garden Machine Room, a display of Power-Driven Barn Machines. Poultry Keeping and Country Furniture also have their displays. Checked them all out and I also enjoyed a browse around the Dairy Exhibition.  Dairying is one of the timeless industries, producing the same product as it has done for thousands of years. This exhibition traces developments in dairying from hand milking to mechanical milking machines. The traditional methods of butter-making are also explored here.

It is also worth lingering by the Bicycle display which exhibits a variety of bikes, dating from 1885 – 1965, including one with a solid tyre (marketed as a safety bicycle) and a garda cycle. This room also includes bicycles made by Pierce of Wexford who were primarily farm machinery manufacturers and who indeed are well represented in the various machine areas.

Must say that I enjoyed the Country Kitchens area as much as any other. This, and the Famine area, are designed for the younger folk but I had no hesitation in picking up the information leaflets, full of facts and well laid out.

The Kitchens Display includes an Early 19th Century Kitchen, two from the 20th century, an account of Rural Electrification and a display on Laundry (washing, soap, drying and ironing). Lots of artefacts on display to help understand the way we were.

An outdoor larder and Hand Wringer

The Great Famine Exhibition, is probably one of the best I’ve come across on the subject and, with words and artefacts, it covers Pre Famine Ireland, the Arrival of Blight, The Famine 1845-49, The Soup Kitchen, The Workhouse, Emmigration, Post Famine, Potatoes Today and the Lessons of the Famine.

A chart on the display says the Irish male was consuming 6.4kgs (14 lbs) of potatoes per day in pre-famine times. After the famine, people made sure they never became so dependant on the potato again.

See also: Wexford's Archways, so much more than a B&B
Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants

Used this "machine", on right, myself
to spray against blight.

Wexford’s Archways. More Than A B & B

Wexford’s Archways. 
More Than a B & B.

Piggies in the wood

About four miles before Rosslare Harbour on the main road (N25), you’ll pass a B&B on your left. It is called the Archways and it is much more than your normal B&B. Certainly they get many customers from the ferries, some coming, some going, some both ways (people come back). But it is well worth a call even if you’re not heading to a ferry.

Okay, let us start with the usual B&B. The welcome from Eileen and Chris Hadlington is warm, the place is comfortable, the rooms are spacious, the bathrooms excellent, you have TV in your room and satellite TV in the lounge. And the breakfast is something else and was awarded the Best B&B Breakfast in the 2013 Georgina Campbell Awards.

It is a smallish B&B, six bedrooms, but the breakfast choice is huge and the quality is even more impressive. Where else would you get their own sausages, made from their own pigs? Add in Pat O’Neil’s dry cure bacon, Jimmy Meyler’s smoked fish and you get the idea. Of course, there is orange juice and a choice of cereals, lots of egg dishes too. You’ll be well fed here.

And even better fed if you book dinner. It is, of course, a Table d'Hote dinner, and you eat with the other guests, sharing travel experiences as you enjoy the fabulous food. Chris had been a chef for over forty years and just can't stop cooking.

Take our dinner last week. Starter was Meyler's smoked haddock with linguini and a watercress pesto. And where did that watercress come from? From their own garden, of course, where they have installed a aquaponic system.

Main course was loin of bacon (O’Neil’s of course) with a pineapple salsa and an excellent selection of vegetables including black kale, kohlrabi, parsnips, beetroot and potatoes, all grown locally by neighbour Karl.

Dessert was a Blackcurrant soufflé, the blackcurrants from Jeffares up the road. And the cream? Well Chris doesn't rate the cream sold these days and so he separates his own. Good stuff too. You may bring your own wine (no corkage) or purchase a glass or two from Eileen’s selection.

In the morning, we couldn’t leave without visiting the small herd of pigs in a nearby wood. The pigs, Saddleback Large White Cross, are usually kept from early Spring until late Autumn. In conjunction with two local farmers, they have a Hereford and Limousin in calf to a Wagyu and future customers can look forward to “some really fine beef”.

As I say, not your normal B&B.

