Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: These winter warmers are wines for all seasons

By Kilkenny Now 16th October 2020 0

As temperatures drop and the nights draw in, thoughts turn to cosy drawing rooms, a blazing fire in the hearth, a fragrant casserole in the oven and a nice glass of Sherry to sip while you wait for the cooking to finish. It’s wishful thinking, really. Modern houses aren’t big on either drawing rooms or […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: A Rioja by any other name

By Kilkenny Now 11th September 2020 0

The patience of restaurant staff often surprises me, particularly nowadays when they have to work behind a mask and deal with customers who don’t know the Covid rules or have decided to ignore them. But even before Covid reared its ugly head, I witnessed many an example of forbearance. I recall, in particular, a debate […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Invite the neighbours to your barbeque

By Kilkenny Now 7th August 2020 0

Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire are small French towns facing each other across the River Loire, good neighbours but serious rivals when it comes to the production of excellent white wine. Both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are from the Sauvignon Blanc grape, and while there are obvious similarities, they do have distinctive tastes. ‘Fumé’ is the shortened form […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: When it’s time to reach for the rosé

By Kilkenny Now 5th June 2020 0

The lovely weather seems to have abandoned us but Met Eireann says it should soon be back, so don’t put away the barbecue just yet. When the sun comes out we reach for the rosé.  It’s Ireland’s favourite summer wine and, although I’m not a big fan, I have to admit it goes well with […]

Food & Drink News

WINE O’CLOCK: Mighty oaks that will grow on you

By Kilkenny Now 22nd May 2020 0

All wine spends time in a vat of some sort before it is bottled. Often it will be aged in a wooden barrel and usually the wood will be oak. The oak imparts aroma and flavour to the wine.  I don’t know if it is actually the taste of oak – I’ve never tried eating […]

News

WINE O’CLOCK: A glass full of feelgood factor

By Kilkenny Now 8th May 2020 0

I am always a bit suspicious when I see the label ‘organic’ on any item. The definition tends to be vague, the product expensive and I have never found the flavour of the meat, vegetables or whatever, to be noticeably enhanced. I am particularly  suspicious of ‘organic’ wine because the term has no legal standing. It […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Online wine to beat the lockdown blues

By Kilkenny Now 3rd April 2020 0

Some off-licences have closed and many of us can’t get out to the ones that are open. But most wine stores operate good online sales and delivery services, so, if you’ve time to spare, you should try browsing a few websites. You may come across unusual wines that never make it onto the shelves. Some […]

Food & Drink News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Trump’s trade war on wine backfires

By Kilkenny Now 28th February 2020 0

President Trump has been waging trade wars on several fronts. In October last year he decided that the enemy was European wine – and, incidentally, Irish whiskey and Scotch. He imposed a 25% tariff on these imports in retaliation, he said,  for EU subsidies to European aerospace giant Airbus, which is a rival of America’s […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Why we all like to chill with a Chilean

By Kilkenny Now 20th September 2019 0

I HAVE an instinctive, and probably somewhat snobbish, preference for European wines over those from the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In particular, I believe the best wine comes from France. But that sweeping statement can be hard to justify given that French production is often inconsistent and the product tends to be more […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Season of mists and mellow wines

By Kilkenny Now 30th August 2019 0

A LOT of nonsense is written about matching wines to seasons. If you like a wine in winter you unlikely to go off it in the spring, so drink what you like whenever you like to drink it. But there is a degree of commonsense behind the matching. Obviously in summer we look for crisp […]