Best Wine Apps – Wine Temp

The latest in our series features a very simple and useful one that tells you the correct temperature for the various wines you may be drinking.

Introducing Wine Temp

This does exactly what it says on the tin as they say. If you want to know the perfect temperature to serve a wine style, just search for it and hey presto, this app will tell you. Simple !

Why, you may ask, would I be bothered with temperature – is that venturing into the dark, nerdy side of wine drinking ?

Well, the correct temperature of wine can (often) significantly affect its enjoyment. In general we tend to drink our whites a little too chilled (losing aromatics and flavour as a result) and our reds a little too warm (the wine may appear a little jammy and lack some acidity / freshness). Its important to serve the wine at its correct optimum temperature as its then you will get the greatest pleasure from your glass of wine.

Check out a short video I did on the subject

The Riesling Revolution

The Riesling Revolution

Journey to the heart of this great Variety

Ballymaloe, 7pm on Thursday 17th May 2012 €25

Riesling presents a conundrum. For some it produces the greatest white wines in the world, yet by others it is often misunderstood and ridiculed. This unique presentation, organised in association with John McDonnell, Wine Australia Ireland,  with three winemakers from around the world, chaired by Irish Times wine writer, John Wilson, and 12 wine tasting, aims to resolves these two disparate points of view.

Joining us to present the evening are 3 winemakers from 3 of the great Riesling growing regions of the world.

‐ Tim Adams is based in Australia’s Clare Valley and since establishing Tim Adams wines in 1984 has developed a reputation as a brilliant and fiercely independent winemaker.

‐ Based in Germanys Rheingau, Carl Ehrhard expertly marries tradition with innovation in making and packaging his delicious range of wines.

‐ Owing some of Alsace’s most respected vineyard sites, Séverine Schlumberger of Domaines Schlumberger is custodian of both this famous house and it’s vineyards.

Although from different parts of the world, Séverine, Carl and Tim share a passion for Riesling, a passion they will share with us on Thursday May 17th at Ballymaloe. The evening will be hosted by John Wilson, Irish Times Wine Scribe, and self confessed “Riesling disciple”.

The cost per person for the tasting is €25 Euro and bookings can be made direct with Ballymaloe House res@Ballymaloe.ie and 021 4652531.

More Newspaper Coverage

I hope you enjoyed the St Patricks Day festivities and the long weekend. The family headed off to the Mrs home county of Wexford to see the relations, including the latest addition to the clan, Roisin. A week old today and just gorgeous.

My weekend was made even more enjoyable thanks for Matthew Nugent, wine writer with the Irish Mail On Sunday where he was kind enough to review two of my best selling wines.

First up was the limited edition New Zealand Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc

Closely followed by the Portuguese Corgo Da Regua Red

So a big thank you to Matthew for the lovely reviews.

Best Wine Apps – Wine Picks and Pairings: Natalie MacLean

In the latest in our series of wine apps, here is one I use all the time.

Ever wondered what to match with beef, pork, chicken, fish and so on. Well, if you have a smartphone, there’s an app for that as they say !

Say hello to Wine Picks & Pairings: Natalie MacLean

So what can you do with it ?

The big one for me is (obviously) food and wine matching. You can start with the food or the wine and work out the best pairing from there. Quick, fun and simple !

In addition you can . . . . . .

• snap a picture of a bottle bar code with your smartphone
• get professional tasting notes, scores, pairings and recipes
• search 150,000 wines available
• add wines to your virtual cellar with just a few clicks
• share your wines and pairings on Twitter and Facebook

And best of all, its free.

I am a big fan of Natalie, having read two of her wonderful wine books. Well worth checking out too. Packed full of great stories and written in an engaging style !

Syrah / Shiraz – I’m getting . . . . . . .

A fine example of New World Shiraz from Kangarilla Road in the McLaren Vale

Following on from our recent post exploring the wonders of Sauvignon Blanc, today we turn our attention to one of my personal favourites. Yep, its Syrah / Shiraz.

Here are some aromas and flavours to look out for

• Blackberry
• Black Cherry
• Raspberry
• Blackcurrant
• Redcurrant
• Black Pepper
• Spice
• Mulberry
• Blueberry
• Bramble Fruits
• Plum
• Jammy
• Mint
• Aniseed
• Liquorice
• Meaty
• Earthy
• Chocolate
• Leather
• Coffee
• Tar
• Violets
• Tobacco
• Prunes
• Fruits of the Forest

What am I missing ? Why not add in your own aromas and flavours in the comments section below.

