Summer 'wines of the mo': Languedoc, Campania, Western Cape, King Valley

James and Catherine Kinglake from domainebegude.com

Domaine Bégude Le Secret du Sud Gewurztraminer 2016 Pays d'Oc (13.5% abv) - The Gewurztraminer variety has obviously adapted well to this beautiful spot in the hills just north of Limoux (off the road to Carcassonne); this delicious example is full-bodied and rich-textured with the trademark rose water and lychee characters, tasty rounded and exotic yet has a little 'chalky' freshness on the palate too. Expensive although you wouldn't easily find a similar quality Gewurz from Alsace for much less. £11.99 The Vineyard, Ormeau Road, Belfast. Very nice with scallops and Clonakilty pudding starter at Graffiti restaurant across the road (BYO).
Sassi del Mare Falanghina 2016 Beneventano IGT (12.5% abv) - One of southern Italy's most seductive white grape varieties, this Falanghina, grown on the Campania region hills is ripe honeyed and 'oily' with apricot and hazelnut freshened by a lighter touch and bite on the finish. Bargain: £5.99 Lidl.
Sangiovese Rosé 2016 King Valley, Australia (13% abv) - Tasty full-flavoured rosé style from north-eastern Victoria balancing sweet red fruits, lightly creamy texture, quite weighty mouth-feel and zingy finish. Might be made by De Bortoli although Asda doesn't say who on the label: £8.98, one of their 'Extra Special' range.
Zalze Shiraz Mourvedre Viognier 2016 Western Cape (14.5% abv) - Powerful spicy yet quite soft red made by reliable SA winery Kleinzalze (I also like their Chenin blanc white) that would go well with al fresco food, BBQ etc. Ripe berry fruits and rounded palate with peppery aromatic hints. £7.48 Asda.

New Zealand 'wines of the moment': Pinot Noir, Gewurz/Riesling and Chardy

Dom Maxwell The Bloom 2016 - An aromatic towards exotic yet zesty and quite dry blend of Riesling and Gewurztraminer from Waipara region (near the coast north of Christchurch on South Island). Went well with a mix of Indian dishes (especially tandoori fish) although not too spicy. £14.99 / £9.99 ? (currently out of stock) Naked Wines (you have to become an 'Angel' and invest £20 a month to get the special prices - check out their website for background on Naked's winemaker funding strategy).

Villa Maria Private Bin East Coast Chardonnay 2016 - Very reliable subtle Chardy with lightly buttery nutty side and underlying freshness. Widely available for about £10.

Coolwater Bay Pinot Noir 2014, Marlborough from Endeavour Vineyards - One of Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' labels, this is good value Pinot with nice perfumed fruit and silky texture. £10 (sometimes on offer at £8).

Lay of the Land Ben Morven Farm Pinot Noir 2015, Marlborough, made by Mike Paterson (pic. from www.nakedwines.com) - Tasty Pinot balancing elegance and easy-drinking style with a little depth and class: fragrant cherry fruit with fairly soft mouth-feel and fresh bite to finish. £18.99 / £12.99 (see comment above about Naked Wines' prices: these wines are probably available on their US site too).

Wine Education Service NI tastings and courses autumn 2017

Updated June 2017

Château de La Ligne owned by Belfast businessman Terry Cross
From www.chateaudelaligne.com

Saturday 30 September 2017 - 'International grape varieties' one-day workshop £90

Including lunch from the hotel's bar menu, course manual and at least a dozen top-quality classic varietals tasted, compared and talked about... We'll pick half-a-dozen or so pairs of wines made from the world's most popular grapes, each pair being the same variety but sourced from different wine regions. For example, contrasting New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc vs Sancerre from the Loire Valley, Australian Shiraz vs Syrah from the Rhone Valley, German vs USA Riesling... Runs 10.45 to 16.45 approx with lunch break.

Essential Wine Tasting five-week course £125 (£129 by PayPal) - Thursday evenings October 5, 12, 19, 26 and 2 November 2017 from 6.45-8.30pm.

Six high-quality wines tasted each session covering the world's great wine regions, grape varieties and winemaking styles, as well as some lesser-known examples. We'll also talk about tasting, enjoying and keeping wine, how different types of wine are made and how climate and what goes on in the vineyard shape them as we go along each week, in addition to many other general topics. Course manual included. Full details can be found on the WES site HERE.

