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

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 13^th. 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

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

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