Pearl Cartoon Girl checks out The European Bloggers Conference

Pearl Cartoon Girl

Meet Pearl our cartoon girl. Yes! a cartoon girl ...who spends her time out and about, posing and air kissing with the best of them. She is not a real person and sometimes the people she hangs out with aren`t either! Because the WOW girls are far too busy to be out and about all the time, we have appointed Pearl our cartoon girl, to fill us in on what`s happening around town!

M` dears,

 Just to let you know that I am off  to join bloggers, journalists,and social media innovators on October 22-24 in Vienna, at The European Wine Bloggers Conference.Rather technical for me I hear you say, but who can resist Vienna in October and anything that deals with social innovation is a must for me.I am told that this three day conference is a fantastic opportunity to expand, learn and debate about the intersection of wine on the internet with passionate wine lovers from around the world.

A girl has to keep up with the latest trends in socializing and who better to do it with than passionate wine lovers!

See you there.

Kiss Kiss ,

Pearl

Ca' Dei Frati Lugana 'Brolettino' 2008

Tasting at Ca' Dei Frati

Ca' Dei Frati are known to produce an outstanding Lugana, fresh and zesty with lovely weight on the palate. They also make a Lugana that sees french oak for 10 months called Brolettino which was the star of the show for me at the tasting at their winery. The oak is really well integrated in the wine and does not mask the fruit. The nose is quite biscuity and there is lovely viscosity on the palate with a long lingering finish.

Enjoy Julie
JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK

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CATALDO, NERO D`AVOLA 2009,SICILY

Mazzaro, Taormina,Sicily

 I am a huge fan of  Nero D`Avola for everyday drinking.I only have to handle a bottle of it to conjure up fond memories of an idyllic holiday spent at Mazzaro in Taormina,Sicily.

This particular wine is produced by Cataldo  It is a fantastic Nero D'avola, and great value. A core of red and purple fruits with floral and mineral notes. Long, slightly dry finish with nice fruits.

Quite a few lunches,of wood fired pizza topped with vibrant rocket ,cured ham, parmesan cheese and a few glasses of Cataldo,were consumed in the little beach restaurant here!

Arrevaderchi ! 

Evelyn 
THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR

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Alpha Zeta "G" Garganega

Matt Thomson

Alpha Zeta wines have been made by Matt Thomson since 1999. You can see,all around you ,that a lot of investment has gone into this operation and the focus is on  producing  modern easy drinking wines. Matt is a kiwi who spends his time making wine between Italy, France and New Zealand. He is a very busy man but when he took time out to join us for lunch ,he spoke  passionately about stelvin closure verses cork closure. He works with two co-operatives whose vineyards cover 1,900 hectares in the hills of  Verona. All their wines are now under stelvin except for the Amarone and Ripasso, due to legal stipulations.

G is for Garganega.

All the wines are in ultra modern packaging with the initial of the wine standing out... G is for Garganega.

The wine sees a tiny amount of oak, a light easy drinking summer wine that shows a lovely fresh peach character and  it worked really well with risotto,a real quaffer.
An Italian wine that delivers for €8.99 . Old world wine with a new world wine maker.. says it all.!




Enjoy,

Julie
JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK

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Terre a Verre " Les Roches " Picpoul de Pinet

 My white grape of choice is always Chardonnay, preferably big and buttery and from Burgundy, this works well when out with Ruthie or Dad but with any of the girls it's anything but. I never have been the biggest advocate of Sauvignon Blanc however after a pretty gorgeous summer which was stuffed full of weddings, bbqs and hens I feel myself and this grape need some time apart.  It goes without saying that I love red wine but when it comes to one glass of vino after work or socially, white is generally my preference and sometimes big and buttery is just too much -  translating into a very unshareable wine!
Terre A Verre might have a little too much shareability and as I have got used to having a full bottle to myself when out with the girls this might take some getting used to!
In the glass it is straw colour with hints of green not unlike a sauvignon blanc in appearance. The nose is subtly floral with aromas of fresh pear. In the mouth it is dry yet surprisingly full-bodied and obvious that the wine spent time on it's lees but still has a gorgeous minerality to it with a good balance of fruit present.
 Picpoul de Pinet is the biggest white growing region in Languedoc with Picpoul itself being one of the oldest french varieties.  It is a fragile grape that was nearly completely destroyed by phylloxera but is becoming quite popular again. It is one of the varieties permitted in chateauneuf and is often used as a blending wine in the Rhone in both it's red and white forms(Picpoul Noir & Picpoul Blanc) but on it's own it makes for a perfect seafood accompaniment and with it's minerality possibly a good Loire substitute and at €12.99 definitely one we can work with.

Till Next Time
Clare

DEAR DOCTOR...let us solve your wine problems

Dr Hannah Wine Therapist
and perfect housewife

Dear Dr Hannah,
 I do hope you can help me.My friend and I have been invited to go to a Debs dance with two nice girls from the Northside.My friend Lorcan,who is from Ranelagh, has never been over to that side of the city  before and is getting a bit nervous.I have tried to reassure him that there is nothing to worry about but he is convinced that we will be fed fish and chips and that they might only serve beer with the dinner.As he is a Coeliac ,he is unable to drink beer and obviously would have an intolerance for the flour in the fish batter.What would you advise we do?

                                           Ken from Kimmage.



Dear Ken,
My,my, you do appear to be in a dilemma here.
I suppose the first question that we need to clarify is what you mean by "nice girls"?Obviously if they are really nice... as in,handsome and good looking ...your friend Lorcan might be prepared to forego eating and drinking on the night in question if he is truly keen on his Debutante date.Another option would be to alert the girl in question to Lorcan`s special needs and maybe he could get fish without any batter..although I do believe this would be considered rather unusual on the Northside.As for beer, maybe they will have a gluten free one available,though again this would be considered unusual on that side of the city.However despair not! because as a coeliac Lorcan can drink cider without getting ill, and I know for a fact that it is extremely popular over there.
However a word of caution.Advise Lorcan not to drink too much as he might be tempted to make rash advances on his date, which could result in rejection..and that is not easy to bear on an empty stomach!

Ken, I do hope that my advice works out for both you, Lorcan and the two lucky girls.
Dr Hannah

My Visit to Verona, Italy :Pieropan Soave 2009,

I'm just back from a few days away in Italy. It was all business promise!
Liberty wines brought a group of us over to the Verona region to meet up with some of their wonderful producers. Pieropan, Allegrini, Franz Haas, Livio Felluga, Ca dei Frati, and Cantine di Valpanatena amongst others.
I have decided to feature a wine or two a week to give you a little taster of the region and some of the best wines it has to offer.

David Gleve & The Pieropan Sons in the vineyard.

Pieropan Soave 2009

There is lots of Soave on the market and then there is Pieropan Soave! The estate was founded in 1890.
The Pieropan family have decided to drop the classico from their label so they can bottle their wine in a stelvin closure (screwcap).  Made from the gargenega grape the wine shows a wild herb honey nose with great weight on the palate.A real classic well worth seeking out at €16.99.
Nino Pieropan also makes 2 cru Soaves from single estates. La Rocca and Calvarino. Before World War 2 and prior to Soave being designated a wine in its own right they were described as Petite Chablis and after tasting them you can see why, as they have a,lot of similar characteristics of a good white Burgundy.

Enjoy Julie
JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK

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