When the opportunity arose to do a wine course in the cookery school I jumped at the chance. For once in my life it was lovely to learn about something that I was really interested in without a deadline date looming over me or knowing that I had to produce a thesis at the end. One thing is for sure, I definitely had no trouble completing the homework!
Laura Peterson of Vinamour Wines guided us though our vines and viticulture theory and directed our taste buds when it came to sampling the different wines. It was a wonderful wonderful four weeks and if you are interested in learning a little more about what we got up to then have a read of this post from Jean of CheapEats.ie who was also on the course with me. If you'd like to know a bit more about being a savvy wine shopper then check out this equally informative post.
The highlight for me though was the wine and food matching dinner at the end of the course. Niall Murphy, resident chef and manager of the cookery school, in conjunction with Laura put together a fantastic menu for us that showcased a variety of dishes from the many courses that are on offer in the cookery school as well as some of the wines we'd studied. Are you jealous? You really should be!
Below are the dishes we enjoyed and wines they were paired with.
A beautiful charcuterie selection paired with a 2011 Chianti called When We Dance.
Marinated cherry tomatoes paired with a 2010 South African Sauvignon Blanc called Circumstance.
Scallops with a pea puree and an orange and vanilla cream. We drank an Austrian Gruner Veltliner from Laurenz with this dish.
Lamb tagine with couscous, which is directly out of Niall's one-pot-meals class, paired with an Australian 2010 Syrah called Innocent Bystander.
With the cheese course we had a German wine called Wagner Stempel, a 2010 Trocken from Rheinessen.
Finally came dessert! Laura matched the rich dark chocolate and cherries with a sweet wine that went down really well with all of us. It was a black muscat from the USA called Elysium. A really perfect wine to accompany this decadent dessert.
Overall I was really happy having completed the four weeks and not just because I had a full belly and was slightly tipsy! I enjoyed meeting everyone who participated, and listening to Laura impart her knowledge. Actually it's often said that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing and this is definitely true in my case, I take more interest in wine now and enjoy it all the more, it's nearly an obsession and an expensive one at that!
Finally, a huge thank you to both Laura and Niall who were a perfect teacher and host combo. The course wouldn't have been half as enjoyable without them and I look forward to my next trip out to Donnybrook Cookery School. There's a plan to run a further course in the cookery school and my name is definitely down, God love my bank balance!
Note : Donnybrook Fair Cookery School invited me to attend the Wine Club free of charge for the purposes of possibly reviewing it. I haven't been paid for this review and the opinions expressed are my own.
