Time for a change!

So this is a sadish day... we are moving on form our home on Blogspot... yes i know, there'll be a number of very sad faces out there! (cyber consoling pat on the back for!) Now I'm not saying that Blogspot did not more than adequately meet our needs over the last year or so- but now its time to take this Blog to a new level! That's why we've moved to.... (whisper) wordpress... I know- prob a little bit cheeky putting this link on this blog- But the people deserve an explanation!!

So from now on you can read all about our musings at http://www.woodberrys.wordpress.com/
Also for all those facebook fanatics out there you can now find us there under thomas woodberry wines.
Anyways- I hope you will all follow us over to our new home at Wordpress! And if not I hope you enjoyed all the blogs we've posted up at this address over the last year!

Last days to enter sweepstakes!!

First off... apologies to for taking so long to get back to the blogging- been pretty busy these last couple of weeks, what with our New Zealand wine dinner and our new promotion. Anyways this is just a little reminder that there is only a few days left to enter our sweepstakes we're having in store! Basically for anyone who doesn't know we've decided to throw together 2 competitions to coincide with our Woodberrys 5-A-Side promotion. Its pretty easy- there will be 2 draws for whoever guesses which team will win the World cup (whoever wins will get a case of wine!!) and the second one is for whoever guesses the golden boot winner (the winner gets a magnum of prosseco!!) Obviously we can't keep it going right up to the final so we'll have to stop taking in entries after the group stages are over... But hasn't it been an interesting world cup so far? The Brazilians are playing actual football, Maradonna turned out to be a pretty decent manager, the French are all but out and the English aren't good as expected... well somethings never change! So if you think that the English team might actually rally, or that David Villa might start knocking in the goals at any stage now then you've only got a couple more days to get into the store and enter!

Chateauneuf-du-CRAP???

Well as you can guess from the title this blog takes a good look at the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region in the south of France. Its famous for a couple of reasons- firstly its got a cool name, the popes new house, and a cool name is really what its all about! Just look at the d'Arenberg wines in Australia! However, cool name aside some people question the regions legitimate claim to being among the best wines in the world. It gained a huge amount of popularity when the messiah of wine Robert Parker started singing its praises all those years ago- and since then not only has the region gone from strength to strength but it has also made Robert Parker an honoury member of their village! Well can you blame them???? After all since he started promoting the wines in the states, sales have increased fourfold!! And all they do is make him an honoury member??? I'd make him King!

Anyways- so the wines are sometimes accused of not being worth the price... because they're are a little too rustic and of limited appeal. Now this is where i could go on and on about how the region allows 14 different grape varieties, and has such an array of different soil types that its preposterous to even suggest its got limited appeal! But you know what- that's not what wine is about! Its important to know these things if you're producing wine, and its even interesting if you like wine a lot! But at the end of the day, what makes wine so universally appealing is- ironically- its inconsistency. Each vintage is different, each grape is unique, and most importantly- everyone's palate is absolutely different! So i could tell you all about how i really like the wines form this region, but that's just my opinion! At the end of the day these wines just agree with my palate, not all mind, but definitely i have tried some great wines from around there and i didn't think they were overpriced or of limited appeal! So give them a try- because that's what its all about! For those who stick with the same bottle of wine all the time, that's grand but you shouldn't be afraid to branch out- lifes too short...

And now for something completely different!

Alright, so for something a little different today I'm going to be focusing on Coffee.... but not just any coffee- THE BEST COFFEE I'VE EVER HAD! Let me put this in context... for years there i never once had breakfast... my morning routine consisted of standing out in the back garden with my boxers on with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. And for 5 or so years that was what i woke up to... But recently- and I mean majorly recently i quit the cigarettes... yes yes, I now walk around in a daze, constantly agitated by how itchy the nicotine patches are, chewing an inordinate amount of gum, and being genuinely amazed at how nice flowers smell.... But what's my point??? Well I knew the real challenge would be those moments i used to enjoy a smoke on my own- like the coffee in the morning... so i abstained from the coffee for a while, simply out of not wanting to ruin my new healthy lifestyle by waving temptation in front of my face.

