We’ve got a live one here
This was going to be a brief plug for last night's gig at Cyprus Avenue to raise funds for the Cork Steiner school, but I didn't get the post up in time. Sorry.
A plug too for John Gowan and his excellent coffee
and thanks for the half a croissant he gave me this morning with my cup o' joe. Thanks buddy.
Any road up, from biodynamically empowered children to biodynamically empowered grapes, we tried and are more than happy with the new inexpensive (sixteen euro-ish) Vacqueyras from Montirius. It's not shown on their renovated website, perhaps because it's new, and perhaps because the Vacqueyras we have stocked hitherto - which is now called Vacqueyras "les Garrigues"- is a bit more profitable. Most of the wines are getting a descriptive name added to their appelation on the label, so the Gigondas is to become Gigondas "Vignes 1925", &c. &c.
I'm not convinced that this gerrymandering of the range is the facelift the already moderno-traditional hybrid labels of Montirius need. Much more effective to start again from scratch, in my view. That wine label analysis blog gets closer by the day.
Live ones, and the musical ring to this post generally, lead me to a jazz birthday: Dick Pearce the trumpeter and flugel player. A bit of biog. here. And Ornette Coleman winning the music Pulitzer, how 'bout that? Mmm, ten grand. And later in the year, there's something here for oud fans.
The livest one of all is one of our new suppliers in the Loire Valley, rising star (&c. &c.) Damien Delecheneau of Domaine La Grange Tiphaine. Britt and Per Karlsson, authors of the marvellous and comprehensive bkwine.com, have a very lifelike portrait of Damien over on their website, if you want to see his face. There was such a scrum round his stand at the Loire wine fair I couldn't get a picture of him that wouldn't have been mostly of eager tasters' elbows or nostrils.
We left it a bit late to get back in touch, and when we did place an order, it turned out that most of the Domaine's available wine has already been sold. So we know it's not just the Bubble Brothers tasters who think they're on to a good thing.
Look out, then, in due course, for a brilliant, luminous and fresh-as-a-daisy red blend of Côt (aka Malbec), Gamay and Cabernet Franc called Ad Libitum, which is how you might want to enjoy its juicy, leafy silkiness; and a rosé called Riage Tournant, which blends Côt, Gamay and Grolleau into a sensational summer cooler that's serious enough to make a good food wine too. Both of those should work out at about the fourteen euro mark.
Another summery delight just about to go on sale is the Vin de Sophie from Château la Villatade, which Sophie Morin introduced to us when she visited Cork for our Big Wine Event last year. You can get the general idea (youthful, vibrant, red fruits) here. Good for when the sun shines, and for while you're waiting for it to shine.
UPDATE 21.iv.07
As a result of Per and Britt's rightfully indignant comment, I have deleted their picture of Damien Delecheneau; and, I hope, made a sufficient apology.
A plug too for John Gowan and his excellent coffee
and thanks for the half a croissant he gave me this morning with my cup o' joe. Thanks buddy.Any road up, from biodynamically empowered children to biodynamically empowered grapes, we tried and are more than happy with the new inexpensive (sixteen euro-ish) Vacqueyras from Montirius. It's not shown on their renovated website, perhaps because it's new, and perhaps because the Vacqueyras we have stocked hitherto - which is now called Vacqueyras "les Garrigues"- is a bit more profitable. Most of the wines are getting a descriptive name added to their appelation on the label, so the Gigondas is to become Gigondas "Vignes 1925", &c. &c.
I'm not convinced that this gerrymandering of the range is the facelift the already moderno-traditional hybrid labels of Montirius need. Much more effective to start again from scratch, in my view. That wine label analysis blog gets closer by the day.
Live ones, and the musical ring to this post generally, lead me to a jazz birthday: Dick Pearce the trumpeter and flugel player. A bit of biog. here. And Ornette Coleman winning the music Pulitzer, how 'bout that? Mmm, ten grand. And later in the year, there's something here for oud fans.
The livest one of all is one of our new suppliers in the Loire Valley, rising star (&c. &c.) Damien Delecheneau of Domaine La Grange Tiphaine. Britt and Per Karlsson, authors of the marvellous and comprehensive bkwine.com, have a very lifelike portrait of Damien over on their website, if you want to see his face. There was such a scrum round his stand at the Loire wine fair I couldn't get a picture of him that wouldn't have been mostly of eager tasters' elbows or nostrils.
We left it a bit late to get back in touch, and when we did place an order, it turned out that most of the Domaine's available wine has already been sold. So we know it's not just the Bubble Brothers tasters who think they're on to a good thing.
Look out, then, in due course, for a brilliant, luminous and fresh-as-a-daisy red blend of Côt (aka Malbec), Gamay and Cabernet Franc called Ad Libitum, which is how you might want to enjoy its juicy, leafy silkiness; and a rosé called Riage Tournant, which blends Côt, Gamay and Grolleau into a sensational summer cooler that's serious enough to make a good food wine too. Both of those should work out at about the fourteen euro mark.
Another summery delight just about to go on sale is the Vin de Sophie from Château la Villatade, which Sophie Morin introduced to us when she visited Cork for our Big Wine Event last year. You can get the general idea (youthful, vibrant, red fruits) here. Good for when the sun shines, and for while you're waiting for it to shine.
UPDATE 21.iv.07
As a result of Per and Britt's rightfully indignant comment, I have deleted their picture of Damien Delecheneau; and, I hope, made a sufficient apology.