Thursday 30 November 2017 - 'Irish themed' wine tasting! £32.50

This evening tutored wine tasting (starts 18.45 to 20.30 approx.) will focus on six to eight wines (depending on numbers) with a link to Ireland, whether produced by a winemaker originally from Northern Ireland or an Irish-owned wine estate; such as Château de ​l​a Ligne​ in Bordeaux, Creu Celta​ in Catalonia or the Miquel family in the Languedoc...

The venue for these events is the Ramada Encore Hotel in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. More info and online booking via the Wine Education Service site (payment by bank transfer or cheque):
Wine-Education-Service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast or Facebook.com/WineEducationServiceNI (sign in to Facebook to view).
Or you can pay by card or your own PayPal account by clicking on the button below (you don't need a PP account to do this though: just click on 'pay as guest'). You can change the quantity of tickets on the secure web form:

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International grapes workshop 30/9/17 £90.00 GBP EWT course autumn 2017 £129.00 GBP Irish wine tasting 30/11/17 £32.50 GBP

Click here for more about PayPal payments and your privacy. WES terms & conditions apply, which will be emailed with your invoice or can be viewed on this blog HERE. Wine Education Service NI does not sell wine - our wine tastings and classes are designed to be purely educational and informal while focusing on getting more enjoyment out of tasting wine; we source high quality representative samples from a variety of different retailers.

Classic Australia?

This pick of Australian 'wines of the moment' might challenge your perception of what could be perceived as 'classic'. Or maybe not; but they do show there are plenty more interesting Aus wines out there, usually from lesser-known and more 'distinctive' sub-regions and/or using quirkier winemaking, that stand out from the shelf-filling brands (even if one of them is)... (Updated 22/04/17).

Limestone Coast Chardonnay 2015 'Exquisite Collection', South Australia (14% abv) - Makes a literally refreshing change to find an oak-free Oz Chardy, this one is nevertheless full-bodied and oily textured with lots of ripe citrus, peach and melon fruit, but nicely balanced and good value too. €8.69 Aldi Ireland / £5.79 UK.

Campbell's Rutherglen Muscat 'Liqueur Wine', Victoria (17.5% abv) - 'Classic' in some ways (and Rutherglen is a demarcated wine zone), as in a very old-fashioned time-honoured Oz style, but hardly in the sense that most people would recognise, it takes a little courage to try it (especially as the price will inevitably limit its appeal). Made from late-picked Muscat grapes and aged for many years in a 'solera' type cask-maturation process (blend of different years). This is a superbly luscious and complex dessert wine with raisins, cooked marmalade and tangy roast walnut/pecan nut flavours. Try with blue, unpasteurized matured or goats' cheeses, fresh black coffee or drizzle a bit over plain vanilla ice cream. £14.99 half-bottle Grange Wines, Holywood and other good wine shops. Photo from campbellswines.com.au.

Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Peter Gambetta, Margaret River, Western Australia (14.5% abv) - Offers a fair bit of class and depth for the money, with more restrained blackcurrant and plum flavours, light coconut oak spice and nicely textured tannins. Tesco £10.

Frankland River Shiraz 2014 Ferngrove Vineyards, Western Australia (aged in French oak) - Closed up to start, fairly dense and textured, quite subtle actually but definitely with Shiraz-esque peppery fruit; needs a little air to open up and some BBQ-ed food maybe. £11 Marks & Spencer.

Jacob's Creek Sparkling Shiraz Dry Cuvée, South Eastern Australia - Fun frothy red, a bit strange at first if you've not tried it before but very nice in the end; off-dry finish I'd say. £10 Sainsbury's.

The Gum Vineyard Shiraz 2015 The Lane, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (aged in French oak) - Another more restrained style, spicy berry fruit with good depth and structured finish. Quite expensive although sometimes on offer: M&S £15.

Barossa Petit Verdot 2013 Chateau Tanunda, South Australia (13.5% abv, 18 months in French oak) - Deep coloured still for its age, spicy with ripe red pepper and cassis/damson followed by savoury and roast coffee hints, nice chunky texture yet maturing/softening too. Good with Cantonese duck in black pepper sauce. £10 M&S.