I’ve said it before, but wine fairs are a great way to get a big picture of what a country is all about when it comes to wine. While I hear mutterings about the demise of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, this event is a great opportunity to confirm or refute that assertion. Away from being glib, it’s really a great opportunity to get a perspective on what else they’re doing in New Zealand.

Pinot Noir is an obvious one, but there are some great red blends coming out of Hawke’s Bay and other whites like Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay from up and down the country. Then there’s Syrahm which is soooo hot right now.

Where and when

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8. The trade tasting on January 17th 2011 will run from 12.00 to 6.00 p.m. and a consumer tasting from at 6.30 – 8.30 p.m.

Ones to watch

Some of the producers (which I’m familiar with) worth looking out for are:

• Ata Rangi
• Craggy Range
• Delta Wines
• Wild Earth

Buying tickets

Consumer tickets are now on sale at €15.00. (Buy 10 and get an 11th ticket free).

To purchase consumer tickets online visit www.newzealandwineevents.co.uk

To pay by cheque or postal order contact Jean Smullen by email: jean@jeansmullen.com for or phone (01) 274 5955 or (086) 816 8468

I’ve seen plenty of QR codes on business cards and on adverts and content in the Dublin Metro, a free commuter newspaper. This is just one aspect of “mobile marketing” where the cost of entry is virtually zero. Get online, create your QR codes and use them to drive visitors to you brand.

How, you ask? The QR code on the above shelf-talker was created on Google’s shortening service, goo.gl. Simply take the short URL that you’ve generated at add “.qr” to the end of it. In addition, scan rates should be measurable, via goo.gl’s analytics, which is nice.

How are QR codes “consumed”?

QR codes are scannable using an application and the camera on your smartphone. With whatever app you use, just point your smartphone at the QR code and it should do the rest, loading up the website on your phone’s browser, saving you typing those pesky web addresses on keys which are too small for your fingers.

“The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel. The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make. (Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate and world’s most influential wine critic.

There’s a very special tasting happening in Dublin in September which I’m really looking forward to. What’s so special? Maximilian Riedel is coming to Dublin’s new Convention Centre on 17th September to present a unique tasting on how Riedel’s wine glasses are designed to match the specific flavour characteristics and subtleties of a wine.

Where

Dublin’s brand spanking new “The Convention Centre”.

When

Friday, 17th September (Doors open at 6pm, tasting begins 7pm sharp)

How much?

€95. Sound pricey? Not when you consider you’ll get €120 worth of Riedel Vinum XL glasses to bring home with you. Clink!

To book

Contact Jean Smullen  by phone: 01 274 5955  Mobile:  (086) 816 8468 or email (jean@jeansmullen.com) or any of the Mitchell & Son wine shops.

Calling skeptics – does wine glass shape matter?

Martha Stewart meets Max Riedel

In the video below, Gary Vaynerchuk tastes the same wines in 8 different glasses. He’s skeptical before starting, so let’s see how he gets on.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Sud de France, an umbrella brand for wine and food products from Languedoc-Roussillon, to taste of some of the wines they represent for a synchronised wine tasting over social media. Here are the results from “the Dublin jury”.

Although the Languedoc-Roussillon area is huge it has been an area largely perceived for big rustic reds, the odd rosé and a smattering of whites. Nothing could be further from the truth and it was quite refreshing to see a box of samples showing just what the place was all about.

1. Sparkling : Sieur d’Arques, AOC/AOP Crémant de Limoux, Grande Cuvée 1531
2. White : Cigalus, VDP/IGP Pays d’OC, cuvée 2008
3. Rosé : Fruité Catalan, AOC/AOP Côtes du Roussillon
4. Red : Dromadaire 30670, VDP/IGP Pays d’OC, cuvée 2006
5. Sweet Wine : Mas de Madame, AOC/AOP Muscat de Frontignan, cuvée 2006

1. Sparkling: Sieur d’Arques, AOC/AOP Crémant de Limoux, Grande Cuvée 1531

Now, this is interesting…in 1531 (the year after which this wine is named), we’re a full 100 years before Dom Pérignon, yes the Champagne dude when wines nuns from Limoux created the first bubbly, La Blanquette de Limoux. This is a similar story to much of the south of France – making wine for generations longer than their richer, more recent cousins in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Great stories and a rich history worth telling.

