JN Wine

04/01/2025

A day like that requires a robust, spicy, enveloping red to ward off the frosty chill ❄️🍷

Open for tasting in our Crossgar store today is ‘La Enfermera’ from Hacienda Terra d'Uro in Toro DO, Spain 🇪🇸

Toro is a small but historically significant region in northwest Spain that is known for making powerful, rich red wines from the Tinta de Toro grape - to some considered a phenotypical variant of Tempranillo that is uniquely adapted to the Zamora vineyard area, while to others celebrated as an indigenous Toro variety. Whatever the case, the vines here are often planted as bush vines, are very old, and mostly ungrafted as the Phylloxera louse is not a threat in this arid landscape of sandy soils 🍇

‘La Enfermera’ is made in reference to the ‘nurse’ Isabel, who dosed wounded soldiers with red wine during the Battle of Toro in 1476. Made from 100% Tinta de Toro vines planted at 800m, hand harvested, fermented in steel, and aged in French and American oak casks prior to release, this is a fabulous introduction to the wines of this oft-overlooked region that brims with black plum and blueberry fruit, a full body, ripe tannins, and comforting baking spice and earthy leather nuances 🍷

Sample it today - for free! - in our Crossgar shop from 12pm 🙌

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas from the JN Team! 🎄

We would like to thank you all for your loyal custom this year and hope that you find the time to enjoy a nice glass alongside friends and family over the festive period 🍷

For those still seeking last-minute gifts, our Crossgar shop will be open until 6pm this evening. Be it festive bubbles, Christmas dinner accompaniments, sweet treats, or gift vouchers - we’ve got you covered! 🍾

We will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day but will reopen at 10am on Friday 27th December. We look forward to welcoming you back then 🎉

Cheers! 🥂 🎅

09/12/2024

28/11/2024

Indulge in the spirit of the season with a culinary celebration like no other! Our Artisan Market is back and it's all about the flavours of the holidays !

📅Date: Saturday 30th November 2024
⏰Time: 12-5pm
📍Location: JN Tasting Room, Crossgar
🎟No Tickets required!

Dive into a world of mouth-watering delights crafted by talented local food artisans. From artisanal baked goods to award-winning charcuterie, to Pedigree Dexter Beef and terrific wine and gin samples, there’s something to satisfy every palate.
Bring your friends, family, and your appetite as we transform our Tasting Room into a winter wonderland of gastronomic delights!

27/11/2024

A sincere thanks to Emma and Hannah from Memory Makers for hosting such a fabulous Christmas wreath making workshop last Saturday 🥳

It felt like the festive feeling had well and truly taken over our Crossgar shop as delightful aromas of pine, mulled cider, and warm mince pies wafted through the building filling all with merry joy🎄

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to join us for this wonderful event - it was a delight to see so many fantastic, festive creations by the end of it! We hope that you all enjoyed it and look forward to welcoming Emma and Hannah back for a similar event in the future 🙌

Memory Makers

14/11/2024

We wish to notify all customers that our Crossgar shop and retail office will be closing early this evening due to our Seasonal Selection Tasting held at Waterman House, Belfast.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but look forward to seeing all those in attendance at the tasting later 🍷

12/11/2024

*Last remaining tickets to the JN Seasonal Selection Tasting at Waterman House*

We have just a handful of tickets remaining to this highlight of our yearly events calendar held in Waterman House, Belfast, this Thursday 14th November! 🎉

Come and sample a fantastic, hand-picked selection of red, white, Champagne & sparkling, Port, and dessert wines featured in our Christmas 2024 brochure 🍷

This is a great opportunity to discover wines from our ever-growing range by artisan producers from around the world and to plan for your Christmas festivities 🎄

We are delighted to be joined by Filipe Teixeira Pinto from Herdade do Soboroso and Mark Bingley who will be showcasing Louis Roederer, Marqués de Murrieta, and Ramos Pinto 🥂

Secure your tickets for the last remaining session (5pm - 6.30pm) today! Tickets are available through our website - link in comments below 🙌

Waterman House Herdade do Sobroso Wine & Country House Champagne Louis Roederer Marqués de Murrieta Ramos Pinto - Port & Douro Wine

