Wine tastings & workshops in Belfast September to November

The autumn programme for wine tastings and workshops scheduled to run in Belfast city centre (Ramada Encore Hotel Cathedral Quarter) by Wine Education Service NI (that's me) from late September to late November 2015 is as follows (drum roll)...
Booking options are at the bottom:

Saturday 26 September: Spain and Portugal one-day workshop £90

"We'll taste and talk about a dozen or so red, white, rosé and fortified wines selected to highlight the very different regions, grape varieties and wine styles found across the 'Iberian peninsular'. This will include well-known 'classics' such as Rioja, Port​/Douro Valley and (real) Sherry​; but throwing in a few surprises too like Galici​a and Vinho Verde for dry whites, serious reds from Dao or the Alentejo and not forgetting the wine 'super-state' of Catalonia, home to some great reds, whites and Cava..." Includes two-course lunch at the hotel.

​​Thursday 29 October​ 7-9 pm​: ​​France vs ​​the 'New World' classic grape varieties tutored tasting £28.95

​"​We'll compare three or four pairs of well-known grape varieties from different regions of France ​with​ certain Southern Hemisphere countries, 'classic' styles of say Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah/Shiraz, Malbec... (two of each). Which is 'better', or are they just different?!"​

​​Saturday 14 November ​11 am-​2 pm​: "off the beaten track" ​wine tasting and ​lunch £49

"Come and explore the lesser-known, although certainly not less exciting, wine world with this morning tasting of about eight diverse high-quality wines from countries such as Lebanon, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece and fine English sparkling wine too. Includes a two-course lunch at the hotel afterwards."

​​Thursday 26 November 7-9 pm: Italian wines​ £28.95

​"​At​ ​this wines of Italy ​evening tasting​, we'll take you on a guided tour around several of this very​ varied country's wine producing regions ​by​ tasting and talking about ​a carefully selected range of​ tasty red and white​ wines. These will probably include classics from northern Italy, such as Piemonte and Veneto, central Italy such as Tuscany and Umbria, and the deep south e.g. Sicily, ​Campania,​ Puglia..."

Book online on our site:

Wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast
Facebook.com/WineEducationServiceNI (you have to sign in to FB). Or you can pay by card or your own Paypal account using the PP button below (you don't need an account to do this though). You can change the quantity of tickets on the secure web form:

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Spain Portugal workshop 26 Sept £90.00 GBP France vs New World 29 Oct £28.95 GBP Off the beaten track 14 Nov £49.00 GBP Italian Wines £28.95 GBP

English Wine Week and wine guide

From www.lymebaywinery.co.uk

To mark ‘English Wine Week’ 2016 (to 5th June), I’ve done the second comprehensive update this year to my English wine mini-guide to include a couple of new names on the English wine scene, small and so far quite hush-hush, and a couple of conspicuously missing big names: Exton Park Vineyard (Hampshire), Sixteen Ridges (Worcestershire & Herefordshire), Denbies Wine Estate (Surrey), Lyme Bay Winery (Devon). And, for the first time, broadened the reach to take in ‘still’ whites, rosés and reds (the focus had previously been just on 'traditional method' sparklers).
This latter wine 'offering' used to be dominated by several lesser-known and Germanic sounding grape varieties – and some of them can make good wine e.g. Bacchus, Ortega, Reichensteiner – but, while tasting on the English Wine Producers stand at the recent London Wine Trade fair (along with a lot of other people it has to be said), it became clear that there’s an increasing amount of good quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir coming our way. Not surprising perhaps, when you read (see guide for details) that these two ‘Champagne’ varieties are now the most planted, especially across southern England for creating traditional method fizz. So it makes absolute sense to offer wine consumers recognisable non-sparkling styles too from very recognisable varieties, particularly as some of these are rather tasty in an English ‘Chablis style’ for Chardonnay and light aromatic ‘Burgundy style’, or not dissimilar to certain 'German style', Pinot Noir reds. The main problem is the usual UK wine production dilemma: relatively small quantities mean prices remain quite high.
I’ve updated some of the existing winery profiles in this guide as well, with new vintage releases and labels which have also been highlighted: e.g. Hattingley Valley (Hampshire), Hush Heath Estate Winery (Kent), Chapel Down Winery (Kent), Furleigh Estate (Dorset). Buy the full-works 20-page PDF magazine for £1.99 using the PayPal button below to pay by card or using your own account (select it in drop-down menu).

