News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Red or white? Or how about a glass of yellow?

By Kilkenny Now 21st February 2020 0

In eastern France, up near the border with Switzerland, they have been celebrating La Percée du Vin Jaune,  the Opening of the Yellow Wine. The festival is usually held in February;  the exact date varies to coincide with the release of the new vintage of this region’s unusual wine. I was  inroduced to it down […]

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 […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Try Madeira, it’s not just for cakes

By Kilkenny Now 15th November 2019 0

I am loathe to mention the C-word before November is out, but there are only five wine-buying weeks to Christmas so it’s time I started looking at seasonal wines. We buy two types of wine specially for Christmas: sparkling and fortified. There was a time when most houses had a bottle of Sherry or Port […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: A spell in the cooler works for reds as well as whites

By Kilkenny Now 1st November 2019 0

To chill or not to chill? That is the question. The answer is that a little spell in the fridge is good for many wines, including reds. Just don’t overdo it. Don’t use your refrigerator as a wine store. And that goes for whites as well as reds. White wines, Champagne in particular, are very […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: A good screw to pop your cork

By Kilkenny Now 25th October 2019 0

I AM not certain what constitutes a callow youth but I’m pretty sure I was one, way back in the day, when I got a summer job in what passed for a posh restaurant in the Belfast of the late 1960s. I served a very glamorous woman, dining with equally glamorous friends, but told her […]

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: Rashers, eggs and a glass of champagne

By Kilkenny Now 4th October 2019 0

THERE’S nothing so simple that somebody can’t complicate it. Last week Britain’s Guardian newspaper produced a small magazine on how to prepare breakfast. It devoted two whole pages to making a bacon sandwich and another two to poached eggs. In case you missed it, I’ll give you an edited version. BACON SANDWICH Fry or grill […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: The grape that got banished by royal command

By Kilkenny Now 27th September 2019 0

FRANCHE Comté is a region of Burgundy close to the border with Switzerland. For centuries, control swung between France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Philip II of Spain was the man in charge back in the mid-sixteenth century and he took a strong exception to the Pinot Blanc style of grape from which they […]

News Opinion

WINE O’CLOCK: Say cheese and keep on smiling

By Kilkenny Now 13th September 2019 0

DO people still do wine and cheese parties? They used to be very trendy but, then, so did spats, cravats and deerstalker hats. All the same, cheese and wine do go very well together and there are so many lovely Irish cheeses on the market nowadays that there’s always a good excuse to try out […]