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

On the road again . . . . . .

Hi,

I’ll be spending plenty of quality time bonding with my beloved car over the next three weeks. In addition to visiting my customers on the east and west coasts, I’ll be taking part in wine fairs too. Always great fun !

The next wine fair is with Der O Sullivan in Tralee this coming Friday, the 2nd December. It starts at 7 (ish) and ends at some stage later in the night. Who knows when Its always a fantastic event and the who’s who of Tralee and greater Kerry will be there to sample the wines on the night. Der and his team always put on a wonderful show and the delicious home cooked dishes will compliment the lovely wine selection on show from a select few of his wine suppliers.

I have been asked to show the following wines

Kangarilla Road Shiraz 2009

Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Little Beauty Riesling 2009

Little Beauty Pinot Noir 2009

Its always a very lively event with a great crowd so that should be great fun

Hope to see you on my travels

Little Beauty of New Zealand Wine Dinner in Partridges, Gorey on November 24th

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL, PARTRIDGES HAVE HAD TO POSTPONE THE SCHEDULED WINE DINNER THIS THURSDAY. IT WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR ANOTHER DATE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. APOLOGIES TO THOSE WHO BOUGHT TICKETS FOR THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. PARTRIDGES WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH ALL CONCERNED. THANK YOU.

Partridges of Gorey would like to invite one and all to a special wine tasting and dinner in their wonderful restaurant on the 24th of November. Fleur McCree of “Little Beauty” will come from New Zealand to present her beautiful selection of wines. Partridges are creating a special menu for the night to match each wine perfectly. Fleur will tell stories of her homeland, the wine trade and perhaps the odd reference to being Rugby World Champions !

Partridges have only 38 places, so do not wait to book your table. Tickets for an evening cost €40 per person and will include a superb three course dinner and five Little Beauty wines to try including a single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc ; Riesling ; Pinot Gris ; Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir.

As an extra incentive, Partridges would like to offer a 10% discount on any wines bought or ordered on the night.

For more info phone 053-9484040 or email info@partridges.ie

All photos are copyright of Little Beauty & Kevin Judd

Meet The Wine Retailers – Partridges of Gorey

In the latest of our Meet The Wine Retailers series, we travel to the sunny south east to speak with Christian Pauritsch of Partridges Bistro in Gorey, County Wexford.

Located in the heart of this bustling town, Partridges offer a fabulous array of wines, cheeses, meats, pate’s, olives, breads and cakes in their deli. They have a thriving breakfast, lunch time and evening trade and cater for all kinds of celebrations.  Full details are available on their website – check it out !

So Christian, give us a brief history of your company

Partridges Bistro started in 2006 as a fine food shop and deli and grew over the years. Its now a cafe/bistro with the opening of a bakery in November this year. This is in partnership with a local French baker.

What got you into wine first day ?

It was part of my job and training in Austria. Got to love it. Also my father in law is to blame as he used to be a wine importer. He’s now retired.

Why do people visit Partridges ?

Because they trust us and our advise, excellent customer service and if something goes wrong, they know that we will look after them without any quibble. And of course we stock very good quality products.

What do you look for in a wine range ?

Quality,value and not the norm. We like to offer our customers something different and special.

Whats your favourite wine region ?

Burgundy (but its far too expensive) and Styria and Thermenregion in Austria (I’m biased) 

Whats the next big thing in wine ?

Not sure,but I hope it will be Austrian reds, some of them are just stunning

Whats the most valuable lesson you learned selling to customers ?

Rule no 1 – the customer is always right. If in doubt refer to rule no 1 !

Whats your best wine memory ?

Organising  and drinking a magnum of Burgundy from the private cellars from Faiveley. This was for my father in laws 75th birthday. He used to represent Faiveley in Ireland. The wine came from the inner sanctum and was a single vineyard Gevrey Chambertin with a late 1970 vintage. It brought tears to our eyes.

Whats your favourite Wine Alliance wine / range ?

At the moment it has to be Little Beauty simply because it is a new world wine made in old world style and is great value. Beso de Vino is also a great every day wine.

Whats your desert island wine ?

The above mentioned bottle of Burgundy – in a magnum !  It is something I’ll probably taste only once in my life and happily die afterwards

BBQ Sumac Ling Dish from Tara @the_tastytart

 In the first of our new recipe series we are delighted to have a lovely dish from Tara from the fantastic site – www.thetastytart.ie 

BBQ Sumac Ling with Fennel & Wild Rice with Goats Cheese & Chilli

 

This is a fantastic casual & light meal, perfect for summer evenings. It reminds me of holidays on the Med. The fish is meaty enough to really hold well on the BBQ but the flavours of the marinade are lovely and delicate. The goat’s cheese offers a delicious contrast. Serve family style and let everyone help themselves!

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 lge fillet of Ling (400-500grms)

2 tblsp Sumac

1 tblsp Tahini Paste

1 clove of garlic (minced)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

2 bulbs of young Fennel

1 bunch of Dill

150grms Wild Rice

1 red chilli, finely chopped

75grms soft goats cheese

2 Lemons (unwaxed if possible), 1 juiced, 1 sliced

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Method:

Mix together the sumac, dried herbs and garlic together with some olive oil to make a paste.

Score the skin of the fish to allow the marinade to penetrate the whole fish.

Place the ling on a platter and pour the marinade over. Leave for at least two hours, but the longer the better.

The fennel is to be used 3 ways- finely sliced for the wild rice, charred on the BBQ & the herby fronds as a garnish.

Firstly, remove the fronds and set aside for later. Removing the tough outer layer, slice one of the fennel bulbs into ½ cm slices lengthways and blanch (bring to the boil in cold water and remove immediately).

Cool in iced water.

Remove the tough outer layer of the second fennel bulb and shave very thin slices with a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Place in a bowl and pour some lemon juice over to prevent it from discolouring, just a small amount will do.

To cook the wild rice place in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 40 mins. Check the texture is to your liking (not too soft) and rinse in cold water.

Mix the rice with the chopped fennel fronds, thin slices of fennel, chilli & goats cheese and drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice & season when ready to serve.

To cook the ling, heat the BBQ to medium heat and place in a fish rack. Cook skin side down for 3-4 mins, then turn. Cook until opaque and a slight crust has formed from the marinade.

To cook the blanched fennel, brush some olive oil on and grill on BBQ.

Char the slices of lemon on the BBQ also.

To serve, place the dill on a platter and set the fish on top.

Place the lemon slices on the ling with the charred fennel around the side and serve the rice separately.

With Tara fantastic fish dish we would recommend either a bottle of the delicious Beso De Vino Macabeo. The fresh limey fruits here would really suit this type of dish. Or if you are looking to try something a little different why not check out a glass of our Kangarilla Road Viognier. With the wonderful aromatic from the wine enough on their own to make your mouth water.

Many thanks to Tara for the post