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Click HERE for more about card payments, your privacy and terms and conditions. I will email the PDF supplement to you once I receive payment confirmation from PayPal. Enjoy.

More info on English Wine Week: englishwineproducers.co.uk.

International Grenache Day

It's this Friday apparently, September 24th. I wouldn't want to start counting how many Grenache-based wines are talked about and reviewed on this blog or sister site Frenchmediterraneanwine.com. From full-on lush reds to lavish Port-like "vins doux naturels" both from "black" Grenache (noir) or Garnacha / Garnatxa, to exotic whites crafted from white Grenache (blanc) / Garnacha blanca and/or Grenache gris, a pinkish skinned relative that can also work for "grey" style rosés; to fruity rounded rosé / rosado / rosat itself made from the "black" version (and sparkling too...)

Still with me? Here are just a few, off the top of my head, that I've particularly enjoyed (sensibly of course) over the last couple of months (mostly from southern France and Spain although Grenache certainly can excel in Australia, California...):

2008 Mas Mudigliza Maury (see post below this one)

2007 Domaine La Fourmente Les Vieux Grenache des Garrigues, Visan (southern Rhone)

2005 Domaine du Chapitre (Ardèche)

2007 Llopart Rosé Cava

2005 Château des Estanilles Faugères Prestige

2007 Domaine Bertrand-Bergé Rivesaltes Tuilé Ma-ga

2009 La Chevalière Grenache

2008 Domaine de Fenouillet Faugères

2006 Mitchelton Crescent, Victoria

2009 Domaine Jones Grenache

2008 Domaine Treloar One Block red

2007 Les Manyes Terroir al Límit, Priorat

2006 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape "cuvée Cadette"

2007 Inferno Domaine Vinci, Roussillon

1980 Millésime Maury Mas Amiel, Roussillon...

Do a search for lots of links to features / guides / profiles including these and many more Grenache wines:
winewriting.com/search?q=Grenache
frenchmediterraneanwine.com/search?q=Grenache

Or click on any Grenache 'label' at the bottom of a post.
Photo = Grenache from vins-rhone.com

A dozen more winter wines of the mo

Muga Reserva Rioja 2016 (14% abv) is a splendid oak-aged blend of 75% Tempranillo with Garnacha, Mazuelo (= Carignan) and Graciano. Smoky spicy oak aromas in that traditional Rioja fashion but with lots of rich dark berry fruit and beginning to show enticing balsamic maturing notes, quite dense powerful and structured with concentrated savoury fruit, a little firmness still on the finish but with lovely silky tannins too. Good with lamb shank; should benefit from another few years' bottle age. Half-bottle £9.25 (image = the Wine Society).

New Wave Spanish wine awards 2008

This thought-provoking tasting, held in London in July 2008, was designed as a showcase for the top 100+ Spanish wines deemed award-worthy, which had already been selected from a considerably more marathon taste-off judged by a team of UK trade and press hardened palates. Although there were some great wines here - see my pick below - I have to say I was disappointed. Part of the problem was the perennial difficulty of keeping white, rosé and sparkling wines pleasantly cool in a warm room without killing them off with ice. So some of these styles would probably show better well-chilled with food: e.g. Castillo de Perelada Cava Rosado Brut (usually very fruity, refreshing and quite classy; £8.99); Tesco's 2007 Finest Albariño from Rías Baixas in Galicia, in the northwest (zesty, juicy and elegant; £6.19); or the two Rueda whites from Bodegas Antaño.
As for the reds, I wasn't the only one who found lots of very oaky, over-extracted and unbalanced (too powerful) wines that left me wondering whether some Spanish winemakers have really moved forwards. Especially from the trendy regions of Ribera del Duero, Priorat and up-and-coming Vino de la Tierra areas such as Castilla y León. For example, Abadía Retuerta's 2005 Pago Garduna (impressive competition wine but undrinkable; but I did like their less expensive one, see below), the 2004 Durius Magister (wood and alcohol) or Marqués de Grinon's cult Eméritus 2004 (trying to be grown up but so immature). And a few of the Catalan reds didn't deliver what I'd hoped for. Actually, call me old-fashioned but the best, certainly most enjoyable, reds on tasting were good old charming Rioja (although some quite expensive): so I've done a separate paragraph for those. As for the multitude of different sherries, it's been said before by winey types what high quality and relatively good value you get; but sadly does anybody else drink these unique wines? Hardly 'new wave' though. Anyway, I loved some of them! As ever, the rant is now over and out and, for what it's worth, here's what made the earth move for me.

