Barrels & Bottles Wine Blog

After 2 weeks heartache, lugging and packing we have finally moved from the old premises in Sheffield. Our new purpose built showroom, warehouse, tasting room and demonstration kitchens are a breath of fresh air - clean, warm and more inviting.

We hope to see you soon and will be letting you know when we have a stock clearance of some of the "lost" gems we found when moving

Barrels & Bottle Wine Club member Rosemary Dando has won the "Ochoa Scholarship".

After gaining an impressive 100% score on the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Intermediate Certificate exam Rosemary was nominated for the Ochoa Scholarship. Completing a 150 word paper on "Why I would like to visit Navarra, one of the up and coming quality wine regions in Spain" she won the following prizes:

Ochoa Scholarship
Advanced Certificate course fees paid
Visit to the Bodegas Ochoa
Case of wine

Not only is gaining 100% a very impressive achievement the Ochoa Scholarship is a National Award and a highly regarded prize in the wine industry. Congratulations all round.

Rosemary's winning paper singled her out over the other short-listed nominees. Her entry was as follows:

"Where is Navarra?" I hear people say
Perhaps not surprising, it's out of the way
Of hot, crowded beaches where they lie in the sun
But that's not for me and there's lots to be done.
The pilgrims came through and stopped on the way
To sample the wines - but they're much better today!

Garnacha's the grape for fresh roses, great flavour;
And reds are now winning the critics favour,
Cab. Sauv. And Merlot, Tempranillo as well
For aroma and richness and flavours that dwell
I'd love to taste them, and also the whites -
Chardonnay and Moscatel are scaling new heights.

I seem to have stuck to the wineries so far:
Ochoa, Chivite and de la Vega are
Just a few bodegas for me to try.
But there's culture and history; plains, mountains and sky
And wonderful food with win in la barra,
So please invite me to visit Navarra!

Labels: wset