Learning Wine One Glass At a Time

As a novice to wine culture it can be very daunting to learn all the technicalities such as the geography, terminology and even the varieties of grapes is so huge. Nevertheless if you really open yourself up to the experience of tasting wine, the knowledge will follow, one glass at a time. I, myself have been a bartender for most of my career and know many things spirits and cocktails, however wine is so vast and complex I never gave it a chance to learn more until now.

This week I will be learning about Peique Tinto Mencia (2018) from the region of El Bierzo, Spain. Located about three hours northwest of Madrid, the terrain is mostly hilly and so the grapes are hand-harvested. The Mencia grapes are grown on vines between forty five and fifty five years of age on clay and sandy soil which surprisingly comes through in the tasting of the wine. Currently, it is run by Bodegas Peique with Jorge, Mar and Luis Peique looking after the whole operation.

The wine itself gives off a beautiful deep ruby colour. The aromas include hints of red fruit on the nose. Tasting notes include slight acidity at first which then evolves into a nice dry earthiness with subtle notes of blackberry in the background, before finishing with nice and easy tannins.  Medium bodied, overall a genuinely nice bottle of wine for those who enjoy dry and earthy notes in a red. A new drinker of wine, there is no need to over-complicate flavours. See what you can taste by comparing it to flavours you had before. If you have a bad memory like myself, jot down your tasting notes so you can compare it to futures wines.

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A Rioja for all occasions: wine tasting

Join us for Spanish wine tasting on Friday October 18th between 5pm and 7pm. Come and sample some great Rioja wine and their new competitors from Ribera del Duero, Jumilla and more as we travel along our very own wine road. We will be introducing some new

Entrance tickets are €5, which includes a €5 voucher redeemable against any wines purchased that weekend*. Tickets can be gotten here

*Voucher Valid until 20th October.

Mencía: What you need to know

Mencía (“Men-thee-ah”) is a medium-bodied red wine grape that produces high quality wines with floral and red fruit flavours. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s not surprising, Mencía only grows in Spain and Portugal on the Iberian peninsula.If you love Pinot Noir and other medium reds, then Mencía is something worth investigating.

Mencía has lovely flowery aromas, strawberry, raspberry, black licorice, pomegranate and cherry sauce.It has a deep red colour with some violet edges.The palate tends towards medium to full bodied with recurring notes of cherry, red currant, pomegranate and some peppery spice. Like all Iberian grapes it doesn’t mind the kiss of oak or even a big hug.

Image from http://www.winefolly.com

Mencía grapes are grown in Bierzo, Valdeorras and Ribera Sacra in Spain, and Dão in Portugal. The highly prized Mencía wines generally come from older hillside vineyards where the grapes are more concentrated. In the mountainous Ribera Sacra region, the position of the vineyard slope will also affect the ripeness of the grapes.

Check out some of our great Mencía’s at our wine tasting this Friday.

Spanish Wine Week Tasting

As part of #SpanishWineWeek we will be running a drop in tasting of Spanish wines Friday 15th March. We will have everything from Albarino to Tempranillo and loads more in-between. We will have a selection of wines from all over Spain including Bierzo, Rioja, Rueda, Ribera, Jumilla and Terra Alta open for sampling on the night. Admission is free and the tasting takes place in our shop from 17.00 -20.00 Friday 15th April.

Foodie Forum 2015

Last Tuesday we were delighted to be invited to give a presentation at The Foodie Forum 2015 in GMIT. The Foodie Forum is an interactive one day experience that showcases the abundance and variety of food on offer in Ireland and in particular along the West Coast. The day includes a series of Master classes with leading chefs and food & wine workshops, which we were privileged to be part of. We had lined up a tasting of Spanish wines and you can download our presentation here.

 

One for Him this Valentines

With Valentines day hurtling towards us rapidly we would like to recommend a nice bottle of red for the special man in your life. The Manium Crianza has all his wants wrapped up in one handy bottle! Its got a nice picture of an oldie style warrior, a little story about Homus Manium and to top it of a lovely drop of wine inside.

Homus Manium, was the name given by the Romans to the inhabitants of Bierzo because of their resistance and fortitude. Tiny hamlets, misty hills, running water, the passing of pilgrims lost in thought, thatched silos, all harmonise with the native variety, Mencía, rooted to rocks of quartz and slate, to make Bierzo a magical land for wines. 50-100 year old vines on terraced slopes are hand harvested and produce low yields of no more than 1.2kg per vine. 100% Mencia, spending 12-14 in French Oak Barrels.  The wine is a deep crimson colour that indicates the intensity and concentration of the wine. On the nose, there is plenty of toasty oak character, spice and pencil shavings overlaying a heady mix of blackberry, cassis and violets. On the palate, the structure is firm but with sweet tannins and an elegant, silky finish.

And to make it even better you can save €4.00 this February as the Manium  is on offer @€13.95 (Norm. €17.95)