News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: For every tasty dish there’s a perfect partner

By Kilkenny Now 17th January 2020 0

I recently enjoyed the company of a woman who owns a wine bar and the chef who works for her. Unsurprisingly, the conversation turned to matching wine to food. It is an unnecessarily complicated business, in my opinion, as well done by trial and error. But their opinions were interesting and here are a few […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: A winter warmer that is also nice chilled

By Kilkenny Now 6th December 2019 0

Last week I looked at wines you might like to try before the Christmas dinner. Afterwards, when the pud has been scoffed and the cheese is on the table, many of us will sip a glass of Sherry, that good old staple for winter days. It is one of the two great fortified wines. The […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: More bang for your Buck’s Fizz

By Kilkenny Now 29th November 2019 0

I celebrated Black Friday by not doing any shopping at all. But now that the madness is out of the way, ’tis the season for buying wine. I’ll run through some selections between now and Christmas, starting with the sparkles. In our family, after Santa’s wonders have been revealed and applauded, we like a glass […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Sweets for my sweet with a hint of honey

By Kilkenny Now 8th November 2019 0

SOME people like to drink a dessert wine with, reasonably enough, their dessert. I like to drink them as my dessert. The sweetness of the wine combined with the sweetness of most puddings is just too much for my taste, but a glass of Sauternes, sipped just by itself, is a lovely end to a […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: It just rolls off the tongue …

By Kilkenny Now 11th October 2019 0

SOME years ago I was given a present of a wine called Gewurtztraminer which, because of its unpronounceable name, I took to be German. A Riesling, I imagined, or something similar. I was wrong on both counts. It is from Alsace, in France (although, come to think of it, Alsace has been in Germany a […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: African wines with a Waterford accent

By Kilkenny Now 23rd August 2019 0

SOME beautiful wine is made in Waterford but it’s not called Déise Delight or Vin de Dungarvan. The Waterford in question is in South Africa – the Waterford Estate in Stellenbosch, 70kms east of Cape Town. That’s where Jeremy Ord and Kevin Arnold have established a remarkable vineyard. European vineyards mostly grow a single variety […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: The last of the summer rosé

By Kilkenny Now 16th August 2019 0

AUTUMN is on the horizon, but for the last of the summer wine let me return to rosé, the great staple of barbecues, picnics and garden parties. It used to be looked down on as a sweet summer drink for people who could not decide between white and red. But I read that it has […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Like a white rag to a bull

By Kilkenny Now 2nd August 2019 0

By MICHAEL WOLSEY LIKE books and covers, you should not judge a wine by its label. But it is easy to be tempted by Zekor Garnacha Blanca (Dunnes €10) because of its distinctive label which features only those three words and a large image of a young fighting bull. Spain is mainly associated with red […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: A hot red from the black soil of Sicily

By Kilkenny Now 12th July 2019 0

LAST week I wrote about the wines of Gozo. From the north of that Maltese island, you can – if the day is clear and your eyesight good – see the coast of Sicily. What you are looking at is the region of Avola (the town of that name is a bit to the west) […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Little holiday island with some nice, big wines

By Kilkenny Now 5th July 2019 Post a comment

THE island of Gozo lies between Sicily and Malta. Politically it is part of Malta, but it is very different from the bigger island with its traffic jams and crowded urban centres. Malta always seems in a hurry. On Gozo they don’t know what the word means. It’s a gem of a place with sandy […]