Bubbly is a great place to start. Too often sparkling wine is drunk to mark a special occasion, so in reality we don’t drink it often enough and it’s a key reason Champagne houses can charge so much for it: they tap into that sense of occasion. However, you’ll spot crémants from all over France which don’t really need that big a sense of an occasion to justify opening. But for the moment, let’s move onto the taste…

Tasting note

There is a little bit of a floral aspect to the nose, with some vanilla too which suggests to me some use of oak. Smooth mousse, good character and somewhere between a Brut an demi-Sec – there’s a tiny bit of sweetness there which I quite like in sparkling wine.

Overall an easy drinker and another good reason, if any were needed, to drink more bubbly.

Score: 89/100

2. White: Cigalus 2008 Gérard Bertrand

I tasted this prior to doing a Google on it and got the lovely buttery integrated oak of Chardonnay. Butter, toast, almonds, peachstones and a lovely dryness.

I really enjoyed this white, it’s well made, stylish and delicate and wouldn’t be misplaced amongst the rankings of some good Burgundies. My pick of the tasting.

Score: 91/100

Background

Made at one of the estates owned by Gérard Bertrand, a former French rugby international, and producer of quite a bit of wine in the south of France. This is one of his relatively recent acquisitions, bought in 2002, near an area called La Clape. It’s down near Minervois and the Corbieres and is one of the estates which practices biodynamics.

3. Rosé : Fruité Catalan, AOC/AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Tasting note

Made in a thoroughly modern fruit forward accessible style – easy to understand, easy to like and the perfect guzzler for a hot summer day. Strawberries, icing sugar, a little bit of cream or mousse.

Funky modern styled see-through label, funky website to match (so funky I couldn’t figure out how to navigate it).

I hope I’m not doing any disservice here when I say I could see this as a great wine to move 19-23 year olds on from their alcopops or whatever they drink onto something more “sophisticated” – that is a wine which pleases instantly and doesn’t require undue service paid to terroir, tradition or tedious wine facts. This is not meant to be condescending, it’s an important role, and one which Californian producers are keen to exploit, so why let them be the only runner in the race?

Score: 87/100

4. Red wine: Dromadaire 30670, VDP/IGP Pays d’OC, cuvée 2006

Tasting note

Syrah and Grenache blend, nose of black olives, slightly rustic which I really like. Plenty of smooth red fruits with that lovely spice coming through towards the end. Really loved this wine – it’s hard to find this style in other countries. This sounds totally poncy, but there’s a real hardworking honesty in this wine which you tend to find in the south of France more than anywhere else.

Score: 90/100

Background

Wasn’t quite sure what the 30670 was on the label, but soon tweaked it was a ZIP code. Not a bad effort, giving the wine a sense of place, but a little too subtle methinks but the label itself is quite funky.

Beside the funkiness that’s unfortunately where the information ends – sure it’s enough to entice the most curious of drinkers, but where’s the URL or the QR code?

5. Sweet Wine : Mas de Madame, AOC/AOP Muscat de Frontignan, cuvée 2006

Tasting note

Honey, mango, pineapple, marmalade, thick, unctuous, very sweet and very smooth. Difficult to taste without dessert, blue cheeses or foie gras to match it with but it’s really well made. Perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

Background

The juice which go into this is Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (the same which goes into the Banyul). The place is Frontigan, not too far south from Montpellier along the coast.

Score: 90/100

Sud de France tasting: what could have been done better?

For me, more information on the background of the wines – there was no story and in the perennial french way, back labels were either missing or lacking in sufficient detail.

Having said that, they’ve let the taste do the talking here – I was really impressed by the variety of styles and within this variety, the equality.

Overall thoughts on the tasting from Sud de France

There is far more to the wines of the south of France than we give them credit for. In addition to the obvious quality, there is also tremendous value to be had. Where liberté, fraternité, egalité is the motto of France, it could easily be modified to varieté, qualité, stupéfié when describing the wines from Sud de France.

