The inaugural international Literary Festival of Food and Wine took place at Ballymaloe House, Grainstore and Cookery School over the May Bank Holiday wekend, 3 – 6 May. A magical weekend was had, with many wine & drinks events, and here are a selection of photographs and some links to write-up on the weekend. We are already looking forward to 2014 Literary Festival!
Jancis Robinson MW Wine Grapes presentation and tasting at the Literary Festival
olm pictured with Jancis Robinson MW at Ballymaloe Literary FestivalGer Buckley, Master Cooper, Midleton Distillery pictured with Bill Yosses, Pastry Chef, The White House
Tom Doorley and John Wilson ‘Wine & Words’Peter Corr and Literary Festival wine & drinks crew
Douro – still and fortified with Maurice O’Mahony, Wine Alliance
Mary Dowey and Pascal Rossignol ‘Going Natural – New Trends’
Ger Buckley, Master Cooper, Midleton Distillery
Sherry with Leslie Williams, wine writer, the Irish Examiner
Rieslings to be Cheerful with John McDonnell, Wine Australia IrelandNick Lander, Joe McNamee, Paul Flynn and Niamh ShieldsSingle Pot Still Whiskey from Midleton Distillery matched with Irish Farmhouse Cheese by L Mulligan
A Wine Goose Show with Susan Boyle
Pierpaolo Rapuzzi, Ronchi di Cialla, Friuli
Penfolds Grange and The Rewards of Patience with John McDonnell, Wine Australia IrelandJohn Wilson, The Irish Times and Juan Gil, Albarino, Rias Baixas
Tom Lynch, El Comandante Wines, MendozaWine & Literature with John Wilson, wine writer, The Irish Times
William O’Callaghan, Longueville Irish Apple Brandy and CiderMaurice, Pascal and Geraldine checking the wines.Sherry in The Big ShedDaphne launching the literary festival with NyetimberJohn Bowman with the box office crew – Nicola, Aoife and Ka
With Eric Narioo of Les Caves des Pyrène and Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau
Talk and wine tasting of a selection of artisan wines, at Ballymaloe House, Sunday 26th May, 6pm
Eric from Les Caves de Pyrène, Surrey, and Pascal from Le Caveau, Kilkenny, both specialise in artisan wines sourced from individual growers, that are ‘true to where they come from, which are made by hand with minimal interventions in the vineyard and winery, and which show maximum respect for nature and the environment’.
Vino Bellotti Bianco 2011, Cascina Degli Ulivi (Piemonte, Italy)
Vouvray ‘la Dilettante’ 2011, Pierre et Catherine Breton (Loire Valley, France)
Vitovska Amphora 2007, Vodopivec (Friuli, Italy)
Cheverny Rouge 2011, Clos Tue-Boeuf (Loire Valley, France)
Vino di Anna 2011, Eric Narioo and Anna Martens (Etna, Sicily, Italy)
Peza do Rei 2010, Adega Cachin (Ribera Sacra, Spain)
Villalobos ‘Wild Vineyards’ Carignan Reserve 2010 (Colchagua Valley, Chile)
This is a great opportunity to listen to two passionate and experienced wine experts in this area, over a very pleasent, informal, yet educational talk, and a tasting of different artisan wines.
Sunday 26th May, 6pm, at Ballymaloe. €15
To reserve places, please contact Colm colm@ballymaloe.ie  Tel 086 0859034
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– Visit of Jean-Charles Cazes, of Chateau Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux, to Ballymaloe on Sunday, 10th March 2013, in association with Michael Barry, Barry & Fitzwilliam
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– Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine, 3rd – 6th May 2013 with national and international food and drinks writers from Ireland and all over the world, coming to East Cork for the inaugural international ‘Literary Festival of Food and Wine’ – including Jancis Robinson MW, Mary Dowey, Tom Doorley, John Wilson alongside iconic food names, to name but some of the 40 speakers (see www.litfest.ie – full confirmation of programme of events & details soon)
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– Hennesy Cognac event, at Ballymaloe, 10th October 2013, in association with Edward Dillon & Co
‘A New Zealand Wine Adventure in Ballymaloe’, which took place on Sunday 16th September.
With New Zealand winemakers Larry McKenna, Escarpment Wines, Martinborough & John Hancock, Trinity Hill Wines, Hawkes Bay.
John HancockLarry McKenna
Escarpment Wines are one of the success stories of the Martinborough region in the north island of New Zealand. The vineyards are dwarfed by the stunning mountain backdrop of the Aorangi Ranges, and the Te Muna Valley, where the vineyards are situated, means ‘secret’ or ‘special place’ and that is exactly how the people at Escarpment feel about the land and what it means to live, grow and make wine there.
Trinity Hill was established in the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawkes Bay to produce world class wines that just happen to come from New Zealand. The emphasis is on the classic ‘Bordeaux’ varieties and Syrah for red wine from the Gimblett Gravels and Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc for
A great tasting with Larry and John, and thanks to Anthony Tindal, Nigel Werner and all at Tindal Wines for organising the visit of these two great New Zealand winemakers.
