BUBBLE BROTHERS – CORK WINE MERCHANTS

Not so long ago there was a wine tasting using twitter, which we helped with, by supplying the wine to be tasted.

Now twitter is to be the venue for a dinner party co-ordinated by unfeasibly energetic, musical, youthful &c. Dublin cook Donal Skehan.  He’s come up with a three course menu, and will post recipes and shopping advice over the next few days.  Between now and Saturday, if you’re joining in, you buy the ingredients, cook the meal and enjoy the results, using twitter to share the ups and downs with everyone else following.

Someone using twitter dropped me in it by suggesting that I might offer recommendations for wines to suit Donal’s menu.   I don’t mind, really – it’s rather flattering.   Here are my thoughts on the matter, though please don’t treat this as something you can Get Wrong (or Right).  You can’t.   It’s not a test.  It’s for fun.

To read more about it and to have a look at the menu, head over to the Good Mood Food blog.  Twitter people, #twinnerparty is where it is at.  wine-searcher.com is a handy search engine for wines, if you’re looking for something in particular.

Goat’s cheese salad
I’ve tasted some Sicilian whites (look out for Cataratto, Grillo, Inzolia grapes – sometimes blended with Chardonnay, or with each other) that would do well here with the earthiness of the beetroot and the pronounced flavour of the cheese – something neutralish, with nutty aromas, good acidity and a little fullness in the mouth. A dry prosecco – very popular, and fun – might fit the bill, too, and is probably easier to find.

Roast chicken
A Chardonnay with a little oak would do nicely, but the honey and parsnips make me think the aromatic qualities and rich body of a Viognier would really be a good match. A quick look around suggests that you’ll find interesting examples in Ireland from all around the world – not just the grape’s home in the Rhône Valley in France.

Red drinkers should try something that will complement, not overpower, the flavours of the food. I’m fond of the Beaujolais cru wines (all made from the Gamay grape) with roast chicken: Fleurie is the most well-known, but there are nine other villages to choose from. Look out for a Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, or Juliénas. If they’re a few years old, so much the better. Pinot Noirs from the New World: New Zealand or California, say, are a reliable, juicy choice too.

Banoffi pie
If you’re still going, we have a brilliant, inexpensive Spanish dessert wine, made from the sherry grape Pedro Ximenez, to go with this: sweet enough to match the pie, but with a spine of acidity that gives it its own identity among all that sweetness.
With all due respect to the mighty banoffi, I wouldn’t break the bank. A half bottle of any fully sweet white dessert wine would be worth investigating here. Might need a glass of water on the side, though.

I hope you all have fun on Saturday – I look forward to reading what happens.