See also: Johnstown Castle. Agricultural Museum and so much more!
Mr Jeffares Blackcurrants

Amuse Bouche

There were two grocery stores here. From what Decker had seen, the two most popular food items purchased there were Hamburger Helper by the kilo and sugary orange pop by the barrel. And the fast-food places also did brisk business, fattening both the young and old to impossible degrees and foretelling diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease stats blowing right through the roof.

And didn’t he know that first hand?

from Memory Man by David Baldacci (2015)

Rolf’s in Baltimore. Local Produce. Continental Touch.

Rolf’s in Baltimore

Local Produce. Continental Touch.

Quail and apricots

Lots of eating places in Baltimore. I’ve been to a few but last month’s visit was my first to Rolf’s Country House and it was an excellent meal in a lovely room with a friendly and efficient service all through.

Some rich fare on offer here, cream sauces feature in many dishes, and there is quite a middle European touch to the desserts. Here you can find (not necessarily all together) a Flemish Apple Tart, a Black Forest Gateau, Frederike’s Chocolate orange cake and do watch out for the Swiss Chocolate Tart.

Not all heavy though! My starter was the Fresh Brown Crab, served with salad and Marie Rose sauce (10.50). An excellent dish, flavour from the waters from the nearby ocean well matched with the classic sauce. CL too got off to a tasty start: West Cork Black Pudding, on a bed of caramelised apple and served with pan-fried quail eggs (9.50).

Starters and sunset

Quite a good wine choice at Rolf’s. Indeed, they have a wine-bar as well. But would we have red or white? In the end, we settled on the Vier Jahreszeiten Spatburgunder (31.00). This velvety Pinot Noir with its excellent aromas and flavour was a decent match for the various dishes.

Mains for me was the arresting 2 Quails Deboned, flambéed with cognac, and served with apricots and a cream sauce (24.00). This was dispatched, with delight. The sides of potatoes and vegetables were also cooked to perfection and CL got rice with her classic Beef Stroganoff, flambéd with vodka and served with onions and mushrooms and, yes, enriched with a cream sauce (24.50).

Stroganoff

Desserts (6.50) were not going to be ignored on this occasion! If you are giving into temptation, you might as well go all the way. More cream with CL’s delicious strawberries, vanilla ice cream and shortbread biscuits. And mine? Well that was Gertrud’s Dark Swiss Chocolate Tart, a sumptuous treat (including cream!). For the finalé, I did very much enjoy a glass of superb Warre’s Otima 10 year old tawny.

After all that, I had to “race” the mile down to the seafront to get a few photos of the spectacular sunset. Just about made it!

Aside from the restaurant and all day cafe, Rolf's also have The Private Dining Room, now available for parties of 10-14 people.

Rolf’s Country House

Baltimore Hill, Baltimore, Co. Cork

Phone: +353 (0)28 20289

email : info@Rolfsholidays.eu

website: www.rolfsHolidays.eu

Desserts

In Argentina. Malbec Reigns In The High Vineyards.

In Argentina. Malbec Reigns

In The High Vineyards.

Argentina, the world’s fifth biggest wine producer (World Atlas of Wine) and well known for its high altitude vineyards (the highest in Salta at over 2,700m), took its time before making its mark on the world stage. Quality, as it is so often, was the key to the breakthrough in recent decades and their Malbec gained a huge reputation in the USA. Not too hard though to find Argentine wine here and I came across quite a good selection locally.

Argentinians are very proud of their Bonarda and, with close to 45,000 acres of it, it is second only to Malbec (76,000). In the whites, Torrontes is their signature grape with some 26,000 acres. Chardonnay, on 16,000 acres, is the most popular of the European whites grown here.

As a matter of interest, there is also a La Rioja in Argentina. It is in the foothills of the Andes located at 1,700m above sea level and is the oldest wine region in the country.

Bodegas Salentein, Portillo Malbec 2013, Mendoza, 14%, €11.99 Bradley’s Off-Licence

Fruit and freshness in a delightful bottle from Mendoza’s Uco valley. Open the screw cap and, as you pour, you’’ll notice a purplelish colour. Aromas are of dark fruit, especially plum. Its impressive flavour and rich softness on the palate make this a welcome addition to the table (especially if you have grilled meats) and, at this price, it will also find a welcome in your wallet.

