Category: Wine Maker Visits

Gregory Alken, Febvre Wines, gave an wine presentation and tasting to the students on Tuesday 9th June 2009. With a lifetime of experience in the wine business, starting as a young boy accompanying his Father on wine trips to France, Gregory gave a fantastic insight to life in the wine business and wine in general. The tasting, which was a comparative tasting of 3 flights of 2 comparative wines in each flight. To start with we compared 2 very good, but different wines from the very popular region of Macon in Burgundy, including the Macon from biodynamic Dominique Lafon. www.comtes-lafon.fr We followed this with a comparative tasting of 4 reds – two from Bordeaux and two from Stellenbosch, finishing with Meerlust Rubicon  (owner Hannes Myburgh also has given a presentation to the students of Ballymaloe Cookery School two years ago www.meerlust.com) and Chateau Haut Bages Averous (which is owned by ‘Irish Wine Geese’ Chateau Lynch Bages).

A great evening and our thanks to Gregory. www.febvre.ie Febvre are also the national partners of Slow Food Ireland. www.slowfoodireland.com

 

Samantha Connew, senior winemaker at Wirra Wirra winery, McLaren Vale, South Australia. Samantha was named International Red Winemaker of the Year in 2007. Wirra Wirra are also biodynamic and Samantha discussed biodynamics during her presentation and tasting. She showed two wines – Wirra Wirra ‘The Lost Watch’ Adelaide Hills Riesling 2007 and Wirra Wirra ‘Church Block’ McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot 2006. www.wirra.com.au

100 Best Australian Wines 2009, by Matthew Jukes. (In fact 3 of the 100
wines are from Wirra Wirra)

We would like to thank Gary Ring, Straffan Wines for arranging this visit.
www.straffanwines.ie

 Attached photo – Samantha Connew with Gary Ring, Darina and Colm

We were delighted to welcome back Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau, Kilkenny - www.lecaveau.ie

Pascal gave a fascinating talk and tutored wine tasting on wines from Burgundy, and the up-and-coming region of The South-West of France. Pascal is originally from near Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, and his experience takes him from the vineyards of his native Burgundy, to being a Sommelier, to  running one of the best independent wine merchant business in Ireland for the past 10 years.  The students really enjoyed Pascal’s  presentation on Burgundy and the South-West of France.

Le Caveau won the Bridgestone Guide Wine Merchant of the Year 2005, and in 2008, Le Caveau were awarded ‘Fine Wine Merchant of the Year 2008’ by The Sunday Business Post. The Bridgestone Guide writes ‘The selection of wines M. Rossignol imports and his extensive connections with wine growers in France means that the wine company actually has pretty much all the wines your life needs. The shop is the most charming space in which to browse, service is superb and delivery is fleet. It would be hard to better Le Caveau.

Our  thanks to Pascal.

Update: Pascal has written a note about his visit to us here at the school.  Read it here.

We were delighted to welcome to the school on Thursday 23rd April 2009,Daniel Brunier, owner/winemaker of the famous Domaine Du Vieux Télégraphe,Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone. Daniel gave a fascinating presentation andtasting, included the 2005 Vieux Télégraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We wouldlike to thank Conor O’Brien of James Nicholson’s Wine merchants forarranging this visit.Vieux Télégraphe is one of the most renowned estates of the Southern Rhône.

Vieux Télégraphe is a large estate and there are about 45 hectares of redgrapevines planted, with an average age of around 55 years. Blessed with oneof the finest locations in the area, the particularly hot microclimate issuch that the Bruniers, owners of the estate for almost a century, are ableto harvest as much as a week ahead of their neighbours. Vieux Télégraphe’sblend is a typical one, with Grenache accounting for around two thirds, therest being made up of Syrah and Mourvèdre in roughly equal proportions, anda tiny bit of Cinsault.