Key: Producer Wine Grape variety Region - "Awarded..." £UK retail price and agent 100 point scale.

WHITE

Adegas d'Altamira
2007 Brandal Rías Baixas (13%) - aromatic mix of grape juice and celery; a bit more weight on the palate than some of the others from this region (perhaps the slightly higher alcohol), giving it more length and presence with lively fresh acidity too. £8.99 Oakley Wine Agencies. 87-89
Pazo de Señorans
2003 Selección Añada Rías Baixas (12.5%) - complex greengage flavours enhanced by a very oily Riesling type profile, rounded and mature yet still with firm acidity underneath; it's good and certainly different but £40 a bottle?! Shipped by Vinites. 87-89
Marqués de Murrieta
2003 Capellanía Rioja (13.5%) - mature oxidised Fino sherry notes move on to nutty textured and very dry mouth-feel, intricate lingering flavours; drinking now, I like it but many won't! £14.50 Maisons Marques & Domaines. 89-91

ROSADO

Bodegas Victoria
2007 Pardina Cariñena (13.5%) - delicious strawberry and raspberry fruit, nice juicy v weighty mouth-feel then crisp dry finish; very attractive foodie rosé. £4.99 Anglo Peruvian Trading. 87
Bodegas Santo Cristo
2007 Viña Collado Campo de Borja - more 'serious' and biscuity in style, has a tad of dry tannin even v rich juicy fruit. £5.50 Burridges of Arlington St. 87

RED

Abadía Retuerta
2005 Selección Especial Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León (14%) - lush blackberry and spice flavours layered with stonky, extracted tannins and rich fruit; but in the end it's balanced showing nice panache. £16.49 Liberty Wines. 89-91
Bodegas Fariña
1998 Gran Colegiata Reserva Toro (13.5%) - mature savoury mint edged v berry fruit, at its best but has enough of that attractive savoury tobacco fruit and firm tannins to pull it off. £14.25 Bibendum Wines. 89
Jean León
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Penedés (13.5%) - nice savoury and leather tones with dried cassis fruit (and a tad of old wood?), still firmly structured v mature fruit and quite charming old-fashioned style. £13.95 Bibendum Wines. 87-89
Castaño
2006 Monastrell Yecla (14%) - not a fancy wine but finally, after too many hard woody fiery reds, something with nice black cherry and olive fruit, aromatic v chunky with attractive fruity finish. £5.49 Averys. Value. 87
Bodegas San Marcos
2007 Pilgrimage Mazuelo Extremadura (14%) - wild rustic fruit with black cherry/berry and light leather edges, powerful palate yet nice compensating fruit. £6.99 Guy Anderson Wines. 87
Bodegas Ochoa
2005 Graciano/Garnacha Navarra (13%) - chocolate oak up front, this has nice depth of smoky fruit, firm mouth-feel but it's more generous. "Best red under £10." £8.99 Pol Roger UK. 87-89
Bodegas Julian Chivite
2002 Colección 125 Reserva Navarra (13.5%) - also oaky but there's definitely something going on here, with its compelling herbal smoky tones; pretty rich v solid palate with power, fair class and balance. £20+ Berkmann Wine Cellars. 90

