November saw the return to Ireland of Adolfo Hurtado, general manager and winemaker from Cono Sur.
The College of Catering in Dublin Institute of Technology’s Cathal Brugha Street campus was the first port of call for Adolfo, where he delivered interesting overview of Chilean winemaking and Cono Sur’s place in it to a room full of students, before conducting a tutored tasting of the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir of the winery’s most popular ranges: Cono Sur Bicycle and Cono Sur Reserva.
The students were keen to ask questions at the end and the talk was wrapped up with a presentation to Adolfo of a commemorative DIT paperweight, which he was honoured and delighted to accept.
That evening the ‘pros’ had their chance when a tasting of the full Cono Sur range was conducted for journalists at the Westbury Hotel, where Adolfo delivered a more in-depth overview of Cono Sur’s vineyard practices before tasting through the entire range in a small ‘workshop’ format, which provided for some interestingly detailed feedback – little did the journalists expect to be treated to the exact clone numbers of the Sancerre vines from which Cono Sur have sourced their Sauvignon Blanc varietals!
The treat of the night was of course Cono Sur’s icon wine, Ocio, which blew away anyone who tasted it.
Donegal and Sligo were the next stops on Adolfo’s itinerary, where he met and chatted with trade customers throughout the day accompanied by our north-west wine specialist Declan Bonner.
That evening he held another talk and tasting session to a packed room full of his best customers at the Villa Rose Hotel in Ballybofey, before all sat down for a delicious dinner complemented by wines from Adolfo’s own Reserva Range.
Those hardy enough to stay on later were treated to a traditional Chilean song beautifully sung by the man himself, before the Irish took up the charge with their own, ahem, attempts!
Again Adolfo’s visit was enjoyed immensely by all involved, and as usual the wines were showing fantastically. Let’s hope it is not too long before Adolfo’s return visit to these shores.
