The Winebuff Blog

Archive for the ‘Paddy’s Diary’ Category

The Wine Buff 2011-10-25 13:20:00

Oct
25
2011
The Wine Buff Plasencia is up and running for less than a month, and though there are teething issues, overall the Spanish launch is working smoothly.The feedback from Asun is great; she is already experiencing repeat customers, and, visitors to the her shop are delighted by the quality/price of The Wine Buff selection. We have sourced locally a most incredible organic Olive Oil, it will go on sal...
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The Wine Buff 2011-10-17 12:39:00

Oct
17
2011
Two new Wine Buff Franchise stores have opened this month, the first in Ranelagh Dublin, and the second in Plasencia Spain. We wish Ivor in Ranelagh, and Asun in Plasencia, huge success with their new ventures.The Wine Buff Plasencia is the first Wine Buff outlet to open outside of Ireland, and the fabulous reaction to our concept in Spain mirrors the reaction received in Ireland over the past dec...
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The Wine Buff 2011-09-11 21:01:00

Sep
11
2011
Photos from a recent wine trip to La Mancha in Spain. La Mancha is actually the largest wine producing region in the world.Amparo and Kojak received us in their beautiful home in the town of Pedro Munoz. This is the region of Spain that produced the well known "Don Quixote" Novel by Miguel de Cervantes.For the aperitif we were treated to a magnificent Iberico Ham accompanied by a delicious bottle...
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Wine Buff St Emilion Christening

Sep
01
2011
the 20th of August and our first bottle of wine opened on our new premises in St. Emilion. The wine is "Ovidio" and the owners of the Bodegas, Angel and Amparo, are present. Not a bad setting for a inauguration, a medieval cellar in the heart of this beautiful village. The wine barrels we have placed the table/door upon are from "Chateau La Fauconnerie". The juice you see is for decoration purpo...
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Farewell Jean-Marie and Rest In Peace

Aug
24
2011
On Saturday last, 20th of August, the "Wine Buff" lost one of it's greatest supporters, Jean-Marie Zeli, 54 yrs young. Jean-Marie was my brother-in-law and great friend. He also featured among our most trusted and reliable wine tasters. His passion for great wine was infectious and certainly rubbed off on me when I moved to St. Emilion in 1988. Our hearts go out to Jean-Marie's wife Claudine, an...
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Paul O’Connell Bordeaux 2011

Aug
16
2011
Photos taken in Bordeaux on Saturday morning before the France v Ireland friendly. The man in the Irish rugby shirt needs no introduction; Alain, the guy on Paul's left, is a friend of mine from St. Emilion. The carnival atmosphere at the match was absolutely electrifying, and was certainly matched by the physical impacts on the field. Interesting to note that the French players see...
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How great is Cork?

Aug
10
2011
Photo 1. The tree you see stripped of it's bark is a "alcornoque" or "Oak Cork" tree. The cork used to seal wine bottles actually comes from the bark of this oak tree. The bark is stripped every 10 to 15 years. Photo 2. This is very expensive, and absolutely delicious, "jamon iberico", or, cured ham, from the same region, the pigs here are fed on glands from the holm oak tree and the alcornoque...
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Lunch in Toledo

Aug
07
2011
Pictures taken of Toledo en route to Bodegas Del Saz yesterday. We stopped for lunch and had the most beautifully prepared, incredibly flavorsome, wild boar burgers, you can possibly imagine. Met with our suppliers for dinner and again had beautifully prepared local food, accompanied by many delicious wines, in a very ordinary restaurant. The baby lamb for our main course was absolutely mouthwater...
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Plasencia Spain, New Wine Buff franchise

Aug
05
2011
Back in Plasencia, Spain, visiting with the "Wine Buff's" latest partners, Asun and Juan Sanchez-Ocana. Asun and Juan will open their "Wine Buff" franchise in October 2011. Plasencia is a beautiful touristic city in the north of Extremadura. Today we spent finalizing the layout of their premises and planning their trips to France and Ireland.You can tell from the photos of our accommodation that I...
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Video Wine Buff Shop St. Emilion

Jul
30
2011
This gives you a vague idea of what the medieval grain silo is actually like. The stone mason will sand blast the entire silo, finish the stone arches correctly, and then re point the joints where necessary. Now that the exterior wall is stripped back, and the stone can breathe correctly, the damp odor has all but disappeared. Another three walls to strip back and then we allow a few months for th...
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