If you fancy trying a delicious example, you could start here

You Little Beauty

Beverley, Fleur and Emma

What a cracking week last week. The highlight though was a wonderful Little Beauty Wine Evening in Latitude 51 in Cork’s city centre. Over thirty wine lovers assembled in the beautiful tasting room upstairs and were treated to a wonderful talk and tasting by Fleur McCree, owner of Little Beauty. More than two hours of stories and talking about the five delicious limited edition wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir) on show that evening. Fleur and the crowd were in flying form and it was great fun. And very educational too !

One of the guests, Cork’s own Billy Lyons was kind enough to write a lovely piece on his site. Thanks Billy ! Here’s the link

A huge thanks to Fleur for coming over. In addition to a wonderful tasting, we also had a great series of meetings with customers in the Cork area. Thanks to Beverley and Emma for being such wonderful hosts. Their beautiful wine bar is a must visit. Do yourself a favour and call in for a glass of wine, a craft beer, some delicious food and / or some gourmet coffee/ tea.

Photo used with thanks to Billy Lyons 

L’Atitude 51 “Meet the Winemaker” Evening with Little Beauty from New Zealand

Its an honour for Wine Alliance to be part of L’Atitude 51′s first event in their “Meet the Winemaker” series

Fleur McCree, owner of Little Beauty of Marlborough, New Zealand will present a flight of five of her limited edition wines in a guided tasting in the newly opened L’Atitude 51 Wine Workshop (on the first floor) of . . . .

L’Atitude 51.

1 Union Quay,

Cork City 

021 2390219

Thursday February 9th From 7.00pm – 9.00pm

Entrance Fee is just €12 and places are very limited.

The line up includes a tasting of  . . . . .

• Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc
• Little Beauty Riesling
• Little Beauty Pinot Gris
• Little Beauty Gewurztraminer
• Little Beauty Pinot Noir

Canapés & Snacks will also be served on the evening

Fleur will walk us through the New Zealand wine landscape and will then focus on her beloved Marlborough and her privately owned vineyard. If you want to read up on Little Beauty, check out their website here

L’Atitude 51 is the perfect location for a tasting. Centrally located in in the heart of Cork’s city centre, the owners Beverley Mathews and Emmanuelle Legrand offer a beautiful selection of wines (including a big selection by the glass), craft beers and gourmet coffee and tea. They also offer a delicious selection of homecooked food in a lovely relaxing setting on the banks of the lovely Lee across the road from Cork’s City Hall.

So why not come along and sample each of these beautiful limited edition wines for yourself

Thursday February 9th From 7.00pm – 9.00pm

To book a place, call L’Atitude 51 on 021 2390219

Best Wine Apps – Approach Guides Wine App

In the first in a series on wine apps I like to use, here is the wonderful Approach Guides Wine App for iPhone and IPad

I asked Jennifer Raezer of AG Wine about what they set out to achieve with this app

We set out to create something different — to give consumers everything they need to make an informed decision when faced with any wine list or in a wine store. Depending on how the wines are organized, you can start by choosing a region to focus on or simply search for the grape or appellation for a quick review, to see a map, or to check vintages. To make your choice easy, we use our logo to highlight regions, grapes, and appellations that typically deliver great wines at great prices (regardless of markup!). In addition, if a user wants to go more in depth (our average user spends 25+ minutes per session), our app provides a wealth of information about what makes wines from a specific region, grape variety, or appellation, unique and special.

But our app isn’t just for consumers. Many restaurants, bars, and wine shops recommend the Approach Guides Wine app to both their customers and staff. Even wine professionals will use it to refresh their memory on some of the more obscure grapes and appellations.

I find it to be an excellent app. Its packed full of useful information especially in relation to grape varieties, regions and vintage information. It looks great and is fun and easy to use. Its great value for money. Available for iPhone and IPad, its well worth checking out.

Sauvignon Blanc – I’m getting . . . . . . .

I do a lot of tastings with my customers. I love doing them as it gives me an opportunity to meet with the people who part with their hard earned cash on one of my wines. One of the most regular comments people make is that they struggle to identify and/or describe the aromas and flavours that they are getting in the glass. So I’ve put together a list of some of the aromas and flavours (in no particular order) to look out for the next time you are wondering “whats that I’m getting ?”

Sauvignon Blanc (Old World & New World styles)

• Green apple
• Citrus
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Nettles
• Cut Grass
• Celery
• Gooseberry
• Passionfruit
• Mango
• Tropical Fruit
• Mineral
• Flinty
• Green peppers
• Lime
• White peach
• Nectarine
• Melon
• Cats Pee (please dont ever use this one !)
• Asparagus
• Pea Pod
• Green Bean
• Vegetal

This is by no means the full and final list. Why not add your own aromas and flavours by leaving a comment below.

If you fancy trying a lovely example of Sauvignon Blanc, check out our delicious Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc

Why Kangarilla Road Use Screwcaps

In todays video, Kevin O Brien of Kangarilla Road explains why all his wines are under screwcap.