Paddy's Diary

Paddy's Diary

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Wine Buff Plasencia is up and running for less than a month, and though there are teething issues, overall the Spanish launch is working smoothly.

The feedback from Asun is great; she is already experiencing repeat customers, and, visitors to the her shop are delighted by the quality/price of The Wine Buff selection.

We have sourced locally a most incredible organic Olive Oil, it will go on sale in Ireland this week. I have been using this oil for the past 6 months and it is without doubt the best olive oil i have ever tasted. It is also one of the least expensive which fits our portfolio perfectly.

cheers, paddy

Monday, October 17, 2011





Two new Wine Buff Franchise stores have opened this month, the first in Ranelagh Dublin, and the second in Plasencia Spain. We wish Ivor in Ranelagh, and Asun in Plasencia, huge success with their new ventures.

The Wine Buff Plasencia is the first Wine Buff outlet to open outside of Ireland, and the fabulous reaction to our concept in Spain mirrors the reaction received in Ireland over the past decade. People are amazed and delighted by the quality/price relationship of our wines, not to mention the quality of service they receive.

You, our customers/friends, have contributed greatly to making the Wine Buff concept a great success story. All of us here at the Wine Buff appreciate your support enormously, and, we sincerely thank you for the continued faith and trust you give.

cheers, Paddy




Sunday, September 11, 2011





















Photos from a recent wine trip to La Mancha in Spain. La Mancha is actually the largest wine producing region in the world.

Amparo and Kojak received us in their beautiful home in the town of Pedro Munoz. This is the region of Spain that produced the well known "Don Quixote" Novel by Miguel de Cervantes.

For the aperitif we were treated to a magnificent Iberico Ham accompanied by a delicious bottle of "Herve Mathelin" Champagne.
We then settled into a wonderful meal followed by a very copious serving of aged Brandy.

Kojak produced a very tasty "Sobaos" cake following breakfast the next morning. The Sobaos cake is a specialty from the north of Spain and the main ingredients are butter, sugar, eggs, flour and yeast.

The perfect start to our day of wine tasting.

cheers, Paddy

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Wine Buff St Emilion Christening



the 20th of August and our first bottle of wine opened on our new premises in St. Emilion. The wine is "Ovidio" and the owners of the Bodegas, Angel and Amparo, are present.

Not a bad setting for a inauguration, a medieval cellar in the heart of this beautiful village.

The wine barrels we have placed the table/door upon are from "Chateau La Fauconnerie". The juice you see is for decoration purposes only.

cheers, Paddy

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Farewell Jean-Marie and Rest In Peace

On Saturday last, 20th of August, the "Wine Buff" lost one of it's greatest supporters, Jean-Marie Zeli, 54 yrs young.

Jean-Marie was my brother-in-law and great friend.

He also featured among our most trusted and reliable wine tasters. His passion for great wine was infectious and certainly rubbed off on me when I moved to St. Emilion in 1988.

Our hearts go out to Jean-Marie's wife Claudine, and his two daughters, Esther and Laura.

Rest In Peace dear friend, and as Aunt Lizzie says, may God find a bed for you in heaven.

We will all miss you, hugely.

cheers my friend, Paddy

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Paul O'Connell Bordeaux 2011













Photos taken in Bordeaux on Saturday morning before the France v Ireland friendly. The man in the Irish rugby shirt needs no introduction; Alain, the guy on Paul's left, is a friend of mine from St. Emilion.



The carnival atmosphere at the match was absolutely electrifying, and was certainly matched by the physical impacts on the field. Interesting to note that the French players seemed to come off second best in the physical contact department, they were very much slower getting back on their feet. Bring on the return match at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday.

After a few days of drying out Pilar and I are now back in preparation for next weekend!

cheers, Paddy

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

How great is Cork?










Photo 1. The tree you see stripped of it's bark is a "alcornoque" or "Oak Cork" tree. The cork used to seal wine bottles actually comes from the bark of this oak tree. The bark is stripped every 10 to 15 years.