It’s a long way from Clare to here …. ‘A Taste of Clare in East Cork’
was held recently in Ballymaloe, with winemaker Dave Palmer, Skillogalee Wines, Clare Valley, South Australia
& Artisan food producers from Co. Clare, Ireland, Birgitta Curtin of The Burren Smokehouse and Siobhán Ni Ghairbhith, of St.Tola Goats Cheese
Dave Palmer, SkillogaleeSkillogalee wineryBirgitta of Burren SmokehouseBurren Smokehouse Co. ClareSt TolaSt Tola cheese
St Tola goats
Skillogalee is a family-owned, highly acclaimed, boutique winery set amongst wooded hills in the picturesque Clare Valley, in South Australia.‘Our favourite South Australian winery’ Lonely Planet
‘Australian Top 100’ – Matthew Jukes
Niels Verburg, owner & winemaker at Luddite Wines, Bot River, South Africa gave a terrific wine presentation, including a selection of Chenin Blanc’s from South Africa and four different vintages of his award winning Shiraz – finishing off with a tasting of his freshly pressed Olive Oil. After Niels presentation & tasting, we all enjoyed Ted Berner’s Wildside Catering traditional South African Braai, with Niels on hand demonstrating the art of Sabrage to open Sparkling Wine.
Line-up of winesSabrage demoEnjoying the BraaiNiels and Jason
The guests enjoyed what was a fantastic line-up of wines from Bubble Brothers, including Chateau Beaucastel and Avignonesi including their rare Vin Santo
Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Grande Annate 2006
Avignonesi Desiderio Cortona 2006
Château de Beaucastel "Coudoulet de Beaucastel" Côtes du Rhône 2007 & 2009
Avignonesi Vin Santo 1997
Avignonesi Vin Santo 1997 – this was a real, rare treat – the reputation preceding the tasting of this unique Vin Santo, lived up to its expectations in the glass! Please see the link here to learn more about the Avignonesi Vin Santo
Fionn Little with his grandmother, Mrs. Myrtle Allen, and some of the guests enjoying the tasting.
John Quinlan, from Shanagarry, Co. Cork, and wine & bar man at Ballymaloe, is presently in The Barossa, South Australia learning all about making wine – who knows, with John’s new found expertise, there might well be a Chateau Shanagarry in the future! John is working in Thorn Clarke winery in The Barossa – pictured below in the middle of harvest.
John Quinlan at Thorn Clarke
We wish John a busy and sucessful vintage, and no doubt John will also take the opportunity to catch up with many of the famous names in the Barossa Valley, and beyond, whom he met during their visits to Ballymaloe over the years, along with everything from the Wine Australia presentations and tasting by John McDonnell, Wine Australia Ireland, who is a regular guest wine lecturer at Ballymaloe Cookery School. See Yalumba’s Jane Ferrari visit to Ballymaloe here, and Turkey Flat’s Christie Schultz visit to Ballymaloe here (also mentioned in today’s Irish Times wine column, on The Barossa, by John Wilson).
Delighted to welcome to Ballymaloe, Chris and Robyn Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer Wines, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia, pictured here taking some time out of their busy schedule, and ahead of a very special tasting in Cork city on Tuesday 6th December.
Chris & Robyn Pfeiffer at Ballymaloe
Chris gave a terrific presentation & tasting on Australia’s Sweet & Fortified Wines in Cork City’s Hayfield Manor Hotel, with John McDonnell, Wine Australia Ireland (John is well known to all here, as a regular guest wine speaker at Ballymaloe Cookery School). The event was held at Hayfield Manor where the Sommelier is Sandra Biret-Crowley. Our thanks to Sandra and all at Hayfield, and to Chris & Robyn Pfeiffer, and John McDonnell, Wine Australia Ireland, for another great wine event. Some photos of the evening –
Samuel, Sandra and Billy
Pictured above with Ballymaloe’s Samuel Chantoiseau, is Sandra Biret-Crowley, Sommelier, Hayfield Manor and Billy Lyons (see Billy’s article about this great event, on his blog ‘Restaurants and Food in Cork’ here)
A photographic tour of a wonderful part of the world that is the famous region of Sherry – steeped in tradition with an amazing food, and wine, culture stretching back over 3000 years. Photos by Hazel Allen, Ballymaloe, taken during her recent visit to the region – capturing the magic of this special corner of the wine world.
We were delighted to have welcomed to Ballymaloe in 2011, Cesar Saldana, Consejo Regulador, Jerez in May, and Oscar Bayo, of Gonzalez Byass in November.
Hazel in JerezOutside Gonzalez ByassMap of the Sherry regionWonderful table decoration at Gonzalez Byass lunch hosted by Vicky GonzalezAn example of the amazing Sherry bodegasSome well known signatures on these barrelsExplaining the magic of Sherry - Teresa Aumesquet of Bogegas HarveyThe different soils - including the white chalk Albariza soilList of the different soilsA tasting in El Puerto de Santa MariaJJ&S - John Jameson & Son barrels, being 'seasoned' with Oloroso, in Lustau, Jerez, before heading to Midleton distillery, just down the road from Ballymaloe.Lustau, in Jerez'Running the scales' - the Solera system of fractional blending over many yearsIn El Puerto de Santa MariaTasting room in Harvey's