09/11/2024

We’re celebrating all things Rioja today in our free Saturday tasting 🇪🇸

First up we have the Bodegas Paco García ‘El Yergo’ Tempranillo Blanco 2023, a deliciously modern and unique interpretation of white Rioja. Tempranillo Blanco is a natural mutation of the better-known black variety and is a speciality to the village of Murillo de Río Leza where Paco García is based in the Rioja Oriental. The handpicked grapes are fermented in steel before ageing in new Burgundian oak barrels for 6 months. The result is a wine that combines rich texture with sprightly fruit, showing notes of ginger, spiced vanilla, jasmine, and ripe lemon 🥂

Next we have the Bodegas Urbina Crianza 2015, an unashamedly classic rendition of Rioja tinto that undergoes 12 months of ageing in French and American oak barrels before a long rest in bottle prior to release. Hailing from the Rioja Alta subregion, this Crianza exhibits a racy acidity and hints of orange peel and dill alongside the more typical notes of dried cherry, sweet to***co, and coconut expected of the style 🍷

Both will be open for tasting from 12pm and for the duration of chef Niall McKenna’s book signing session. Call in to sample and celebrate Rioja Month with us in store 🎉

Be sure to check out our Rioja blog too, ‘Behind the label’. Follow the link in the comments below 👇

Bodegas Paco Garcia BODEGAS URBINA Rioja Wine

07/11/2024

It’s International Merlot Day! 🍇

Today we’re celebrating this oft-misunderstood grape variety that in the right hands and terroirs can produce some of the world’s most sumptuous, dependable, and downright pleasurable wines 🍷

With our Christmas 2024 promotional offer of £20/€20 off case purchases (totalling £150/€150) now live, it’s the perfect time to stock up on your favourite Merlots, Merlot-blends, and other exciting wines from our vast portfolio 🙌

Follow the link below for more details as well as Ts & Cs 🔗

04/11/2024

Niall McKenna's new book 'What's it all about?' has been released 🎉

To celebrate its launch, Niall will be joining us in Crossgar to sign copies of his new book which will be available for purchase from JN Wine. Niall will be preparing some canapés from the book and we will have some wine open for tasting too! 🍷

Join us for a book signing:
📅 Saturday 9th of November
📍 JN Wine Tasting Room, Crossgar
⏰ 2pm - 4pm
*No tickets required!*

'What's it all about?':
"It’s not just about making food you’ll enjoy eating, it’s about making time you’ll enjoy having. It’s a journey across 20 years of cooking in Belfast — at Niall's first restaurant in the city, James Street South, its Bar and Grill sidekick, The Great British Menu TV show, Hadskis, Cast and Crew, and now finally in his new place, Waterman. The recipes in his book are customer favourites from that time and Niall's too."

We look forward to seeing you there! 🍽

Niall Mckenna Waterman House James St

02/11/2024

Today in our Crossgar store we’re featuring something a tad different for our complimentary Saturday tasting ✨

We’re delighted to host James who will be showcasing his Aghinlig Orchard Ice Cider 🍏

Made in small batches of 12 bottles, each one of these rare elixirs contains the equivalent of 100 apples, the juice of which is cryoextracted to concentrate sugars, acids, flavours, and aromas before it is aged for a year in chestnut barrels and then bottled ❄️

A completely unique and totally homegrown product that will appeal to fans of vinously analogous dessert wines such as Ice Wine/Eiswein, Vino Passito, and other pure, fruit-driven styles 🙌

Call in from 12pm to taste special product for free and avail of the opportunity to chat to James about the process and all things cider 🍎

28/10/2024

28/10/2024

The shorter days and cooler evenings of the autumn tend to call for reds with more robustness and spice and whites with more texture and body to help keep the impending chill at bay; all the while retaining the ample fruit and ripeness that is befitting of this season of harvest 🍇 🍂

Check out our ‘Top 10 Autumn Wines’ blog for some suggestions of red, white, sweet, and fortified wines from our portfolio that meet these requirements alongside suitable autumnal food pairing suggestions 🍽️ 🍁

Link in comments below 🔗

(Attached image shows the vineyards of Maison Ventenac in the Cabardés autumn 🇫🇷)

Maison Ventenac

24/10/2024

Sincere thanks to all who came along to our sold out Seasonal Supper Club with Chef Roy Abraham 🙌

Chef Roy and his partner Julie plated up a stunning array of dishes with a strong theme of seasonality and local produce running throughout. Moreover, the quality of food was as superlative as ever and we think we speak for all in attendance when we say that each dish on the tasting menu was artfully conceived and utterly delicious 🍽️

We tried to think a little bit outside the box with our wine accompaniments, with the Salwey Kaiserstuhl Spätburgunder and smoked scallop dish perhaps being the most pleasing (and arguably surprising!) pairing of the evening 🍷

Be sure to follow Chef Roy and his new catering venture: C R Catering

And keep an eye on our socials and the events page of our website for more exciting events coming up! Link in comments below.

