There are copious blogs, articles, videos, and courses all aimed at helping you to improve your wine experience by learning the vocabulary used about the topic. So really, it would be pointless of me to re-invent the wheel in this post by trying to explain the expanse that formulates wine jargon. Here’s my view on […]
I wear many wine hats. A quick scroll of your mouse over (or click) the ‘wine services’ tab above will describe many of them. Possibly, the one people feel they don’t need advice on is wine storage, other than collectors, investors and trade partners. In this post, I want to highlight the importance of how you […]
We have been advised by the Irish Met Office that our little Island is due a heatwave from this weekend. As this is such a rare occurrence in Ireland, the first thing that springs to everybody’s mind is a beach picnic. We thought it would be a good idea to ask our Head Chef, Richie […]
I think it’s hilarious. Every year, when the sun stays out for more than a few hours, one of my friends changes into the ‘Taste of Summer’ monster. So when offered a beer he responds “It’s summer-time, I need something lighter and fruitier – maybe with bubbles.” I have figured out over the years that, with […]
Bordeaux 2017 (#3 of 3) This Post is related to (General Overview) and (Left Bank tasting) as part of the Green Acres team trip to Bordeaux 2017 En Primeur week. Continuing my description, I will focus on our tastings in the Chateaux we visited on the Right Bank. List of Chateaux Visited During Bordeaux 2017 En […]
Bordeaux 2017 (#2 of 3) This Post is related to (General Overview) and (Right Bank tasting) as part of the Green Acres team trip to Bordeaux 2017 En Primeur week. Continuing my description, I will focus on our tastings in Chateau La Misson Haut Brion and the other Chateaux we visited on the Left Bank. […]
Bordeaux 2017 (#1 of 3) Due to the unusual weather conditions during the 2017 growing season, I had anticipated that our tasting of Bordeaux 2017 en primeur (EP2017) was going to be an interesting experience. And I was right, it is not a harmonious vintage. The Green Acres team headed over to Bordeaux recently and […]
You might have read Donal’s en primeur (EP) trilogy of blog posts last year (here, here and here) and may have come across the term in subsequent posts and articles. This year we decided to invite a ‘non-wine-expert’ to accompany us on our recent 2017 EP tasting trip. This is his account of same […]
I am rephrasing this heading from an old Washington Post article because it describes my sentiment about French Brandy, perfectly. If we’re talking old school, then brandy was traditionally seen as a drink to enjoy after dinner, perhaps with a coffee or paired with a cigar. If you’re my age you’ll remember that in old […]
Yes, I did answer my own question about the usefulness of grape varieties in the heading but I would like to explain my answer to you in a little more detail. I intend to do so in the rest of this post but if you’re only going to read these first 2 paragraphs, here’s the […]
Some people dismiss the importance of wine vintages purely because they don’t understand them or are confused by them. The confusion is obvious when you hear questions such as “does vintage mean old and expensive; is the vintage the year that the wine is bottled? Is it the year that the wine is made or […]
I was reading through Paula’s blog post from last year wherein she mentioned that I helped her choose her blog topic by asking her this question “what is the most frequently asked question by your friends when chatting about wine?” Well, I asked myself this question just now and decided that I would write this […]