Beat the January Blues with a little wine Education!

An informal and fun way to discover a whole world of wine!

€160 for 6 Weeks Limited to 8 Places

This course runs for 6 weeks, one evening per week, starting on Tuesday 2nd of October. The Wine Appreciation Course will give a comprehensive overview of the wines of the world. The various styles, vintages and the relationship of food and wine will all be covered. Each evening we will sample a selection of wines, notes will be provide. (Should you wish detail information that can be provide also) Each Class begins promptly at 7.30 pm and will run for one hour and half.

The next course, will begin at 7.30 on Tuesday January 28th, and will run every Tuesday until Tuesday 3rd of March.

Wine School Key Features:

• Basic tasting techniques including putting words to wine
• Tasting the major grape varieties
• Discovering your favourite styles of wine

The Tasting Schedule

Introduction to French Wines

Introducing the various styles, grapes and wine philosophies of the leading wine producing country in the world. It starts from basics and it covers France’s principal wine regions and grapes.

Introduction To Australia & New Zealand

Australia is country that is emerging from a bit of an identity crisis, now looking to produce regionally distinct wines. We reckon Australia has never made better wines. New Zealand has nailed it’s flag to great Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. Come and sample Clare Riesling, Marlborough Sauvignon among others.

Introduction To Argentinean, Chilean and South African Wines

Much like Australia these countries that boomed for one style of wine and are now looking to attract people with their regionally distinct styles of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc,  Malbec, Carmenere, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Introduction to Spanish & Portuguese Wines

Spain the trendiest wine country at the minute. This course will acquaint you with Rioja, Rueda and Rias Baixas along with Tempranillo, Albarino and Garnacha. Portugal long in the Shadow of it’s bigger neighbour produces some stunning  Vinho Verde and Douro reds.

Introduction To Austria & Germany

Germany and Austria are fast become a customer favourites with their fruit driven stylish reds and crisp refreshing whites. This week is the one that surprises most!

Introduction to Italian Wines

This will introduce you to some of the major wine regions of Italy, a country that we could focus a whole six week course on and only cover one region. Areas covered will be Piedmont, Veneto and Tuscany.

Places can be booked by emailing tadhg@woodberrys.ie or alternatively by calling 091-533706

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Chenin Blanc; something for the Adventurous

The largest producer of Chenin Blanc is South Africa (around 50% of all plantings), however it originates from France and there are many great examples of it in the Loire. But the South Africans have taken to it as their national white grape. This doesn’t mean it is always treated with the respect it deserves! It often over cropped and blend to make cheap bulk wines. The wine is usually made into 2 styles a dry style with lots of tart pear and apple notes and some ginger spice and a slightly off dry style, with richer flavors of ripe pear, passion fruit, and honeycomb.

Mulderboscch ‘Steen op Hout’ Chenin Blanc 2017 €17.95

Sourced from mature vines grown predominantly in Stellenbosch, with one component being grown in Darling. This is a great example of richly flavoured Chenin Blanc from an excellent vintage. It has wonderful ripeness yet retains freshness and vibrancy from the first nose right through to the lasting finish. Ripe tropical aromas of mango, pineapple and papaya are lifted by a crisp, refreshing apple note. The palate is defined by a delicious fine mineral texture leading onto a succulent mid-palate. The final impression is one of a full flavoured, yet precisely poised Chenin Blanc. Equally lovely with roast chicken as with baked fish or just pair with good friends

 

A returning hero!

When I first started working in Woodberrys there was one white wine that had a diehard cult following, Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, but unfortunately within a short space of time the company importing the wine had folded, thanks to the Great Recession.  Over the years at trade shows we have tasted the wine, which is a good as the memory every time! We have left cards with people at stands, but it was only this year that someone came back to us, and now we are proud to announce the return of a hero.

Raise a glass to Mulderbosch Sauvignon and its stable partners. Since its founding in 1989, Mulderbosch Vineyards has widely been accepted as one of South Africa’s foremost wine producers. Since the first vintage in 1992, Mulderbosch has endeavored to represent innovation, flair and excellence producing quality wines from South Africa’s Stellenbosch and Western Cape winemaking regions.

In a cool corner of Stellenbosch, some of South Africa’s best white wines – Chenin Blanc in particular, but also Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – are produced by Adam Mason and his team. In recent years, the quality has been refined in special releases such as single-vineyard Chenins Blancs, while the label also produces a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé made from grapes grown for the purpose (not left over from red winemaking), a noble-rot dessert wine and Bordeaux-style blends under its Faithful Hound label. See thee full range of Mulderbosch wines here.