Most people think that after the busy Christmas period, January and February are quiet for us at Dunell's. Whilst this might be true in the shop, for the back-office and buying team it is the busiest time of the year. We are spending huge amounts of time reviewing our portfolio (this is our first major review in 3 years and there are some seriously good deals on our Bin End list) and tasting wines on a daily basis with a view to finding the best wines and the best value wines to add to our portfolio for the forthcoming season.
One of the perks of this selection process is that many suppliers come to Jersey and whilst they are over they have to eat, so we benefit from being taken out for lunch and dinner.
Today I was extremely lucky to nip to the Bistro Soleil for a quick bite to eat for lunch and with their £10 lunch menu (for 2 courses) you can't go wrong. The Soleil have always been known for the quality of their food and service and after a beautifully made Tian of Salmon and Prawns, I chose the Crispy Duck. Both dishes were excellent, the duck being a real favourite of mine!
After an afternoon tasting many excellent SA wines and an excellent New Zealand Pinot Grigio we ended up at the Salty Dog and as I had been on all afternoon about how good the Surf & Turf was we had to have it! It was as good as ever and excellent with their Gavi di Gavi. For those of you who have not experienced it yet (the surf & turf that is) it is seriously hard to beat. It arrives in a sizzling pan and consists of 2 good sized pieces of primes scottish beef (from John Meyer at Les Quennevais), half a lobster, numerous scallops and gambas and sticky rice (great to mop up the spicy sauce) and all this just for one!
Need i say more you must try both restaurants as they are both seriously good and make you realise just how lucky we are in Jersey.
Neil
Thursday 29 January 2009
Wow what a great wine.
I decided it was my turn to cook again last night and I decided to do my 'reliable' Chicken wrapped with bacon and stuffed with pork, thyme and pistachios served with a Marsala sauce (see me for the recipe it’s so easy to prepare and looks like it has taken ages!).
As I was leaving the shop I grabbed a bottle of Trentham Estate 2005 Heathcote Shiraz, a wine which, uncharacteristically for me, I purchased on the recommendation of my supplier Pippa (who also supplies me with the excellent Rustenberg wines from SA).
The wine is not a ‘heavy’, ‘oaky’ Aussie but is extremely well-balanced and drinkable with or without food. I opened the wine whilst I was cooking and between Jane and I, the wine almost disappeared before I was finished but we managed to save a bit and it was excellent with the Chicken. Very impressive wine.
The nose has lovely, subtle oaked cigar-box characters with soft vanilla from well-judged oak maturation. The palate is extremely smooth, clean and classy with velvety black fruits and warm spicy nuances accentuated by the soft vanillin oak. It is an impeccably made Shiraz.
We only have a limited stock of 240 bottles (this is the reason I took it on recommendation) and I think that at £11.60 a bottle it is great value.
Enjoy
As I was leaving the shop I grabbed a bottle of Trentham Estate 2005 Heathcote Shiraz, a wine which, uncharacteristically for me, I purchased on the recommendation of my supplier Pippa (who also supplies me with the excellent Rustenberg wines from SA).
The wine is not a ‘heavy’, ‘oaky’ Aussie but is extremely well-balanced and drinkable with or without food. I opened the wine whilst I was cooking and between Jane and I, the wine almost disappeared before I was finished but we managed to save a bit and it was excellent with the Chicken. Very impressive wine.
The nose has lovely, subtle oaked cigar-box characters with soft vanilla from well-judged oak maturation. The palate is extremely smooth, clean and classy with velvety black fruits and warm spicy nuances accentuated by the soft vanillin oak. It is an impeccably made Shiraz.
We only have a limited stock of 240 bottles (this is the reason I took it on recommendation) and I think that at £11.60 a bottle it is great value.
Enjoy
Neil
Tuesday 27 January 2009
Dunell's is a Favourite with myfj.je!
My Favourite Jersey (http://www.myfj.e/) is a fantastic brand new website that has recently been launched by Leanda Guy to share with you all the wonderful things about the place we live. Some of you may have already heard Leanda on Jersey Radio last weekend talking about it or seen adverts in the Gallery Magazine on Channel Online or on Channel103.com. So far though, word of mouth is getting round and the site is fast becoming the true Jersey site. Enjoy the personal interviews from people already registered online, Leanda's Yummy Mummy blog and Parish pages. Go on, discover Jersey from the people who know it and love it. See which places in Jersey have become a favourite too. Dunell's is there as a favourite Wine Merchant.....thank you to those who have voted for us! Why not register yourself and become part of a growing community that is so much more classy than Facebook!
We would like to congratulate Leanda and her wonderful team for creating what it sure to be a huge success!
Jane
We would like to congratulate Leanda and her wonderful team for creating what it sure to be a huge success!
Jane
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Happy New Year!
Apologies for the late New Year greetings. We have been really busy sorting out the shop and the website after what was a very busy Christmas for us. This Christmas was always going to be hard to predict due to the credit crunch and it certainly didn't follow the usual pattern we usually experience year on year but we were very pleased with the end result. We do hope you enjoyed all the festivities.
Since the New Year, the website has seen a number of new developments and we are delighted to tell you that we now have a 'Recently Viewed' facility (further to a customer comment) and far better stock control on the site. This has taken quite some time to achieve and is due to be further upgraded this month to link with our stock system in-store. It is quite incredible the sheer amount of work that is required to achieve an up to date stock level between Website, Warehouse and Shop but we are almost there and this will make things much better for everyone.
Also new to the site are a number of promotions including 15% off all our wines from New Zealand listed and 10% off all wines from Rustenberg, South Africa.
You will also notice we have a direct links to all our recent tasting notes, our award winning wines and our new wine subscription service which is due to be launched in the next few days. All very exciting......
Since the New Year, the website has seen a number of new developments and we are delighted to tell you that we now have a 'Recently Viewed' facility (further to a customer comment) and far better stock control on the site. This has taken quite some time to achieve and is due to be further upgraded this month to link with our stock system in-store. It is quite incredible the sheer amount of work that is required to achieve an up to date stock level between Website, Warehouse and Shop but we are almost there and this will make things much better for everyone.
Also new to the site are a number of promotions including 15% off all our wines from New Zealand listed and 10% off all wines from Rustenberg, South Africa.
You will also notice we have a direct links to all our recent tasting notes, our award winning wines and our new wine subscription service which is due to be launched in the next few days. All very exciting......
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