The Uco valley is named on the label but the estates are high up, located between 1050 and 1700 metres, the winery itself is in the foothills of the Andes. Dutch owned Salentein is noted for its Malbec and this well balanced effort is Highly Recommended.

Bodegas Salentein, Portillo Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Mendoza, 12.5%, €11.99 Bradley’s Off Licence

This excellent Sauvignon blanc is also called Portillo, after a pass in the Andes that is a gateway into the high altitude Salentein vineyards. It is a 5,000 acre estate with 1124 acres of vines. While Torrontes is by far the most widely grown white grape in the country, the Uco Valley is highly rated for Sauvignon blanc and producers Fournier and Salentein are noted as two to check in Evan Goldstein’s Wines of South America.

Colour is a light gold with tints of green. White fruits abound in the aromas and on the palate. It is fresh and crisp, very approachable with a decent finish and Recommended.

Las Moras Reserva Malbec 2013 (San Juan, Argentina), 14%, €13.50 Karwig Wines

Speaking of their reservas, Las Moras say: “This is where we get serious.” The wine has been aged in French and American oak for 12 months. Big aromas of ripe fruit greet you as you sniff this. Smooth and fruity, with very good aftertaste, illustrates why Malbec, from Argentina mainly, has taken the US by storm. This is an excellent one to get us into the game and not a very expensive one either. It has an elegant balance between fruit and wood and is Very Highly Recommended.

San Juan, La Rioja and Mendoza are all areas in the the wine region of Cuyo, a region that produces ninety per cent of Argentinian wine. Here, Las Moras are highly regarded producers. This Malbec is a gem but their Black Label Syrah is stellar according to The Wines of South America. They also produce the well oaked Dadá that was quite a hit at the Our Table event in Cork a few weeks back.

La Puerta Reserva Malbec 2010 (Famatina Valley, Argentina), 14%, €17.99 Bubble Brothers

The Famatina Valley is in La Rioja, the vineyard at a height of about 1,000m. Thirty per cent is aged in oak for 6 months and then blended with the 70% that has been raised in stainless steel “achieving greater balance between the oak and the fruit”.

This intense red coloured wine has aromas of ripe fruit, hints too of smoke. It is another excellent Malbec, smooth with rich plum flavours and a long lingering finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Valla de la Puerta, an estate of some 750 acres, produces premium grape varieties and, according to the Wines of South America, is also well known for turning out some of Argentina's finest olives, peaches and plums.

Taste of the Week. Santa Isabel Coffee

Taste of the Week

Santa Isabel Coffee

via the Golden Bean

I recently bought a pack of new crop Santa Isabel Coffee beans from Golden Bean at the Mahon Point Farmers Market and have been enjoying cup after delicious cup. It is nearly finished now, unfortunately.

The beans come from the region of Coban (around the city of the same name) in Guatemala and are grown at a height of 1400 to 1600 metres. The Valdes family have put the emphasis on quality in recent decades and the result has been two placings in Guatemala’s Cup of Excellence.

This current coffee is full of flavour with a bright acidity and is our Taste of the Week.

For tips on making the perfect cup of coffee, check out the Robert Roberts website. For me, the best way to enjoy the full flavour is to take the Espresso route. In addition, I always stir the cup as I think the flavours concentrate in the bottom otherwise - probably no scientific basis for this, but it works for me!

Cork City Tourism. The more we pull together, the further we will go.

Cork City Tourism Briefing.

Music, Dance, Butter and Beer.

Franciscan Well's Noel. Chieftain Pale Ale On Tap.

Last week’s Cork City Tourism Event in the Atrium of the City Hall Offices was well attended, hotels and other stakeholders well represented. Also present were representatives of city attractions such as Blackrock Castle, Lifetime Labs and Elizabeth Fort. Speakers at the event, opened by Lord Mayor Chris O’Leary, outlined what had been done in the recent past and what is now being done and planned.

I was interested in the food and drink aspect, not just the tasty canapés. The Butter Museum had a stand here, butter was made and soon we tasted it on a well made brown bread. Washed that down with a glass or two of Chieftain Pale from the Franciscan Well.