18/10/2024

Open for tasting this Saturday 19th October will be these two stunning new arrivals from the esteemed Domaine Zind-Humbrecht of Alsace 🇫🇷

Zind-Humbrecht requires little introduction to many wine lovers. Established in 1959 after the fusion of two winegrowing families, Zind-Humbrecht has received acclaim across the globe for producing some of the most pristine, complex, terroir-driven wines coming out of Alsace, with some considering their single-varietal, single-vineyard wines to be the finest examples of their individual grape varieties to be found anywhere in the world 🍇

We’re delighted to welcome the arrival of the 2023 vintage of their estate wines. Sourced from gravelly terroirs in Turckheim, with plots located just under some of their most revered sites such as the Clos Windsbuhl, these cuvées offer delicious, accessible drinking while you wait for the single-vineyard wines and Grand Crus to mature in the cellar! ⏳

Open for tasting we will have the beautiful estate ‘Turckheim Riesling 2023’ and ‘Pinot Blanc 2023’, both of which will be subject to a weekend-only discount of 15% off! Call along from 12pm to sample these delicious wines for free and pick up your own bottle at these offer prices while stocks last 🍷

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Turckheim

18/10/2024

Some highlights from a wonderful Umani Ronchi dinner at Waterman House, Belfast yesterday evening ✨

A huge thank you to all the guests that came along to what proved to be a fabulous night of superb food and deliciously paired wines 🍽️ 🍷

Gratitude extends naturally to Alessio Glorio from Umani Ronchi who shared his unique insight of these special Marche and Abruzzo wines to those in attendance with gusto. A huge thank you also to our friends at Waterman House: Head chef Cathal, Helen and Mark, and all the team at this spirited Cathedral Quarter restaurant 🙌

Be sure to look out for the next event we're holding at Waterman House: our annual Seasonal Selection tasting. Some tickets still remain for this highlight in our yearly event calendar - check the link in the comments for more details 🔗

Waterman House Umani Ronchi

16/10/2024

We were thrilled to host artist Orlagh Milligan and her inaugural exhibition ‘The Harbour’ at our JN Tasting Room last Friday evening 🙌 🖼️

A wonderful attendance of guests bore witness to the beautiful collection of works which serve as a poignant reflection of Orlagh’s childhood experiences in the County Down fishing village of Ardglass, where the ocean and fishing culture were integral to her upbringing 🌊 ⛴️

For those that weren’t able to make it along to the exhibition night, we will be keeping the works on display in our Tasting Room until this Friday evening, the 18th. So be sure to come along to our Crossgar store to view these stunning pieces for yourself in person before then 🐟 🦀

Orlagh Milligan Art

14/10/2024

Our friends at Waterman House are holding an Umani Ronchi Wine Dinner this Thursday 17th October 🍷

The evening will commence at 7pm with a drink on arrival, followed by a tasting menu paired to an elegant selection of the estate's wines with Alessio Glorio from Umani Ronchi as the host. Alessio will discuss the viticulture and winemaking behind each wine, as well as the history and principles of one of Italy's great wine families 🍇

“Umani Ronchi has been positioned at levels of excellence for years, with a selection of magnificent Crus and a range of wines with impressively high average quality."
Gambero Rosso

“Umani Ronchi is the reference on Verdicchio and Rosso Conero, making high-quality wines for more than 40 years”.
Decanter

“Umani Ronchi is one of the leading wineries in central Italy.”
Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Menu for the evening below:

👉 House Ricotta, Grilled Squash, Truffle & Sage
(Umani Ronchi Vellodoro Terre di Chieti Pecorino 2023)

👉 Grilled Monkfish, Cannelini Beans, Lemon & Sage
(Umani Ronchi Verdicchio Ca Sal di Serra 2023)

👉 Aged Sirloin of Beef, Oxtail Raviolo, Cavolo Nero & Shallot
(Umani Ronchi Pelago Marche Rosso 2019)

👉 Coolea, Figs & Crackers
(Umani Ronchi San Lorenzo Rosso Conero 2022)

👉 Poached Pear, Honey & Vanilla
(Umani Ronchi Maximo 2021, 37.5cl)

With limited availability remaining, why not secure your spot today? (Ticket link in comments).