Cantina Zaccagnini

Wines for Mother's day. Week one of our radio wine slot, 10 minutes, 3 wines and one girl down. We were entering the unknown but pretty confident in our choice of crowd pleasing, Oedipus Wines. I am assuming that you have read previous posts but I will reiterate our thinking behind the Italian Wine theme. Apart from the Irish mother and son duo, what other nationality mirrors this syndrome?.. Whilst researching this theme I stumbled upon a couple of frightening statistics. According to Google and the BBC - 80% of single Italian men live at home with their parents until well into their 30's. Also, the Italian Government have offered a reward scheme of €1000 to pregnant young couples as a means of encouragement/bribery. Bottom line is they produce good gear and the wine I chose to review for week 1 was Cantina Zaccagnini. Funnily enough this is produced by Mamma Zaccagnini and her 2 sons - do these boys live at home?... I can't answer that but whatever the Zaccagnini's are doing in D'Abruzzo, they're doing a good job of it.

This is a cherry purple wine in colour. On the nose it displays meaty, savoury aromas with loads of summer fruits - strawberries, raspberries, a hint of new oak packaged as vanilla and some violet in the backdrop. The palate is creamy, full bodied soft fruit, ripe cherries and blackberries. Very little tannin and soft acidity. The really great thing about this wine is that it's one of the few that I could recommend to go with everything. Not just the regular fish, chicken, steak but anti-pasta, good parmesan, scallops, sole, beef wellington or even a quarter pounder.

Montepulciano has been subjected to some bad press, I believe these guys are paving the way to grape greatness. €15.00 Bottle

Love it!!

O&O

Ruth. 

Easter Treat

By chance you ever get an invite to our family house for dinner and want to sample T&T’s amazing roasts again remember to bring a bottle of Rhone red. This will ensure a seat for life at our table for all big occasions Christmas, Easter, Birthdays even Mothers day...You see, we Deveneys are huge fans of the Rhone Valley especially red, so when I was choosing the perfect red to match to this Sunday’s family feast, the obvious choice for me was a wine from this region.


I chose Le Voyage de Ulysses 2006 which is a Côte du Rhône Villages at an affordable price of €14.99. It is a blend of 60% Syrah, 20% Mouvedre and 20% Carignan. The name of the wine means “The Journey of Ulysses”. Frederic David, the winemaker, named the wine after his 7 year old son, Ulysses and runs the vineyard with his father who bought it on his retirement in 1991 and, subsequently, moved the whole family down from Paris.


I had the pleasure of meeting Frederic when he visited Dublin just before Christmas. He is so passionate about not only his wines but the land itself that it would be difficult not to get enthused listening to him. He is very conscious about pesticides and trying to minimise the amounts used in his winemaking process as much for the wine he makes as for the land he farms. The property itself sounds amazing, as well as vines and olive trees, there is a 16th century chapel on the land which Frederic is in the process of renovating with the hope of hiring out for weddings.



Frederic is a rather small producer, making only 5 wines; 3 reds, one of them a Kosher wine (for all of you in Passover at the moment), a white and a delicious rosé. The Ulysses is his top wine and has an amazing ruby red colour and a nose of cherries with some spice and vanilla. The palate is full of red fruit flavours especially morello cherries with some meatiness and smoky spiciness. Lovely fine sweet tannins on the finish.


Already thinking of the rosemary flavours of the lamb with T’s homemade gravy... only 5 more sleeps!!!

 
Till next time
Clare

Huia Sauvignon Blanc 2008 for Easter Lamb

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Huia Sauvignon Blanc for Easter Lamb

2008 13%vol €14.95

When I was choosing the white wine for this week I had two issues.
 Firstly the traditional Easter meal of Irish spring lamb presumably served with mint sauce and all the trimmings of a really good Irish dinner. Secondly, on the basis that, many families who do not regularly drink wine may opt to have a glass of wine with the Easter meal. So my choice had to be quite user friendly and have wide appeal and therefore not be too dry. I finally settled on a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, for the New Zealanders are just as famous for their lamb as we Irish are.However as Easter falls around April I would argue that Irish spring lamb is better at this time of the year because it is actually autumn now in New Zealand as they are in the southern hemisphere.

