Christmas Eve 2014 so let us now look at two traditional wines we all love to drink at Christmas, Champagne and Sherry.
We’ll start with Champagne, all the supermarkets compete with a range of cut price Champagne at this time of year, mainly because this is the time of year we like to push the boat out and treat ourselves. There are certainly some good offers out there that are worth a look. Shop around and you will find some excellent value.
Pierre Darcys Brut AOP Champagne €24.00 (was €46 save €22.00)
Stockist: SuperValu, Nationwide
I like this Champagne it has lovely green apple fruit but with a lovely touch of yeasty/brioche character which is the appeal of this wine style. It is produced by Paul Laurent who is based in small village of Bethon south of Epernay, near the city of Sézanne in the department of the Marne. It is made from a blend of Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir in the brut (dry) style with Chardonnay dominating.
So where do the bubbles come from? In a nutshell all wines are made through fermentation when yeast turns sugar (in the grape juice) into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. Fermentation usually takes place in large vats, so the gas escapes. With an ordinary wine, that’s the end of the story; however Champagne include another step in the wine making process that involves adding a small amount of sugar and yeast, then bottling the wine, tightly capped to allow a second fermentation to take place in the bottle. Because the gas can't escape it becomes part of the wine in the form of tiny, delightful bubbles trapped inside the bottle.
Champagne is best served chilled; it is a very acidic wine and chilling it brings out the best of its flavours. A word of caution too, always be very very careful when you open a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine because the bottle is sealed under pressure and sometimes the cork can explode out of the bottle and hit you in the face, or even worse, your eye, once the wire muselet has been removed.
A few tips on how to safely open a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine:
Keep your thumb on the cork once you have removed the wire muselet (stopper)
Twist the bottle, not the cork, this means you have more control, a word of caution though; you’ll need strong wrists to manage this. Slowly twist the bottle keeping the cork firmly in place with your other hand, this allows a small amount of carbon dioxide to escape, keep twisting until the cork is safely out.
It is considered totally uncool for the wine to explode out of the top of the bottle, leave that for the Formula One drivers!
Always serve Champagne or Sparkling wine in a long flute shaped glass. This brings out the best in the wine and helps to retain the mousse (the technical name for the bubbles) the more effervescent and lively they are the better the quality of the wine.
Barbadillo La Cilla PX Sherry: €15.00
Stockists: O’Driscolls, Ballinlough; Cork. Deveneys, Dundrum; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Hole in the Wall, Blackhorse Ave; JC Savages, Swords an most SuperValu stores
I visited this winery in 1997 on a trip to Jerez which one of the best wine trips I have ever been on, bar none. This region is very under rated and the wines produced in the region are exceptional.
Barbadillo are one of the best known producers of Manzanilla in the whole of the Jerez region Founded in 1821 it is still a family owned business that brings together tradition and modernity.
Manzanilla is basically the same as Fino sherry but produced and matured around Sanlúcar de Barrameda, closer to the sea than Jerez, and the sherry from this town tend to have a salty character to them.
PX (Pedro Ximénez) is the name of a Spanish grape. It is usually used in Sherry to sweeten or darken the blends. Traditionally the grapes are picked and dried out in the sunshine on mats.
This exotic Sherry is made using sun-dried PX grapes which gives the wine a luscious flavour. On the palate sultana flavours backed up by a bit of caramel and toffee is the style. The wine is beautifully balanced though with a sweetness that is not over the top. It has lovely nutty, chocolate and Christmas pudding flavours which make it an ideal wine to serve at Christmas.
If you want a pudding with a difference, try Christmas pudding and ice cream with the PX poured over the icecream for added impact.
New Zealand Wine Fair – January 2015
Come and taste over 200 New Zealand wines in January 2015 and meet the people who make them. The New Zealand Wine Fair is a great way to start your new wine year. The event takes place in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Golden Lane, Dublin 8 on Thursday 22nd January, 2014 from 18:30 – 20:30.Tickets are priced at €15.00 each (over 18's only) or €13.50 each if you buy 10 tickets. To purchase your ticket please use the link below
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ultimate-new-zealand-wine-tasting-dublin-2015-tickets-12252494541
28 wineries will take part including: Ata Rangi; Ara Wines; Brancott Estate; Cloudy Bay; Delta Wine Co; Felton Road; Gardo & Morris; Greywacke; Hunters Wines; Kim Crawford; Lani Wines; Lawsons Dry Hills; Matua Wines; Nautilius Estate; Oyster Bay; Perigrene; Seifried Estate; Saint Claire; Sugar Loaf; Te Pa Family Vineyards; Tiki Wines; Tin Pot Hut; The Paddler; Tohu; Villa Maria; Wild Earth ; Wither Hills and Yealands Family Wines
More information at the Wine Diary www.jeansmullen.com