Photo 2. This is very expensive, and absolutely delicious, "jamon iberico", or, cured ham, from the same region, the pigs here are fed on glands from the holm oak tree and the alcornoque tree.



Photo 3. One of two Irish pubs in Jarandilla, population of only 3,000 people, and the same town emperor Carlos V spent his final years.



Photo 4. Vidal Del Saz and Carlos Diez Sanchez of Bodegas Del Saz.



Currently back in Bordeaux getting ready for the France v Ireland rugby game this Saturday. Expecting to see lots of Irish out here for the free vineyard visit/wine tasting events the "Wine Buff" are organizing.



A week of Spanish food and wine was the perfect, and absolutely necessary, warm up for this important event!





Cheers, Paddy





Sunday, August 7, 2011

Lunch in Toledo










Pictures taken of Toledo en route to Bodegas Del Saz yesterday.

We stopped for lunch and had the most beautifully prepared, incredibly flavorsome, wild boar burgers, you can possibly imagine.

Met with our suppliers for dinner and again had beautifully prepared local food, accompanied by many delicious wines, in a very ordinary restaurant. The baby lamb for our main course was absolutely mouthwatering. We were lucky to escape back to the hotel at around 3.30am; Vidal Del Saz, the owner of the winery, was only just warming up when we left.

Off to meet with another of our suppliers this evening, "Bodegas Ovidio". The owner of the winery, Angel, and his wife Amparo, also know how to party; it promises to be another late, and very well oiled, night for Pi and I. Angel, better known as Kojak, perhaps due to his lack of hair and robust Latin features, produces incredible wines in the "La Mancha" region of Spain.

We plan on journeying back to Bordeaux sometime tomorrow!

cheers, Paddy

Friday, August 5, 2011

Plasencia Spain, New Wine Buff franchise








Back in Plasencia, Spain, visiting with the "Wine Buff's" latest partners, Asun and Juan Sanchez-Ocana. Asun and Juan will open their "Wine Buff" franchise in October 2011. Plasencia is a beautiful touristic city in the north of Extremadura. Today we spent finalizing the layout of their premises and planning their trips to France and Ireland.



You can tell from the photos of our accommodation that I really do have a tough job; what can I say, that's what happens when you draw the short straw! I haven't included the photos of the room as they are just too depressing.



cheers, Paddy












Saturday, July 30, 2011

Video Wine Buff Shop St. Emilion


This gives you a vague idea of what the medieval grain silo is actually like. The stone mason will sand blast the entire silo, finish the stone arches correctly, and then re point the joints where necessary. Now that the exterior wall is stripped back, and the stone can breathe correctly, the damp odor has all but disappeared. Another three walls to strip back and then we allow a few months for the stone to dry out.

cheers, Paddy

Grain Silo in St Emilion Shop


To give some perspective to the height of the grain silo, Ciaran is 6ft 2ins. Over his head the shaft reaches up at least another 12 ft and we have absolutely no idea where it comes out.

In the second photo Ciaran is standing at the entrance to the grain silo, the stone wall is now fully stripped back and will be ready for the stone mason to renovate once it has dried out.

Photos of New shop in St Emilion
























Finally located the USB cable for the camera.

The first photo shows the new "Wine Buff" premises in St. Emilion. (the house with the open shutters and courtyard)

When preparing the room for painting we noticed dampness on the wall leading into the medieval grain silo. Underneath the cement based plaster we discovered the original stone walls.
The third photo on this post is of the medieval grain silo. The silo was manually chiseled out of the famous St. Emilion limestone back in the middle ages. It is incredibly spectacular and really has to be experienced to be properly appreciated; my level of photography certainly does not do this magnificent area justice!