The Coca Cola BikeShare a big success

The attendance was given an overview of city backed tourism related ventures which have been spearheaded by City Hall’s Tourism, Events, Arts and Marketing department (T.E.A.M).

Lord Mayor
Chris O'Leary

Recent success for T.E.A.M. include the Lee Sessions, the Pulses of Tradition Show and the Coca Cola BikeShare Scheme. Indeed, we had members of Pulses playing, singing and dancing in the atrium. Also there were enactors from Elizabeth Fort and Blackrock Castle, including a wandering sea captain looking for his ship. Check out the Castle and Gunnery Tours that run until the end of August.

T.E.A.M. were keen to get the word out about the new city website www.cork.ie - it has a dedicated tourism section. Providers BitBuzz are extending the availability of free wi-fi around the city and their partnership with City Hall seems to be going very well indeed. The partnership with CIT in Blackrock Castle has been a successful one and could now lead to a breakthrough at Cork City Gaol. Cork Airport’s Kevin Cullinane was upbeat, promising more connections and more collaboration.

The Cork Convention Bureau outlined their recent successes in bringing conferences, small and big, to the city and are looking for ambassadors to help expand that success. So if you have contacts abroad, either through your work, hobby or sport, do contact them. Check the site and see what other ambassadors have already done for the city.

Pulses of Tradition

• A brilliant video about Cork, made for the Tourism section, was given to those attending. I shared it on Facebook and it is already passed the 500,000 reach and heading for 200,000 views. Check it out here and don't forget to share it. The more we pull together, the further we will go.

Butter Museum

Scratch My Pork. A First in Ireland.

Scratch My Pork 

Story Of The First Pork Scratchings In Ireland

It’s been a year since I first met the Kiwi Chef Matthew Brownie who lives down in Skibbereen. He was telling me about his new business which is called the No Nonsense Food Company. The company, with the energetic Matthew at the helm, is the engine behind the innovative product range of Pork Scratchings called Scratch My Pork.

I met with him again recently to find out how the new and unique savoury snack for the Irish market was going, as it seems to be everywhere around Cork at the moment.

Matthew explains. “After 5 years of hard work we have got great coverage around Munster with the Dublin market just starting slowly but surely. Sales are increasing and we have a lot of new customers ringing about stocking Scratch My Pork around the country every week”.

“As a lot of people already know, it started back at CIT in 2011. It was Product Development that I fell in love with, along with the combination of studying the Gastronomy of Irish and English food, going back into the history of pork scratchings and bringing something natural to the Irish market and having the ability to bring it into today’s world by modernising it with the latest trends the consumer was looking for.”

“I owe a lot of the success of Scratch My Pork to the amount of research that I did at CIT which gave me the platform to move on. I carried on with more research, including a lot of consumer research which determined for me that there was a market for this type of product in Ireland”.

“Scratch My Pork is Gluten, Dairy and MSG Free with no E Numbers, with low carbohydrates and High in Protein, and is one of the first meat savoury snacks produced for the Irish market.”  

“With an experienced business partner and a team in place now we a driving Scratch My Pork forward every day with a new product range coming out soon. Apart from retail and  convenience stores, I’m delighted to announce that Scratch My Pork will be stocked at Shannon Airport very shortly.  With 1.9 million people passing through the airport each year, this  will give Scratch My Pork massive exposure.”

If you would like to get in touch with Matthew you can contact him on the below Links.

www.facebook.com/tlcletsgetcooking

www.facebook.com/matthew.brownie.77

www.scratchmypork.com

Amuse Bouche

This morning our gun dropped about 270 pounds of ICM (Improved Conventional Munition) on a smuggler’s checkpoint ten kliks south of us. We took out a group of insurgents and then went to the Fallujah chow hall for lunch. I got fish and lima beans. I try to eat healthy.

At the table all nine of are smiling and laughing……. Voorstadt’s got a big plate of ravioli and Pop-Tarts…. and says, “I can’t believe we finally had an arty mission.”

Sanchez says, “It’s about time we killed someone”, and Sergeant Deetz laughs. Even I chuckle, a little.

from Redeployment by Phil Klay.