RED RIOJA

Bodegas Palacio
2005 Cosme Palacio (13.5%) - quite oaky and extracted although there's some attractive smoky ripe fruit lurking underneath, tight long finish. £8.49 Antonio Barceló. 89+?
2005 Palacio Crianza (13%) - drinking well now, has nice resin v rustic v vibrant fruit; oily texture yet solid rounded tannins. £6.99 Antonio Barceló. 89
2004 Cosme Palacio Reserva (13.5%) - again oaky and extracted but its pure concentration and depth of fruit win you over; very tight and fresh finish with some underlying class. £12.99 Antonio Barceló. 89-91
Contino
2005 Viña del Olivo (mostly Tempranillo + Graciano 14%) - seductive oak coating but this is rich and concentrated, elegant too despite its punch on the finish; that oak dominates at the moment but this is classy and has plenty of life ahead of it. £45 Hatch Mansfield. 90-92
2001 Viña del Olivo (mostly Tempranillo + Graciano 14%) - complex meaty and 'cheesy', very tasty palate showing class and elegance, maturing v still tight and focused. £45 Hatch Mansfield. 92-94
CVNE
2001 Real de Asúa (14%) - lovely smoky maturing fruit with very light cedar texture; lush v tightly focused mouth-feel, fine acidity and poise too. Yum. £45 Hatch Mansfield. 92-94
Bodegas Luis Cañas
2005 Hiru 3 Racimos (14.5%) - impressive extracted style although it shows good fruit v very firm dry tannins; a bit of a monster but it's still better balanced than certain wines from certain regions. £60! Alliance Wine. 89
2002 Reserva Especial Amaren (Tempranillo 14%) - cheesy v vanilla oaky v fruity, powerhouse extracted palate, vibrant fruit v grippy tannins; the latter a bit much but overall this has style. "Best red of the show." £25 Laithwaite's. 90-92
Bodegas Viña Herminia
2004 Crianza (14%) - quite tight and fine with cedar grained texture, revealing nice savoury fruit underneath. £8.49 Michael Hall Wines. 88-90
Bodega Ysios
2004 Reserva (13.5%) - lots of coco and choc oak but this has real class, concentration and power all together; very taut framework of fresh tannins and acidity, needs 5+ years to develop. "Joint best red over £10," so at £14.99 (Pernod Ricard UK has stockist info) better value than some of the dearer ones. 94
Bodegas Roda
2004 Roda I Reserva (14.5%) - attractive and intricate nose with 'cheesy' meaty notes; this is serious stuff with powerful solid mouth-feel v superb depth and class, savoury v liquorice finish; the alcohol is just a bit out of kilter but a great wine (I'd have graded it 95 otherwise). £35 Mentzendorff. 92-94
2004 Roda Reserva (14%) - again has that old-fashioned complex meaty cheesy nose; concentrated and refined palate, finishing firm yet elegant and well balanced. £24 Mentzendorff. 93-95

SHERRY-JEREZ

Bodegas Valdivia
La Rubia Manzanilla - pretty classic style showing fresh toasted almonds; very dry with nice refreshing yeasty tang. £7.50 50cl Laymont & Shaw. 87-89
Sacramonte Oloroso (20%) - Madeira-like intricate, weird and wonderful nose; intense roasted walnuts, super tangy and long although a bit 'hotter' than Lustau's (below). £15. 93
Hidalgo
Tesco Finest Manzanilla Pasada - an aged Manzanilla style, very crisp v oily and nutty with nice bite v weight; different. £6.99. 87-89
La Gitana Jerez Cortado Wellington VOS (17.5%) - 'lighter' alcohol, again nice walnut v almond v yeasty v caramel; dry intense long finish. £20 Mentzendorff. 90+
Lustau
Manzanilla Olorosa - attractive traditional dry Amontillado style with plenty of Brazil nut flavour; good bite and complex long finish. £11.49 37.5cl Laithwaites. 89-91
Waitrose Solera Jerezana Puerto Fino (16.5%) - roasted almonds mingle with an enticingly odd 'cheesy' complexity, a bit wacky; very dry v oily and nutty texture/flavour, delicious actually. "Best own label sherry." £7.49 = value. 90-92
Dry Oloroso (20%) - wow, what incredible flavours; powerful yeasty tangy characters v toasted hazelnuts and caramel; very long developing finish. £17 Laithwaites. 95
Beltran Domecq at Harveys
Fine Old Amontillado VORS (19%) - voluptuous haunting nose, rich and nutty v very dry and alive; lovely style, class and length. "Joint best dry Sherry." £20 Beam Global. 95
Palo Cortado VORS (19%) - caramelised hazel/walnut with fresher almond notes too; tight and tangy palate, once again classy and long v dry and intense. £20. 90+
Sandeman
Royal Esmeralda VOS Dry Amontillado (20%) - richer and more 'caramelised' than above, delicious tangy yeasty flavours set against walnut and Brazil 'sweetness'. £11 Stevens Garnier. 92-94
Fernando de Castilla
Antique Oloroso (20%) - more vanilla and caramel than some of the others; tight, tangy and complex though with enticing roasted nut flavours; also a bit 'hot' but it's very nice. £20 Boutinot. 90