But yesterday morning i decided to have a coffee- made from my swanky espresso machine! And i realised that if i don't want to smoke, then I'll have to have a coffee that will be so good i won't even have time to think about smoking! Now my choice was Maria Sole (like the build up to the plug?) which we sell in the store! But it was easily the best coffee I've ever had- here's why! It didn't have that big caffeine kick to it, which is nice because then it simply gives you an alert calmness, also it didn't have a big acidic side to it either, which is fantastic because i suffer from chronic indigestion and heart burn, and finally it was full of flavours- and that's what made me think about doing the blog on it, because with wine the thing I've come to love is how different flavours pop up on your palate and you have differentiate between them. Now maybe it was my taste buds coming back to life after years of smoking, maybe the coffee was absolutely amazing- but one thing is for sure, the coffee distracted me form ever even thinking about cigarettes!

So there you have it- a coffee so good, it completely distracted me from ever even thinking about that which I could not live without for so long! Now that my little spiel about my endeavours to quit smoking are over, we'll get back to normal order soon with some bizarrely cleverly titled blog about wine like.... I don't know.... Chateauneuf-du-CRAP???

Talk to ye soon!

Rapberry Lemonade just the thing

We’ve got two new Pressé varieties; Raspberry Lemonade tastes as gorgeous as it looks. Real raspberries and real lemon juice give this drink a fresh zingy taste. Or perhaps our Organic Orange & Jasmine; a zesty blend of real orange, lime and lemon juices with a hint of fragrant Jasmine would be more to your taste? A perfect to unwind in the garden with at the end of a busy day of sunshine.


 Why not give them all a whirl and then let us know what you think…maybe one of our fabulously fruity fresh faces could become a new firm favourite! Or maybe you'll stick with the Old favourites like Organic Elderflower or traditional Organic Lemonade. All Belvoir pressés are currently on offer at two bottles for €5.

Interesting facts about wine!

Well obviously there are numerous facts about wine... but are any of them really all that intresting??? Indeed the google search of Interesting facts about wine really only brings up mostly just facts... which is for the most point simply stuff that is obvious! So the point of this Blog is to wade through the list of facts, so that we can put the more interesting ones on display! This way the next time you are having a conversation about wine you can actually uses the phrase- "Interesting fact about wine!", Without having to settle for the less riveting "Fact about wine!".

So number one- when a wine is young, the nose is referred to as the aroma, but if the wine is older its generraly called a bouquet!

Number 2- Romans discovered that mixing lead with wine not only helped preserve wine, but also gave it a sweet taste and succulent texture. (Come to think of it when there was lead in the pipes in Galway i did notice sweet and succulent notes!) Poisoning has often been cited as one of the causes of the decline of the Roman Empire! Well i find it interesting... maybe thats becasue is studied classics....

Number 3 (makes number 2 that little bit more interesting... maybe...)-The prohibitionists, or the “drys,” in the early twentieth century fought to remove any mention of wine from school and college texts, including Greek and Roman literature. They also sought to remove medicinal wines from the United States Pharmacopoeia and to prove that Biblical praises of wine were for unfermented grape juice.... riiiiggghhhttt.....

And lastly at number 4 (obviously there are way more than four interesting facts out there about wine, so feel free to leave some in the comments box!)- Oenophobia is an intense fear or hatred of wine... This is useful for any number of reasons, million dollar question on who wants to be a millionaire... etc... but i just find it ridiculous that anyone could have an INTENSE hatred of wine- I get the fear, because that's what a phobia is, an irratioanal fear of something harmless! But to hate wine... intensely?? well thats a new one!

Anyways there's my top 4 interesting facts about wine that should stand you well at the next fancy pancy dinner party you attend! Feel free to add some of your favourites too!

Damn my forgetfulness!

So I new this date was coming up and i was really excited about it and everything.... then i forget all about it! What am i on about??? well our blogs one year anniversary obviously! Anyways just wanted to say that have enjoyed doing the blog over the last year and hope everyone has ebnjoyed reading it- might get a little wierd at times (like the pinotage post) it might be a little funny hopefully (like the bluffing your way through wine tasting post) but i always hope you find it entertaining! So after a year if there is anything you would like done differently- like maybe not go for so many exclamation points!!!! please let me know!
Also while I've got you ear! June 16th- keep this day free! Thats right- we've finally gotten around to organising some sort of wine tasting event. We'll be focussing on New Zealand wines- which i know will be a hit with everyone. So while we don't have much more info on it than that, we thought we'd let you know cause spaces will be limited! Anyways you can easily book your place now by e mail, phone, or popping into us in the store!
So one alst time- happy 1 year to us, and thank you everyone who has read the blog over the past year... and don't worry, we can only get better at it!