Huia Sauvignon Blanc is made by Mike and Claire Allan, a husband and wife team on who bring some of the finest winemaking credentials to their budding 20 acre estate along Rapaura Road in Marlborough. They also have the distinguished honor of being one of the very few husband and wife teams to have studied at Roseworthy in South Australia, that continent's leading school of oenology. Furthermore, they helped the legendary Cloudy Bay estate establish itself as the leading winery in New Zealand before founding Huia, and we haven't yet mentioned the couples tenure at Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger respectfully, where they mastered the art of producing first-rate bubbly. So when it comes to making expressive, individually styled white wines with flavor and panache, no one knows how to do it better than Mike and Claire Allan.

The Sauvignon Blanc it is very pale and light in colour, with lime green hints coming through.
On the nose it is crisp and refreshing, with quite zesty green fruits, gooseberry, tangy citrus and hints of freshly cut grass. When you smell this wine deeply your mouth will water similar to how it would react to a bite of a tart green apple and see also if you can detect any of those vibrant fresh green smells?
On the palate it is very refreshing with tart tangy green apple and a confected pineapple influence( pineapple sweets).with a long crisp finish.
 Because of the type of acidity in this Sauvignon Blanc it is not a wine that will quench your thirst …quite the opposite as the acidity is slightly mouth drying so serve with moist food or have the odd glass of water! It is none the less a racy vibrant wine style
 As an aside, it is worth noting that the smells we get on a wine are reflective of smells in our smell memory that we have encountered in our every day lives .When we Northern hemisphere people taste Sauvignon Blanc we often think crisp green apple,tomatoe leaves,gooseberry,nettle or cut grass. When someone from the Southern Hemisphere tastes Sauvignon Blanc they often think passion fruit, pink grapefruit, lemon grass, mango, lime blossom; smells that reflect the warmer climate that they live in.
In conclusion what one gets on the nose of a wine is representative of the smells in your smell memory and that depends upon where you are from and the smells your memory have been exposed to..

Gotta shoot through so I’ll catch ya later.

    Evelyn 

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WoW Gazette Volume 3

From left to right: Ruth Deveney, Clare Deveney, Evelyn Jones, Reggie Walsh (standing)and Julie Cullen, pictured at Chateau Lynch-Bages

LUMINOSITY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE APPRECIATION OF WINE

The WOW girls continued their wine research into the summer of 2009 with a trip to the Bordeaux region of France. Their topic this time explored the correlation between luminosity and wine appreciation.

A number of controlled experiments were conducted over a three day period. This involved travelling to various locations throughout the region at different times of the day and night in order to ascertain if the appreciation of wine was enhanced by sunlight. Further controls were applied within the WOW group with some members of the experimental team tasting in the shade and others tasting in direct sunlight.

Experiments were also conducted using artificial indoor light with some team members even checking out the impact of dawn light on wine appreciation.  The team concluded definitively that the time of day did indeed impact on wine appreciation.

Team members found that wine was less appealing early in the morning, more appealing at lunchtime and very appealing after sunset.  However the team concluded that wine appreciation diminished rapidly under artificial light culminating in very little appreciation between midnight and the dawn light hours.

Ms Reggie Walsh (pictured standing) a luminosity expert on  secondment  from NASA ,was  quoted as saying: “ the research while intensive and intellectually draining  had proved rewarding and fulfilling. I am just so glad to be able to do such important work for the wine industry”.

Such dedication was lauded by the WOW team members.

“We are so proud of Reggie. She worked the hardest, taking on the most risky late night experiments" gushed Ruth Deveney.

”Would you believe some of Reggie’s locations were so dangerous that the police were nearly called by concerned onlookers.” whispered Clare Deveney in awe.

”I had the privilege of working on some artificial light experiments with Reggie and she really proved she was up to the job. “confirmed Julie Cullen excitedly.

”Yes it is true! She rang me early one morning after  I had missed a dawn light experiment and asked me when I had joined the Legion of Mary? I reminded her that at the early stages of that  particular experiment she had asked me to organize an  end of experiment  party and that she had committed the equivalent of The Gilbeys 150TH Anniversary budget to it .Thanks Emilion Reggie!” said a thrilled Evelyn Jones.

ALTITUDE AND ITS IMPACT ON SPARKLING WINES
Supplementary research from WoW Gazette Volume 2

The spring 2008 research concerning altitude and its impact on sparkling wine was further expanded on the summer 2009 Bordeaux trip with the following conclusions:

• The aqua blue light reflected from swimming pools built at altitude does in fact enhance the sense of luxury of drinking champagne.

• Champagne is much more enjoyable at black tie events which involve ascending many steps in high heels in order to reach it.

• Champagne is not enjoyable when looking at girls in sparkly gunas leaping around a marquee brandishing stringed instruments.

Pinot Grigio anyone?!