Portugal: Lisboa wine focus

"Stretching out to the north and west of energetic Lisbon, this big wine-producing region used to be called Estremadura... renaming it 'Lisboa' seems logical (captain) thereby closely associating location and identity with the Portuguese capital... The most common grape varieties planted here are, for reds, Aragonez or Aragonês aka Tinta Roriz (isn't that often the way just to add a little charismatic confusion, and the Spanish call it Tempranillo, Tinta Fina, Cencibel...), Touriga Nacional, Castelão and Touriga Franca, with expanding plantings of Syrah and other French varieties..."

Available as a special 20-page report with pics focusing on the exciting Lisboa wine region and featuring these ten wineries and my reviews of their ranges: Vale da Capucha - Quinta de São José, Sociedade Agricola Labrugeira – Vale das Areias, Quinta de Sant'Ana, Quinta do Monte d'Oiro, Quinta de Chocapalha, Marta Vine - Azulejo (Casa Santos Lima), Félix Rocha – Quinta da Ribeira, Quinta do Pinto, Companhia das Quintas - Quinta de Pancas.

Plus three extra winery profiles in different regions: Aliança Vinhos de Portugal - Bairrada, Dão. Douro Valley: Quinta do Portal (including a Vintage Port retrospective 1995 to 2000) and Quinta do Romeu (organic)...

And two bonus retro features: Niepoort Port 'masterclass' led by Dirk Niepoort including Garrafeira, Colheita and Vintage ports spanning a century back to 1912...
And my tasty Algarve and Tavira wine and food touring article...

All yours for a mere £1.99 - this special report is published in PDF format and emailed to you once I receive confirmation of payment from PayPal (pay by card or use your own PP account, although you don't need one to do so: select it in the drop-down menu).

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French wine e-magazine English wine guide Cava guide Slovenia & Croatia Portugal special

"Vasco da Gama Bridge and Tagus River, Lisbon" - Photo by Jose Manuel from www.imagesofportugal.com.

MORE ON PORTUGAL HERE.

Wine Education Service NI: new dates added in Belfast

The fully updated programme of wine tastings, wine workshops and wine courses scheduled in Belfast from summer 2016 to spring 2017 is (drum roll)...

Friday 1 July 6.45-8.30pm Champagne & sparkling wine tasting £36

We'll sample and compare six top-notch bottles of fizz from around the wine cosmos, including well-known favourites such as Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, alongside a few eye-openers from the Southern Hemisphere like New Zealand, Australia or South Africa... Add some sparkle to your weekend!

Big Turkish wine export push

An adaptation of this Turkish wine report was first published on Decanter.com on September 30th 2004: I've since added a bit more information and opinion. Click here to view my notes and thoughts on wines tasted on this delight-ful (ho ho) Turkish wine trip...

Wine Education Service NI events May & June

The next tastings and courses running in Belfast city centre are:

ESSENTIAL WINE TASTING course - £125 for 5 sessions on Tuesdays 19.00 to 21.00 starting 28 May to 25 June. More info on this five evening course here: wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory.

The Wines of Spain - Thursday 30 May - £30 or two for £50
"Around eight Spanish red, white and rosé wines will be tasted and talked about, including classic examples from northern Spain - e.g. Penedes, Priorat, Rioja, Navarra, Galicia - central Spain - e.g. Ribera del Duero or Toro - and southern Spain - e.g. Valdepeñas, Valencia & Jerez..."
Le Tour de France one-day wine workshop Saturday 1 June: £80 for the day including lunch, about a dozen wines for tasting and 'discussion', course notes and tuition. More details about this and other workshops here: wine-education-service.co.uk/workshop.

