Griffith Park for the Weekend?

When the sun shines in Ireland we tend to adopt an optimistic outlook and think that it's going to last forever! It never does of course but better the 'glass half full' than being a killjoy. This weekend I'm going to indulge in one of lifes greatest pleasures and pour some sparkling in the sunshine. 

What to buy? Well, there's quite a range of good value sparklers to choose from these days. With food I tend to buy lean styles to add flavour and texture but for sunshine sipping I'll be happy with a degree of extra fruit such as found in the really excellent Griffith Park Sparkling Rose from Australia. 

Both the White and Rose Griffith Park Sparkling wines are new to Ireland, exclusive to SuperValu/Centra and has a winemaker, Islay Kennedy, whose grandparents hail from Tipperary.

A World to Escape To tends to be
     at home
             in the back garden
                        with little to do and
                                 a glass of well chilled sparkling to hand.

Looks like this weekend will be in Griffith Park as well!

Searson's Expert Series

Searson's Wine Merchants is one of Ireland's leading suppliers of quality wines. Their list drips with interest. They have a well educated staff and make a point in their list, and on their web site, that they 'do not supply supermarkets or symbol groups' but that their wines are available, 'through independent retailers, restaurants and hotels throughout the country'. John Wilson, wine writer for the Irish Times, is listed as a consultant working with the company. 

Searsons recently announced the Searsons Expert Series. It looks good and well worth booking into. TRADE ONLY - worth noting, as its not in the release below, is the €100 entry  ...

Searsons Expert Seminars has just been launched by Searsons Wine Merchants.  Each event offers an opportunity for senior trade members to discover best practice in selling wine in the on-trade.

The first event is ‘Creating profitable wine lists’ and will be presented by Peter McCombie, a London-based Master of Wine who has worked with a number of high profile UK restaurants and hotels including the Cinnamon Club, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, The Dorchester and Groupe Chez Gerard.

Peter will be talking about key issues in constructing wine lists: maximising sales value, cash flow efficiencies, together with practical tips on optimising revenue from wine. 

A panel discussion, hosted by Nick Munier, Ross Golden-Bannon and Charles Searson will follow.

The event will be held in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin on June 11^th from 3-6pm.

Delegate places are limited, and booking is essential.

For more details, see www.searsons.com.

Peter McCombie MW : Excellent speaker

 The second event will take place on October the 5th. This looks good. Lulie Halstead, CEO of Wine Intelligence, 'will inform senior sommelier and other decision-makers in Irish restaurants and hotels on best practice in optimising wine sales in adopting a consumer-focussed approach to the wine offering'.

Now that will be interesting. We haven't seen much research that links Irish consumers' wine preferences across both the off and on trades. It will be equally interesting in that Searsons does not supply one of the key areas that seems to be influencing Irish consumers more and more, ie price points in supermarkets. Is it possible to ignore this as an influence? I have a lot of time for Wine Intelligence so this debate is welcomed.

Excellent initiative by Searsons. Worth supporting. The wine trade often misses, or chooses to ignore, good opportunities to lead and to educate. When it does make a genuine effort it deserves all the support it can garner.

One little niggle - and its a small one. When will we see an Irish Expert. I know they're out there and I'd hate to think they are overlooked because they're not from 'over there'...? Last year I was invited to an event where the 'Expert' had been invited from 'over there' and he patently hadn't any idea what we drink in Ireland or anything about this market at all. I am at pains to point out time and again - We are different and we are over here and not over there! 

Vicente Gandia worth a look

I read press releases as soon as they arrive. Promise. I do. I seldom get excited about wine awards, or indeed industry awards from far off places. You know the kind .... Winner of Obscure Medal for Most Obscure Wine in the Newest Wine Region Ever. I like judgements that have been awarded closer to home. Perhaps its just my cynical and questioning nature that makes me inherantly suspicious of accepting, carte blanche, recommendations that by their nature cannot take any account whatsoever of our local history, cuisine, likes and dislikes. Don't get me wrong. A Gold Medal is a Gold Medal and no-one can deny it. Does this mean we should buy it? Does this mean we will like it?

So, last week I read with a great deal of interest a well worded release from Vicente Gandia extolling the following:

I like Valencia and I like Spain. I have fond memories of learning why and how a region like Valencia, and the wider Levante, has worked hard to shake off its image of being a supplier of  bulk shipments and wine concentrates. Every time I lecture on Spain I show an age old slide from an early WSET lecture series showing how Valencia protected it's bulk wines from the heat of the sun. Back in the 1970's there wasn't much more happening. Bobal was sweet and Tempranillo was baked. Delicate white wines were being put together on some hillsides in Utiel Requena but the market expected thick and sweet. That was Valencia! Watching regions change over time is why I visit wine fairs - Bobal in Valencia, Sagrantino in Montefalco, Tannat in Uruguay....... 'Valencia Watching' has been fruitful. (sorry..) Bobal is now very interesting, Tempranillo is world class and blends from the region are quite simply very, very drinkable. Still and all the Press Release was put back down.

Wine Storage Valencia 1980

Then local agents, Cassidy Wines, resent the release and reminded us that they were agents for a few of the wines made by wine maker Luis. The message now came close to home. It took on meaning in a commercial and useful sense. I had a look at three of his wines. I was really impressed. Well made, definite hearts of classy fruit and really assured winemaking, excellent presentation and very good value. This is modern Spain showing well.  This is why Spain is indeed a Rising Star of the world of wine.

 

 Now, when I think of the Gandia Press Release I think Quality, Available, Value and, oh yes, made by an Award winner!

Luis Garcia : Vicente Gandia well worth a look.