Curious wines are following in the footsteps of Bubble Brothers who ran the firss Twitter tasting and the concept is as follows:

1. Do a blind tasting

In this case, you try a wine where the place, grape, producer (everything on the label) are hidden and you guess what the wine is.

2. Where does Twitter come in?

You share your thoughts on Twitter (using hashtag #twebt, short for Twitter Event Blind Tasting and for extra Brucey bonus points, #ttl for Twitter Taste Live).

What’s Twitter?

It’s Facebook updates without the Facebook.

What’s a hashtag?

Hashtags allow you to easily find Twitter discussions on a specific theme.

Okay, I’m in. What next?

1. Order your blind tasting wine from Curious Wines (€19 including nationwide delivery)
2. Make sure you’re following @brianclayton and @curiouswines or the hashtag #twebt on Twitter
3. Block off a couple of hours from 8pm (GMT) Sunday, 31st January.

I’ll be there – promises to be a bit of good clean fun.

Australia Day is an annual celebration on the 26th of January. It commerates the arrival of the First Fleet in Botany Bay, south of Sydney. If you’re interested in the politics of Australia Day, I recommend David Day’s Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia.

Anyway, getting back to wine, John McDonnell of Wine Australia has put together another super tasting for the the 26th of January in the shape of “An Evening in the Barossa”.

The Barossa is arguably Australia’s most well known wine region, producing popular affordable wines as well the iconic 100 Parker point winners.  It’s also home to some of the world’s oldest living vines, so there’s quite a bit of wine history there.

St. Hallett’s Toby Barlow presents…

Toby Barlow, Winemaker at St Hallett Wines will be the guide for the evening in the Barossa in Dublin’s Fallon & Byrne.

It’s not just his wines, though. Toby will host a tasting of Barossa wines followed by a four course meal accompanied by some of his very own St. Hallett wines.

If you want to “preview” what St. Hallett wines have to offer, look no further than the widely available Gamekeeper’s Reserve, a blend of three grapes, Shiraz and Grenache, both planted extensively in South Australia and the third, Touriga Nacional, a native of Portugal. A super, super wine starting at €9.35 in Tesco and available from other good wine shops.

Details for the evening

• When: Tuesday, January 26th. Tutored Tasting; 6.30pm – 8.00pm, followed by dinner
• Where: Fallon and Byrne on Exchequer Street, Dublin 2.
• Booking: Cost is €65 per person and places can be booked directly with Fallon & Byrne (phone: 472 1000)

The wines

There are over 100 Different wines to sample from all across the wine world, reds, whites, roses, sparkling, fortified & dessert, with discounted prices for purchases made on the day. Nice.

When, where and how much?

Sunday 15th of November from 1pm –6pm, The Westbury Hotel.

To get a ticket (€25), drop into The Corkscrew wine shop on Chatham Street, ring them on 6745731 or email info@thecorkscrew.ie

Second of my visits to the Antipodes in a week. First Australia, now New Zealand.

Curious wines and Joyce Austin (from New Zealand Boutique Wines) presented a great range of New Zealand wines on Friday evening.

Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinotage. Whodathunkit? But we drunk it.

Anyhoo, Curious wines know how to put on a show and Joyce gave a fantastic overview of the wines and the industry in New Zealand.

Blind tasting

There was also a blind tasting of four wines, which made for a lively exercise for all attendees (wines were tasted without knowing grape, label or price). When we drink a wine we can bring many preconceptions into the experience. It’s a Cabernet? Oh, I must be getting blackcurrant, bell pepper. It’s €50, reassuringly expensive. It’s from Sancerre? Oh yes, you can taste the underlying flintiness from the soil. With blind tasting, you’ve got none of that, just your eyes, your schnozz and your gob.

One’s reputation was at stake.

The Wines

I’d had a few of them before, from previous vintages so it was nice to have another look at them.

It was also nice to taste a couple of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs side-by-side. They’re getting a reputation in some circles of “being all the same”. Clearly not the case.

Tussock Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Nelson (€13)

Grassy, gooseberry, passionfruit and all the typical traits of a New Zealand Sauvigon Blanc. Opens in a big way, with a soft finish and medium length. A better quality alternative for lovers of Oyster Bay or Montana, but not for me.