Thursday 27 June - Champagne & Sparkling Wines - £35 or two for £60

"A fizzy world tour starting in France with classic Champagne and other fine sparklers, then comparing with the ever popular Cava (a good one, of course), Italian 'new kid on the block' Prosecco, passing through the southern hemisphere (e.g. Australia, New Zealand) and ending up in England!"

Full details and on-line booking: www.wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast.

Or pay for Spain and Sparkling tastings by PayPal:

Select tasting:

April 30 Southern France £30.00 GBP April 30 S. France two people £50.00 GBP May 30 Wines of Spain £30.00 GBP May 30 Spain two people £50.00 GBP June 27 Champagne & Sparkling £35.00 GBP June 27 Champagne two people £60.00 GBP

A couple of Champagnes "of the moment" (and a classy Oz one...)

Updated Feb 2013.
"You may already have cracked open some Champers over Christmas with all the usual seasonal special offers floating around; and if you're looking for some last-minute New Year Eve's sparkling pleasure, here are a couple I've enjoyed recently, which are widely available in the UK (and Ireland for the first one). Mind you, there are some good deals on e.g. vintage Cava and other sparklers from around the globe too that look equally / more tempting perhaps (just don't buy the cheapest one as that's what you'll get). Or look to Australia for a touch of surprising class (see below)..."

Premier Cru Champagne Tesco Finest (12.5%) - made by leading co-op winery Union Champagne selected from their Premier Cru vineyards (classified as higher quality) with around 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, based on 2007 vintage wine although a non-vintage blend plus nearly one-third 'reserve' wines (small batches held back from other vintages and blended in to maintain the house style and quality). Quite fine fizz actually showing attractive aged toasted yeasty nutty aromas and flavours, nice fresh bite vs richer and rounder with bready cake-y notes on the finish. About £15 / €29, half-bottle on offer on-line for £9.99.

Champagne Louis Chaurey Brut M&S (12%) - fairly classy blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier resulting in an attractive subtle mix of lively and fruity vs toasted yeasty baked bread notes, not too dry (nor too sweet like some of them) but has nice crisp appley touches vs richer toastier oaty flavours. Good buy at £15 (supposedly half-price although I don't think I'd pay £30 for it), but this offer might well end today!

Added Feb 2013:
Croser Sparkling Wine 2007 Adelaide Hills, South Australia - came across a neglected note on this lovely wine sampled last year, one of Australia's finest sparklers (along with e.g. Pirie from Tasmania), which could be thrown up against the two Champers above and comfortably hold its own. A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a fair amount of bottle age, this has toasty honeyed almond biscuit notes, quite rich on the palate vs crisp tight refreshing finish, classy and delicious. €20+ in Ireland (imported by Gilbeys in Dublin), $31.50 in Aus.

More Champagne & other sparkling wine HERE.

Portugal: 'wines of the moment' (and restaurant tips in Funchal).

Or Portuguese 'holiday wines of the moment' since these recommendable bottles were sampled and enjoyed recently on the wonderful island of Madeira (a separate piece on two Madeira cellars is here), enhanced by a few eating-out tips where some of them were discovered. These are all convincing examples of just how happening Portugal now is on several different levels: well-made flavoursome wines, across the red white and rosé spectrum, fantastic diversity including many excellent (although sometimes difficult to get your tongue around pronunciation-wise) indigenous grape varieties and, to crown off the clichés, often good value too! 

WES Belfast update: wine tastings, courses and workshops

RMJ snorting Chardonnay @ the Ramada Encore.

LAST FEW PLACES! 'New Spain' tasting
Thursday 26 March 7 to 9 pm - £27.50

"We'll taste and talk about classic reds from, for example, Rioja and Ribeira del Duero and also venture into lesser-known territory like (real) Sherry country, Galicia for whites and Catalonia, including some very good Cava no doubt!"