Our stone mason will eventually spend a week in there restoring the silo to it's former glory. The area is roughly 40 sq. meters and will entertain more than a few "Wine Buff" tastings over the coming years. My son, Ciaran, and I, are heading back into St. Emilion now to pull up the carpet throughout the house. More photos on the way this evening!










cheers, Paddy

Monday, July 25, 2011

Paddy's Day out in Bordeaux

“Paddy’s Day” out in Bordeaux.

Paddy O’Flynn, co-founder of “The Wine Buff” Franchise in Ireland, has gotten together with a group of his Bordeaux suppliers/friends, to create a welcoming wine event for Irish supporters travelling to the France v Ireland friendly in Bordeaux.

Paddy lives in St. Emilion since 1998. He is organizing this event, in part, to repay the generosity the Irish rugby community has shown to The Wine Buff since its inception in December 2000.

For those of you interested in Visiting one of Bordeaux’s most renowned Organic Vineyards, The Wine Buff, along with Regis Moro of “Vieux Chateau Champs de Mars”, are offering a free wine tasting/vineyard visit, to coincide with the France v Ireland match on August 13th. The event is informal and the idea is to have a bit of Craic. Regis is a former second row and is heavily involved with the French Rugby Federation.

The Wine Buff will organize the event and also supply homemade pate, Cheeses and Fresh French Baguettes to complement Regis’s wines.

Please contact daragh@thewinebuff.com if you are interested in participating at this event. The number of people wishing to attend will determine the final planning in regards to dates and times.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Cheers, Paddy

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

St Emilion Shop Update

On the left are Jean-Claude and Michelle Palu, proprietors of the outstanding "Mas du Novi" vineyard in the Languedoc region of France. Pilar reproduced Novi's logo on a delicious cake for their visit to Montagne St. Emilion.


We have made the decision to delay the opening of the "Wine Buff" St. Emilion until March 2012.

When we began preparing the interior for painting, we found magnificent stonework, dating back to the middle ages, underneath the cement based plaster on one of the walls. We have demolished all of the interior plaster board walls to expose the original stone, and discovered that all walls are plastered over with cement.

We are now in the very time consuming process of stripping the cement based plaster to expose the original stonework. The end result promises to be amazing.

Imagine yourself for just a moment, drinking delicious St. Emilion wines, accompanied by scrumptiously mouth watering pate, cheeses, and real french baguette; and all this in a medieval wine cellar, right in the heart of the world's most renowned medieval wine village. Do I have a tough job or what!

I promise to upload photos of the building once I have located the USB lead for my camera!

cheers, Paddy

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Orange Skies

This photo was taken from our back lawn on Sunday night during another in a series of fabulous sunsets.

We have had little or no water over the past few months and temperatures have hit the 40s on occasions. These climatic conditions usually lead to reduced yields and therefore much more concentrated wines. It is still early in the growing season though, and things can change literally over night. One thunderous storm can decimate the vineyards!

Meeting with customers of Tom and Linda's Sligo shop over the coming days, they are very excited about getting hands on experience in the vineyards.












Cheers, Paddy






Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Wine Buff St Emilion



We are proud to announce the opening of our new “Wine Buff” shop in St. Emilion over the coming weeks. The shop is located in the heart of the world’s most renowned wine village, and, it comes with the most magnificent medieval grain silo you can possibly imagine. The silo was manually chiselled out of the renowned St. Emilion limestone and lies directly under the village’s main street. No doubt, some amazing “Wine Buff” wines will be consumed there (in moderation of course) over the coming months and years. With the France v Ireland rugby world cup warm up game being played this August in Bordeaux, we are ready to paint the village green.

Heaven
18 degrees Celsius, very overcast, a good chance of rain, and no need for air conditioning.

Hell
40 degrees Celsius, clear blue skies, absolutely no chance of rain, and, no air conditioning.

Quite a statement coming from an Irishman! Well, you would really have to experience it to fully understand. After just 2 days of 40 degrees the bags were packed for a trip home and a few pints of Guinness in Pakie’s.

Cheers


Paddy