Wine Festival
The Sixth Annual Orkney Fine Wine Festival
9th – 16th June 2012
The line up for this year’s festival – still the only one of its kind in Scotland – has been finalised. As always, we thank our friends at some of Orkney’s finest restaurants, pubs and hotels for their co-operation in making the festival a week to remember for all involved, from visiting winemakers to you, the winers and diners.
We will be offering 10% off all wines purchased or ordered during the week, as well as our traditional prize draw for a very special bottle or two. But the main event is definitely...the events. Details of timing and costs for all of them are below. You can book by phone, email or in person – but check availability before making firm plans, as events tend to sell out in advance. Here’s what you have to look forward to in this, our sixth year:
Saturday 9th June, 12 noon – 4pm.
Shop tasting: New Wave Spain, with Duncan McLean
Wool & Wine, Broad Street, Kirkwall. Free.
In the past few months we’ve noticed (and tasted) an exciting new wave of Spanish wines. There’s nothing wrong with a good Rioja or Sherry, but today we’re going to focus on some less familiar varieties: Garnatxa from Terra Alta, Verdejo from Rueda and Macabeo from Yecla for instance. We’ll have a dozen or so open to contrast and compare – and just possibly a bit of Manchego and Picos Blue to accompany them. Drop in at any point for a glass or two, to check out our latest additions, and to meet other festival goers…
Saturday 9th June, 7:30 pm
Stars of the North Isle: Ata Rangi, with Bruce Kendrick
Café Lolz @ 21, Albert Street, Kirkwall. £35.00.
“When I asked winemakers to name New Zealand’s greatest producers, one name kept coming up: Ata Rangi.” It’s not just renowned critics like Robert Parker who shower Ata Rangi with praise: a pioneer since 1980 in the North Island’s Martinborough region, they’re widely recognized as one of New Zealand’s highest quality wineries. Tonight their wines will be matched with Lorraine’s signature light and flavoursome dishes, influenced by her years in New Zealand. Introduced by one of the UK’s leading wine importers, Bruce Kendrick (see Friday for more about him.) NB: Due to a block booking, there are very few places left for this event.
Sunday 10th June, 8.00 pm
Chill-Out Chile: with Anne Roque of Punto Alto
Judith Glue’s Real Food Cafe, Broad Street, Kirkwall. £35.00.
Real Food was launched last summer, and has carved out a great reputation as a relaxed, informal eaterie serving the best in Orkney produce, simply prepared. So join us for a relaxed, informal dinner featuring the delicious bistro wines of Punto Alto. Punto Alto is the Chilean venture of Chablis’s Domaine Laroche, and the evening will be hosted by the charming Anne Roque from Laroche. A relaxed Sunday evening with good food, good company… and excellent wine: Sauvignon Blanc, two Pinot Noir, a Rosé and a delightful sweet Muscat.
Monday 11th June, 7.00 for 7.30 pm
Lynnfield Lux: Treasures of South-West France: with Anne Roque of Domaine Laroche
The Lynnfield Hotel, Kirkwall. £55.00.
Anne Roque returns in a more formal setting, as host of this year’s festival Lux. After a winter of unprecedented success for the Lux dinners, the Lynnfield is flying high with their food and service. So we can expect a sophisticated multi-course dinner to show Anne’s superb wines at their best. Drawn from Laroche’s holdings and partners in various parts of SW France, we’ll be sampling aromatic Muscat, exotic Viognier, powerful Grenache/Syrah blends, and a rare and delicious sweet wine from Rivesaltes – vintage 1999. And representing Laroche’s home base, an elegant Chablis premier cru, Les Vaudevey. Elegant is the name of the game tonight! Aperitif in the lounge at 7pm, sitting down to eat at 7.30pm.
Tuesday 12th June, 7.30 pm
Goats do Roam: South African Safari with Mike Stewart
Helgi’s, Kirkwall. £35.00.
Importer Mike Stewart needs no introduction to festival regulars: his support has been tremendous since we started, and his colourful yet well-informed anecdotes enliven any wine tasting. He’s recently returned from a tour of South Africa, and tonight we match Helgi’s superior gastro-pub food with a range of Mike’s favourites: from quaffable, fruity Goats do Roam, through superb Burgundy-style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from exciting new producer Crystallum, to a rare and luscious sweet red to finish. Relaxed and irresistible.