WES NI wine tastings & courses in Belfast 2016

Vineyards overlooking Pinhao, Douro Valley

Saturday 30 January 2016: Spain and Portugal one-day workshop £90
Including at least a dozen wines tasted with your tutor, two-course lunch at the hotel and course manual - "We'll taste and talk about a selection of quality red, white, rosé and fortified wines highlighting the very different regions, grape varieties and wine styles found across the 'Iberian peninsular'.

Spain: "wines of the mo"

Simply Garnacha Rosado Borsao (13.5% abv) - very reliable and fairly classic style of full-bodied dry Spanish rosé made by Bodegas Borsao in the Campo de Borja region in Aragón. Great value too: £4.69 Tesco.

Mas Miralda Cava Brut Vintage 2011 (11.5% abv) - another reliable favourite fizz with attractive mix of refreshingly frothy and light underlined by subtle yeasty / biscuity flavours, off-dry and easy-going. Asda £6

Finca Manzanos 'Coleccion Privada' 2005 Reserva Rioja (13.5% abv) - lovely mature Rioja style - although still on fine form for its age - with smoky sweet vs savoury fruit, maturing 'cheesy' notes and silky mouth-feel. M & S £13.99 - looks like the 05 is gone, although the current 2007 vintage on their site should be good too.

Special Reserve Dry Oloroso Sherry, Barbadillo (Palomino fino, 19% abv) - classic slightly oddball dark and lush sherry yet dry and tangy with layers of complex roast nut flavours from mellow ageing. Bargain: Tesco £6 50cl.

More Chardonnay: France, Spain, Chile.

Languedoc-wines.com/Limoux

Following on from my '50 years of Chardonnay' in Australia feature, five other gratuitous Chardies enjoyed recently include:

Le Stopgap Chardonnay 2021 Vin de France, Jacques Depagneux (13% abv): 'Much of the blend comes from Limoux with a little from the central Languedoc and essential dash from the Mâconnais...'

Wine Education Service NI summer and autumn events

First of all, a reminder about the next evening tasting at beginning of July in Belfast:

North & South American wines tutored tasting

Thursday 2 July 7-9 pm - £27.50

"A whirlwind mini-tour across the American continent, northern and southern hemisphere, taking in 6 to 8 wines (depending on numbers) from the US, Canada (maybe), Chile, Argentina and any surprises from South America I can lay my hands on!"

Book online: Wine-education-service.co.uk

Wine Education Service: tastings & courses Belfast 2016 update

See below for the latest on forthcoming wine courses and tastings running in Belfast, plus a new evening tasting added to the programme at the end of April and updated PayPal button for card payments at the bottom.

Impossible castle in Slovenia

Saturday 30 January 2016: Spain and Portugal one-day workshop £90

LAST FEW PLACES LEFT!

WES NI latest: wine tastings, courses and workshops in Belfast

'Classic Grape Varieties' tasting Thursday 26 February - now sold out!

'New Spain' tutored tasting - Thursday 26 March 7 to 9 pm - £27.50

"We'll taste and talk about classic reds from, for example, Rioja and Ribeira del Duero and also venture into lesser-known territory like (real) Sherry country, Galicia for whites and Catalonia, including some very good Cava no doubt!"

Latest "wines of the moment"

Castillo Perelada Cava Brut Rosado (Monastrell/Garnacha 11.5%) - perfect red fruit summer fizz really. Deep cherry pink colour with tasty raspberry, toasted nut and chocolate biscuit fruit; fine frothy mouthfeel and refreshing off-dry finish. €4.85 on offer.

2009 Château La Grave Minervois (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan) - vibrant spicy black cherry, cassis and liquorice; juicy, fairly easy with soft-ish palate and nice fruity finish. €5.90 cellar door.

More "wotm" here.

German wines on the up

Wine exports from Germany increased by 10% in 2005 to a value of €475 million, according to the DWI (German Wine Institute), the highest for 20 years. This figure also includes some wines from other countries re-exported by German shippers. The UK remains their largest market with a 27% share, although down nearly 8% in volume yet slightly up in money terms (meaning less cheap crap sold and at last the Brits are buying better quality German wines), with the USA accounting for 16% and Netherlands 12%...