Pinot Grigio anyone?! 

The mere mention of this grape conjures up images of Blake’s Restaurant, Stillorgan and my first boyfriend (thats a lifetime ago by the way!) It was the only wine I recognised on the menu as a young adult and all previous experiences I’d had of it reminded me that it had very few similarities to wine itself so therefore it was the obvious choice back then!

Pinot Grigio is Italy’s biggest selling white grape and thought to be a clone of the Pinot Noir grape.  It can range in style from flabby and watery to full bodied and rich as can the price. Actually there are so many mediocre Pinot Grigios on the market that when I tried this I was pleasantly surprised with the price quality ratio.

Villa Masetti Pinot Grigio is from a family owned vineyard north of Venice. They have been making wines for over 200 years and thankfully for them they seem to be in the right business as it was exactly what I would expect from a good Pinot Grigio; a dry crisp, easy-drinking and clean white and nothing like my fore mentioned memory.

Straw yellow in colour with a pinkish tone which can be common in Pinot Grigio as it is a red skinned grape and there is however minimum, generally some skin contact with the juice. 

Quite a delicate nose of citrus fruits and a slight nuttiness possibly almonds. The wine has a gorgeous waxy texture on the palate and buckets of green apples. It’s crisp and clean with refreshing acidity.

Hopefully when I think of Pinot Grigio now it will be more about a few glasses of wine in the sun with the girls…fresh green salad with goats cheese and scallops… Not a Coke float or banana split in sight!

Till next time,

Clare

Jeio Desiderio Cuvee Rose ...One for mammies day!

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Our first radio spot coincided with Mothers day, and we decided to focus on Italian wines for that celebration! As rumour has it that the Italian mother is even more dedicated to her sons (and daughters!) than our own doting mammies here in Ireland..!


I chose JEIO DESIDERIO CUVEE ROSE which is a lovely pink sparkling wine, made high in the hills around Valdobbiadene just west of Venice where the best Prosecco is made.

This is a really lovely area with small rolling hillocks of vines angled in every conceivable direction and floating morning mists that burn off as the sun rises.

Julie and I happened to be there during the last Papal conclave and even though I am not religious (at all!) I will always remember standing in the silence of the Bisol vineyards, looking down on to a tiny Italian village, and hearing the bell peel in its little church, to signify that a pope had just been elected. It was around ten to four!

Anyway, back to the actual wine……As this wine is a pink colour it obviously cannot be a Prosecco,as Prosecco is a white grape variety, so it is actually a blend of Pinot Noir and Merlot.

It has a lovely smoked salmon, onion skin colour and a nice sparkle with a persistent bead(bubble).A fresh clean nose of ripe summer fruits…raspberries and fragrant Irish red apple and a lively crisp refreshing crisp finish.

Great for a party or a summer’s day in the garden Try it with fresh salmon or any sweet shell fish or just some ripe  raspberries or strawberries.

This wine is made by the Bisol family who have lived in this area since 1645 but have only been making wine since 1875! Jeio was the nickname Mamma Bisol gave her husband Desiderio,the equivalent of calling a Patrick…Paddy.

Subsequent Bisol mothers have called their children Desiderio  which funnily enough translates as Desire. Can you imagine an Irish mother calling her son in from the green where he is playing soccer..." Desire luv, come in your teas ready”…. talk about a slagging from the mates!

This wine retails at €18.95

 Salute & Arrivederchi,

Evelyn

CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION

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  CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION

CELLARS,NAAS ROAD:DEVENEYS DUNDRUM:JUS DE VINE PORTMARNOCK:THE VINTRY RATHGAR

Hello!

So there we were on the radio doing our weekly wine appreciation slot, battling with the airwaves and some rather large headphones when we realized that this was the start of next exciting episode of the adventures of the wine women

Wow… here we were,all together,doing what we love.

A world class mobile tasting unit cleverly disguised as 4 smart ladies dedicated to the task in hand...We will visit different countries,regions,vineyards,restaurants bars clubs.kitchens, couches even patios!

All in pursuit of the holy grail, the next lovely glass of wine, that glass which we can share with the world - through this blog of ours...

We are four friends. Four friends in the wine business, different ages, different styles, different personalities... but with one simple thing in common. A love of wine...

We will source it, we will taste it, we will talk about it, we will write about it...

But most importantly... we will drink it. For you....

Join us weekly here on this blog and on our radio slot with Country Mix FM every wednesday morning after 10 o'clock news, We'll be waiting!!

Evelyn, Clare, Ruth & Julie!