Wednesday 13th June, 8.00 pm
1200 Years of Winemaking: Tenuta di Capezzana with Bea Contini Bonacossi
The Creel, St Margaret’s Hope. £60.00
Capezzana, grapes drying for Vin Santo
Duncan was lucky enough to visit this historic estate in 2010, and was greatly impressed by the quality of its wines and the history behind them. Documents dated 804 show vineyards already well established here, and the winemaking continues in beautiful renaissance buildings (‘only’ 500 years old). Most importantly, the wine is excellent: the focus is on the unique blend traditional in the Carmignano area (Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon) but there’s also a vibrant Rosato and a mind-blowing Vin Santo to finish. All introduced by Bea Contini Bonacossi, an eloquent and charming young member of this old family business. (An optional bus service will be laid on from Kirkwall to the Creel and back again. Contact shop for details: booking essential.)
Thursday 14th June, 5.00 pm - 7.30 pm
The Festival Wine Fair: With an All Star Cast!
The Town Hall, Broad Street, Kirkwall £15 at the door, or £10 if booked in advance
Now in its third year, our wine fair is for many the highlight of the festival: an opportunity to mingle informally with wine-makers and wine-merchants, as well as fellow wine-lovers, sampling up to 50 top-notch wines from all corners of the world, at all prices from £6 to £36. But all you pay is £10 (or £15 on the door): that buys you an empty glass with which to sample to your heart’s content! Last year was a bit crowded, so we’ve moved into the spectacular Town Hall: lots of room to lift those elbows, chat with friends, and navigate your way to the next table. There will be a distinct Italian flavour to this year’s fair, with Federico Giuntini Masseti of Fattoria Selvapiana and Bea Contini Bonacossi of Tenuta di Capezzana on hand to pour and talk about their wines. Bruce Kendrick and Mike Stewart of Liberty Wines will also be here to make sure the New World gets a decent showing. In such company, Duncan McLean may find himself relegated to the olive oil and balsamic tasting table! Come early and stay late, or pop in at any time for a few selected highlights. (There will be palate-cleansing nibbles at this event, but no substantial food.)
Thursday 14th June, 8.00 pm
Selvapiana Chianti Rufina, with Federico Giuntini Massetti
Caffe Lucano, Victoria Street, Kirkwall. £45.00
Perhaps the quintessential Italian red wine, Selvapiana’s Chinati comes from Rufina, the northmost smallest, and coolest part of this famous region. That makes it tangy, dark and acidic – the perfect match for real Tuscan food with its bold, earthy flavours. Winemaker Federico is passionate about his area and his wines, and Lucano’s Francisco is passionate about his area and his food: a perfect match! Expect a glass of Prosecco on arrival, followed by a traditional Italian antipasti, primo, secondo - accompanied by a succession of increasingly powerful reds – finishing with a dolce and a glass of Federico’s stunning, golden 2004 Vin Santo. Highly recommended: one of Duncan’s Top Ten personal favourite wineries.
Friday 15th June
Down the Dip: Valleys of South Australia with Bruce Kendrick
The Cosmopolitan, St Mary’s, Holm. £35.00.
A new name for an old festival favourite! For several years now we’ve finished the festival with an evening of wine and music at The Commodore. The venue has changed its name, but otherwise the recipe is as before: good Orkney food served simply and tastefully, delicious, easy-drinking wine, and an hour or two of music from The Driftwood Cowboys to finish the evening. This year our host is Bruce Kendrick, a much respected figure in the British wine industry: back in the 1970s and early ‘80s, Bruce was one of a handful of pioneers who spotted the soaring quality of Australian wines and started importing them into Britain. These days the market is flooded with Aussie wines, with lots of cheap rubbish and a fair amount of brilliant but expensive stuff: tonight, with Bruce’s help, we will find the middle ground: excellent white, red and rosé wines at very reasonable prices, all from the winemaking heartlands of South Australia: Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Eden Valley and McLaren Vale. Why should these valleys all make such outstanding wine? Join us this evening to find out. (An optional bus service will be laid on from Kirkwall to the Commodore and back again. Contact shop for details: booking essential.)
