<...> little more than turgid regurgitations of the news with some self-righteous indignation thrown in for good measure, more still which are nothing but You Tube tenpenny bags <...>
Well, that's me sometimes, though my reader is too polite ever to say as much.
the real post starts here:
I'm trying very hard this week to get away from the turgid regurgitations and so on, because the Irish Times is printing a little thing wot I wrote, and probably a photo too, on Saturday next, to draw your attention to our presence at the Taste of Cork bash, which is taking place up at the gaol. The link to http://www.tastefestivals.ie/ isn't working for me, but that's where you ought to be able to find out more.
Anyway, there are some wines that do a useful job of filling any bare patches in your garden. They are well-behaved and likeable and help to give context to the showy, fragrant stuff: the real stars of the show, as some might say. They are called ground cover wines. Oh no, hang on, that's plants. But anyway, same thing applies, and there are ground cover wines. I offer the following example. Here's a picture, taken a good few weeks ago, of a very obliging ground cover plant, Trachystemon orientalis. It's a sort of borage, and it makes big glossy, itchy-hairy green leaves with a few blue stars of flowers as an inconsequential bonus. It fills a shady gap, sturdily and uncomplainingly, and I'm very grateful to it for that. I much prefer it to some of the ephemeral, high-maintenance ballerinas of the garden.
Ditto, and here's the wine part at last, on the right you can see the Touraine Malbec "Le Poira" from Domaine du Haut Perron. Although the Touraine is better known for its white wines, this is a red that's full, fresh, and fruity in a comforting way; not at all the stalky, too-cool-climate style that some people fear in a Loire red. I met Cédric Allion, the son of the domaine, at the wine fair in Angers last year, though I didn't mention the fact in my summary. I'm glad we kept in touch, though.
As a friend of Eric Chevalier at Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Cédric was able to send us a few trial cases of this delicious, reliable, everyday red wine combined with some of Eric's Muscadet and Fié Gris. We have very little of it left now, and I must re-order. If you call in to the Wine Depot, you may just get a bottle. I haven't put it in the webshop yet because of the limited stock, but as soon as the new delivery comes in, it'll be there at a very tasty €12.50. This is a red wine that will fill the gaps where nothing else much cares to grow, with interest and understated charm throughout the season.