Waipara Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Waipara (€15)

The winemaker behind this, Frank Manifold, previously worked for Cloudy Bay, the benchmark for Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand. It shows too. This was my favourite of the three tasted. Great balance, elegance, restraint and purity. All the great flavours of cut grass, tropical fruits and zippy fresh acidity but with great balance.

Greenhough Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Nelson (€16)

A very decent drop and about half way between the Waipara Springs and Tussock. Would go great with any food with goat’s cheese.

Mystery wine #1: Bilancia Reserve Pinot Grigio, Hawkes Bay (€20)

The first of the wines tasted blind. I went with a Chardonnay, and got it completely wrong. Rich, floral, oily and concentrated. Pear and peachstones. From Hawkes Bay, another of New Zealand’s up and coming areas. Absolutely delicious. Grapes of Sloth, One. Sour Grapes, Nil.

Waipara Springs Chardonnay 2007 (€15)

Chardonnay is back. The ABC brigade should sit up and take note. Not an in-your-face style, but one of style and grace. Finessed tropical fruit, butter on toast from gentle oak treatment. Loved this.

Mystery wine #2: Waipara Springs Riesling 2008

Racing acidity, lemon sherbert, white pepper. Had to be a Riesling. It was. Reputation ressurected. For now.

Mystery wine #3: Muddy Water James Hardwick Riesling 2008

Ultra dry, more lemon and acidity. Pink grapefruit in there too. Gorgeous

Mystery wine #4: Greenhough Gewurtztraminer 2008, Nelson (€17)

My notes were “Lychees, floral, pineapples, oily”. Yes, teacher. I was paying attention in class. Very similar to its Alsatian cousins a great drop too.

Finaly, on to the reds…

Waipara Springs Premo Pinot Noir, 2008, Waipara (€20)

This is just about to reach the shelves. I’d had it before (see the video post here) and was suitably impressed. Pure, clean, raspberry, sour cheery cherry are the notes I tweeted. Fresh, great acidity and my pick of the night.

Greenhough Pinot Noir 2006, Nelson (€17.65)

More herbs, more smokiness and a bit of liquorice in there besides the obvious raspberry and cherry goodness. On special at the moment at €15, a bloody bargain. Deal, steal, sale of the century and top candidate for the Christmas dinner.

Muddy Water Pinotage 2006, Waipara (€20)

Pinotage is a South African grape, a genetic cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault produced first in the 1920′s. It’s often the whipping boy of the wine world but Pinotage does have loyal fans, Peter May of The Pinotage Club being one of its most ardent.

I’ve tasted about 20-30 Pinotage wines. Back when South African wine specialist, Vaughan Johnson’s in Temple Bar was open, they regularly had them open. It was never to my taste with the sole exception of the Diemersfontein mocha-style wine, which seems to have a cult-like following.

Understandably, I had my doubts about this one – the folly of bringing a perceived poor South African grape to New Zealand baffled me, at least in theory.

However, I was really impressed. Very different to the Diemersfontein from South Africa, this is more of a deep bodied rustic wild style – big sweet juicy cherries with a soft and smooth texture.  It was gorgeous.

Wonder what the South African’s think of how well this is made? A ballsy move by Muddy Water, the makers and also by Curious wines to bring it in, but one that will truly reward the adverturous wine drinker.

Not a good wine show, a great wine show

This wasn’t just a wine tasting – it was a wine show. Great wines, great energy and great education from Mike and David Kane, and of course from Joyce Austin. With The Good Wine Show coming up this weekend in Cork, I’d recommend you buy a ticket here.

Autumn is a great time for wine tasting events and wine sales. As wine shops clear their shelves for the Crimbo, there are plenty of bargains to be bagged.

The first up is from Wine Buff with stores around the country – a brand which is really making a good name for itself via the quality and value of the wines they stock.

All offers available direct instore. Need to find your nearest Wine Buff store? Check the Google map.

John runs regular tasting events and this time it was his Fizz and Stickie Show - fantastic Aussie slang for sparkling and dessert wines – which took place in venerable Dublin wine institution, Ely Wine Bar.