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Category: Wine (Page 2 of 7)

Pop Goes The Wine Course

Spot of bubbly, anyone? Well, I am in the mood for celebrating, after all.

I’ve spent the past couple of months topping up my knowledge of all things vine-related with study for a WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) Intermediate Certificate, which culminated with a final exam last night. The WSET course (ably presented by Maureen from Premier Wine Training), has taught me, among other things, that this champagne from Bruno Paillard is really a rather good one to celebrate with.

Champagne Bruno Paillard

Champagne Bruno Paillard

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The Game Of Wine

Do you find that choosing wine can be a bit like a game of roulette?

You pick your bottle based on price tag and a vague memory of having drunk something similar in the past. You fill your glass and hope for the best.

Unlike beer, which, generally speaking, you can rely on to taste the same from year to year, this wine stuff just keeps bloody changing.

Harvest after harvest.

And that – depending on your perspective – is either the trouble with it, or the beauty of it.

It undoubtedly makes life interesting for winemakers and wine aficionados, but not a little tricky for you and me. Multiply grapes by regions by styles by vintages and the choices are bewildering. Though we may get to know broadly what it is we like in a wine when we taste it, we may not have the vocabulary to describe it much beyond red, white or bubbly. So we often rely on those more knowledgeable to navigate the vast cellars, taste widely and recommend. With any luck, they won’t come over all poncey in the process.

Wine Glasses

Pick a glass, any glass...

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All In Good Taste

Paddy's O'Granola

Top o' the mornin' granola

It is a testament to Paddy O’Connell’s superb selling skills that l would have bought his bags of granola regardless of what they actually contained. As it happens, Paddy’s O’Granola was well worth the investment, as my breakfasts lately will testify.

That granola was just one of the edibles either in my bag or in my belly following what was a thoroughly enjoyable visit to this year’s Taste of Dublin festival. The enjoyment was helped, of course, by the fact that the sun was shining. And there were lots of bubbles. Like so…

Veuve Clicquot

Recession, eh?

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