Learning about Wine at Ballymaloe Cookery School
Malcolm Davies of Duval-Leroy Champagne visited Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cookery School, and spoke with the students about Champagne. Pictured below, with Malcolm on a lovely sunny day, are Michael Kane and Rose of Curious Wines, Cork and Charles Robb, of Robb Bros Wine Merchants, Portadown.
Caro Feely, author of ‘Grape Expectations’, and owner & winemaker at Irish owned & Irish run, biodynamic Chateau Haut Garrigue, Bergerac, South-West France, and Tomas Clancy, well known wine writer, recently gave a co-presentation at Ballymaloe on The Irish Wine Geese – Irish people both long ago, and present day, who are involved in winemaking around the world. A fascinating insight into generation of Irish people in all corners of the wine world, with a great selection of wines to taste as well. We also served ‘Irish Wine Geese’ wines at another recent event in Ballymaloe
In Association with John McDonnell, Wine Australia Ireland, Ballymaloe hosted a Riesling Revolution – a wine tatsing with three winemakers from great Riesling producing areas – Carl Ehrhard, Rheingau, Germany, Severine Schlumberger, Alsace, France and Tim Adams, Clare Valley, South Australia – and we had over 140 people turn up in Ballymaloe for this amazing Riesling tasting – Riesling Rocks! A video clip of the event can be viewed here and also see Billy Lyons blog here
Our annual Easter wine tasting for guests of the house, at Ballymaloe, was this year given by Fionn Little of Bubble Brothers Wine Merchants, Cork.
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 Rosso di Montepulciano 2009
Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Grande Annate 2006
Avignonesi Desiderio Cortona 2006
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
Ballymaloe welcomed French winemaker, Marinette Garnier, Maison Jaffelin, Burgundy to a wine tasting in the Grain Store as part of their ongoing series of visiting winemaker events throughout the year. Burgundy is one of France’s great wine regions, and Marinette introduced the following wines from the acclaimed 2009 vintage –  Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru ‘Cote de Lechet’, Puligny-Montrachet,  Meursault, Fleurie, Pommard, Nuits-St-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin. Our thanks to Mark O’Connor of  Dalcassian wine merchants for arranging this visit.
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.
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 have recently welcomed Andi Punter and Maria Luisa Manna of Franz Haas winery, Alto Adige, Italy, in association with Gerry Gunnigan, Liberty Wine Merchants. Franz Haas has producing estate wines since 1880, the year in which the present-day winery was established. A family-run estate, it was handed down through the generations to the first-born son Franz Haas.
Samuel and Colm, sommeliers at Ballymaloe were delighted to recently catch up with some of thier French winemaking heroes, at a recent tasting of Le Caveau with Pascal Rossignol
Samuel, pictured below with Luc de Conti of Chateau Tour des Gendres, Bergerac
and with Bertrand Sourdais, of Domaine de Pallus, Chinon.
Colm with Pascal Verhaeghe of Chateau du Cedre, Cahors
Samuel with Luc de Conti and Pascal Verhaeghe
Fleur McCree of Little Beauty Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand, pictured below with Marurice O’Mahony, Wine Alliance, Cork based wine importer, during their visit to Ballymaloe.
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 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 –
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)