SATURDAY 16th JUNE 12 noon – 4.00pm
Cheese Please with Duncan and Julia
Wool & Wine, Broad Street, Kirkwall. Free.
After a week filled with fabulous wine, let’s end by shifting the focus onto our other passion: farmhouse and artisan cheese. We’ll be offering a spread of whatever is best and ripest this very afternoon: it could be creamy Brillat-Savarin, nippy Cheddar Gorge, or zesty Dunsyre Blue…drop in and find out. And no doubt there will be a bottle or two we can open to toast the end of another fantastic festival! 10% off all cheese bought today.
Orkney Fine Wine Festival Archive
Selected highlights from previous wine festivals.
2007
• Jan Petersen, Fernando de Castilla. Fine Sherries, with ‘Orkney tapas’ by The Creel, at St Magnus Centre.
• Tony Cloke, Plantagenet. West Australian wines at The Lynnfield. Advertised as a ‘light multi-course meal.’ Here, it seems, the Lux idea was born!
• Mike Stewart, Liberty Wines. New Zealand reds and white at the Stadium Café Bar.
• Our main in-store tasting featured our whole range ‘from £5 to £50.’ Times have changed, but only a little: our range now runs from £6 to £60.
2008
• Paulo di Marchi, Isole e Olena. World class Italian wine at The Lynnfield – and trout fishing for Paulo on Harray Loch courtesy of the Merkister!
Paulo di Marchi
• Brett Crittenden, Mitolo. A personal favourite winery of Duncan and Alan Craigie from their trip to Australia: great to take their fine wines home to The Creel.
• Matt Herde, Plantagenet. Introducing West Australian wines to the West Mainland through this fine dinner at The Hamnavoe.
• Otto Visser, Sepp Moser. Also featuring the Lone Star Swing Band in an evening of sipping and swinging at The Commodore. Austrian wine, Texan music: a happy combination!
• We also featured the wines of Lawson’s Dry Hills, and a range of French Biodynamic producers, in our shop tastings.
2009
• Hazel Murphy, Chalker’s Crossing. Our first ever event at Helgi’s, and a memorable one featuring these lovely New South Welsh wines.
• Giacomo Alari, Cantine Leonardo/Cantina di Montalcino. A mouth watering selection of Tuscan wines at The Hamnavoe.
• Anne-Hélène Délage, Paul Jaboulet Aîné. A fantastic range of Rhone wines, right up to their legendary Hermitage.
• Gavin Crisfield, La Sauvageonne. An English winemaker doing well in the Languedoc – and at The Shore.
Photo by Alan Craigie
• Hazel Murphy, Grosset and Mount Horrocks. Amongst the most subtle, sophisticated wines in Australia to accompany a truly outstanding Creel dinner.
• Also featured, in a fascinating in-store tasting, were a range of white, red, sweet and sparkling red wines from several Portuguese wines, with the support of ViniPortugal. This was also the year of our first Wine Fair, at the sunny Stadium Café Bar.
2010
• Our third visit from Plantagenet Wines of Western Australia, and their Riesling and Shiraz were better than ever: as was the superb meal at The Creel.
• The Italian islands came to the northern isles with a selection of Sardinian, Pantellerian and above all Sicilian wines introduced by Victoria Curatolo. Lovely Marsala!
• Gwenael Laroche charmed all of Kirkwall at the Lynnfield Lux, and her wonderful Chablis wines wowed everyone who tried them: at last, Chablis that lives up to the area’s reputation and exceeds expectations rather than falling short.
2011
• Most popular wine of the festival was Mara Martin's Godello from Galicia. Maria Otero introduced this fascinating region, known as 'Green Spain,' and this obscure but delicious wine, perfect with The Creel's seafood, was a stunner.
• Marco Scarinci from Farnese in the far south of Italy hosted our first ever event at Caffe Lucano. His big bold reds were a revelation - and two of them still feature on the wine list there!
• The Commodore decided to have us dining al fresco, a bold move in Orkney, even in June! Lucky the weather was on our side, and the barbecued scallops and chicken were superb, and a great match to fruity Aussie wines from Willunga 100 and Redfin.
