7 minute read
Wine World
Wine
World Summer time wine pleasures
Mairead Robinson suggests celebrating summer with some sunshine wines
Well it has been a long time coming, and we are all delighted to be getting back out into our gardens and enjoying some fine weather. There is nothing nicer than an al-fresco lunch, picnic or indeed dinner, in the fresh air on a warm sunny day or evening. And so to celebrate the season, and the lifting of restrictions, this is the perfect time to enjoy some delicious food and a glass or two of something special.
For me summertime wine has always been about Rose. I am talking about a fragrant delicate floral aroma with crisp citrus flavours. Some of the best comes from the South of France and some of the too sweet hails from California. And in between, there is a lot that is wonderful, and admittedly a lot that is not! But if your summertime wine is to go with light seafood, salads, fish and cheeses, a chilled semi-dry rose could be the perfect choice. Rose wine is no longer considered just ‘for the girls’, but rather a serious wine choice when it comes to food pairing. It can be the perfect choice with some Asian foods, for example. Renowned winemaker Francois Lurton makes a wonderful rose from Sauvignon in Southern France that is enjoyed throughout the world. Indeed, Villa Maria in New Zealand have produced a wonderful pink wine called Blush Sauvignon using 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Merlot. With aromas of passion fruit and fresh herbs, passion fruit and cranberry, its makers describe it as a wine to enjoy when you are loving life and those around you! Blush Sauvignon is a pleasantly unique wine in my experience, a pink wine that tastes like Sauvignon Blanc! newly launched Sparkling Rose Prosecco is a great addition to her collection. Light and elegant, yet lively with notes of summer fruits – raspberries and strawberries – this beautifully presented wine is a top summer choice. The bottle itself is just gorgeous, covered in tiny glass hearts! It is an extra dry wine, exactly to my taste when it comes to ‘pink wine’. She has also added an organic Cava to her collection which in my opinion tastes just as a good Cava should – dry and crisp, aromas of fresh blossom and apple with fresh biscuit flavours. It is aged in cellars for 15 months, giving it the Reserva status. Besides being organic, this is a vegan friendly wine also. It is an excellent Cava. Now when thinking about bubbles, not many people are as familiar with Cremant as they might be with Champagne, Prosecco or Cava. And yet Cremant is a group of sparkling wines made with the same technique as Champagne, but from outside the Champagne
Support for the grieving in exceptional times
We have all been coming to terms with different types of loss over the last year.
For those among us who are bereaved, it has been particularly heartbreaking as the usual ways we come together as families, friends and communities to mark our grief have been dramatically changed due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
As we approach the first anniversary of the first COVID-related death in Ireland on March 11, we still can’t come together to show our support for the bereaved like we once did.
At Irish Hospice Foundation, we are continuing to support those struggling with the grief of a COVID death, a death from other causes and those living with a previous loss that feels much more difficult during these exceptional times.
Through our COVID-19 Care & Inform hub, we have created a series of vital resources to help those planning a funeral, supporting children and teenagers to find new ways to say goodbye and acknowledging and coping with grief in these incredibly difficult times. They are all included in our new free bereavement resource pack, Support for Grieving in Exceptional Times, to make sure no-one faces bereavement without the care and support they need.
Our Bereavement Support Line, the first of its kind in Ireland, has also received hundreds of calls since launching last June. It’s there for any adult who needs a listening ear in this time of isolation. It is also a freephone service 1800 80 70 77. Available Monday-Friday, 10am-1pm.
Our free bereavement pack is available to download from hospicefoundation.ie/Support-for-Grieving-in-Exceptional-Times/
Please remember, you are not alone in grief
For more information on all our supports for those grieving, please visit our Bereavement & Loss Hub on our website. hospicefoundation.ie
region. Cremant employs the same labour-intensive secondary bottle fermentation as does Champagne. And a bottle of Cremant De Bordeaux is a wonderful celebration of summer, and if you have not tried it yet, now is the perfect time to discover real quality bubbles at a lot less cost than Champagne. Maison Celene have been producing Ballarin Cremant in Bordeaux since 1947 and specialize in the production of sparkling wines.
Besides the fabulous wines from France, there is another European country that often gets overlooked for its wines, and that is Portugal. Certainly in my experience, wines from Portugal can represent very good value for money. Anybody who has holidayed in Portugal can testify to that fact. I have visited the Dauro in northern Portugal which shares the river with Spain (Ribero Del Duero) and have tasted some excellent wines from that region. Quintada De Porrais enjoys thirty six hectares along the Dauro, most of it devoted to vineyards with some olive groves also. Most of the vineyards are 65 or even 85 years old, and their wines are 60% white and 40% red. Grapes are hand picked, and the quality is excellent. Staying with Portugal, when it comes to summer wines, the traditional Vinho Verde is a lovely choice. Light and refreshing, it is a perfect picnic wine. All of these wines are perfect to enjoy this summer, so check out your local off-licence for best quality wines. As the song goes ‘Summertime, and the Living is Easy’! As a footnote, one of the most fascinating things about having a keen interest in the world of wine, is the continual emergence of weird practises and extremes that wineries will go to in an effort to ‘improve’ their wines. The latest such development that was highlighted in a recent edition of Decanter Magazine, is the process of ageing wine under water. This has developed as a niche trend around the world going back some seven or eight years now.
Participants of this practise say they are keen to experiment with ageing in a new environment in nature and that there is evidence of underwater conditions affecting a wine’s flavour. This could possibly be linked to the condition of wines discovered in shipwrecks after spending decades nestled on the ocean floor. Think Titanic! With renowned wineries such as Veuve Clicquot and Gaia Winery trialling bottles matured under water, the question is can you actually taste underwater wine ageing?
As far as I can see the jury is still out on this one with some trials reporting differences between ‘underwater wine’ and bottles or vats aged on land, but there are varying opinions and research is still very much an emerging area.
As I said, there is no end to the wonder in the wonderful world of wine!
Over three hours of Beethoven music in Senior Times podcast!
In the latest of the Senior Times Classical Collection podcasts, Senior Times editor John Low traces the life and work of Ludwig Van Beethoven, arguable the most influential mind in Western music.
To commemorate the 250th anniversary last year of the great man’s birth this fascinating podcast features many of his most popular works, as well as some less frequently heard compositions and rarities.
Works featured include the 4th, 6th, 8th and 9th symphonies, piano concertos, the glorious Septet, chamber and choral works –and arrangements of Irish folk songs!
Win four Beethoven three-CD sets!
Senior Times, in association with Naxos Music, are offering four three-CD sets of Beethoven music featuring many of his most loved works as well as some less known ones.
To be in with a chance of winning one of these sets, simply answer this question: Which year was Beethoven born?
Send your answer to: Beethoven Competition, Senior Times, PO Box 13215, Rathmines, Dublin 6. Or email john@slp.ie The first six correct entries drawn are the winners. Deadline for receipt of entries is 30 June 2021.
