Hi everyone,
Well, I'm new to blogger, but I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Andrew, and I want to write about wines, among other things! But this blog is specifically about wines. I hope to use it to convey my good and bad experiences of wines to you the readers. But first, a little more about me...
I'm almost 35 and have been drinking wines for a number of years, but over the last 8 years or so have been able to slowly develop my pallete and tastes for wines. I have many other past times such as cars, driving, reading, creative writing, music, movies and so on. I also love to cook and do so whenever I can. My professional background is administration, customer service and sales support, but am currently looking for a new career. I would really love to make a break into the wine world and hope to do so very soon.
One of the things that has helped me develop my taste for wines recently is the fact that my parents made the bold move of emigrating out of Ireland some 6 years ago to the Corbieres in south east France. Their village, Quintillan, is a picturesque and peaceful stone village nestled in the middle of vast areas of vines. The local vingerons produce some of the nicest wines I have tasted including some absolutely wonderful Fitou. Another local speciality is the vin doux, which is a fortified wine, also known as an aperitif. Much sweeter than a normal wine, its meant to be drunk before a meal as an appetiser drink and to help stimulate the appetite. Predominant grapes grown in the region are Carignan, Chardonnay, Grenache, Mourvedre and a few others in smaller amounts. There are some large producers that manage to export their wines to Ireland including Gerard Bertrand and the Mont Tauche winery, the latter of whom supply some excellent wines to Marks & Spencer. The next time you are in M&S, I would urge you to have a look at their French section, and pick up one of their Fitous. These are made by Mont Tauche and are wonderful wines.
Finally, if anyone has a recommendation for a wine for me to try, please feel free to email me or contact me through blogger and I would be happy to reply. You can also contact me with any questions you might have about my posts, or feedback.
Thanks for reading!
Andrew
