Tuesday 18 October 2016

Gwobrau Gwin Cymreig 2016 Welsh Wine Awards 2016


Gwobrau Gwin Cymreig 2016/Welsh Wine Awards
Yn bendant mae llawer gennym i fod yn falch ohono am gynnyrch Cymreig. Yn Gwin Dylanwad, nid oes angen nac awydd arnom i edrych am gaws o unrhyw wlad ond Cymru - mae digon yma o safon uchel: o gaws caled Hafod i gaws glas Boxberg (enw od, ond yn wir, mae’n Gymreig).  Ond nawr, cawn ychwanegu gwin i gynnyrch arbennig Cymru gyda balchder. Roedd cadarnhad o hyn yn y diwrnod gwobrwyo gwinoedd Cymreig a chafodd eu cynnal yng ngwinllan Llannerch ger Caerdydd.  

We have a great deal to be proud of when it comes to Welsh produce.  For example, here in Dylanwad Wine, Doglellau we have no need to go beyond the borders of Wales to find excellent cheese - there is a vast choice of the highest quality ranging from Hafod Cheddar to the blue Boxberg (funny name but it is Welsh I assure you) to name but two. However, we can now also boast a new addition to quality Welsh products: our Welsh wines. This was confirmed during the Welsh Wine Awards that were held at the Llannerch vineyard near Cardiff.
 
Robb Merchant o winllan White Castle yw Cadeirydd Cymdeithas Gwinllannoedd Cymru ac roedd naws broffesiynol y digwyddiad yn rhoi statws a hygrededd i’r cynnyrch.  Nododd Dylan roedd y teimlad yn union yr un fath a bod mewn digwyddiad tebyg yn Ewrop. Hefyd, roedd yn plesio’n fawr i weld geiriad ar y tlysau yn yr iaith Gymraeg.

Robb Merchant from White Castle is now the Welsh Vineyards Association’s (WVA) Chairperson and there was an air of professionalism to the event that really gave the industry status and credibility.  Dylan noted that it felt no different to other professional events of the kind in Europe - and so good to see the wording on a cup in Welsh too!
Cawsom y fraint o flasu gwinoedd o bob rhan o Gymru gan gynnwys gwinaeaf cyntaf Gwinllan Conwy.  Roedd yna win pefriog base’n cystadlu gyda Siampen efo mws yn llenwi’r geg yn ogystal â blas ac arogl burum yn deillio o’r dechneg o’i aeddfedu yn y botel dros bum mlynedd ar y gwaddod a hyn i greu cymhlethdod yn y blas.  Pleser oedd gweld gwin coch gyda blas derw ac yn arwydd fod y gwinwyr yn cychwyn arbrofi i greu gwinoedd gwahanol a newydd i Gymru.

We were privileged to taste wines from the length and breadth of Wales including the first vintage from the Conwy Vineyard. There was a sparkling that would compete favourably with many a quality Champagne: lovely full mousse and a nice yeasty quality that arises from maturing in the bottle over five years to create complexity of flavour.
Llongyfarchiadau mawr i’r bobl arbennig yma am eu hangerdd.  Yn lle eich tipl arferol, rhowch gynnig i gaws Hafod gyda Pinot Noir Précoce Robb a Nicola Merchant o White Castle.  Mae hwn wedi ei aeddfedu mewn casgenni derw gyda digon o gorff a blas i sefyll i fyny i’r cynnwys cryf o’r cheddar organig yma.  Parwch gregyn gleision o’r Fenai gyda’r Solaris a gynhyrchwyd gan Colin a Charlotte Bennett o Winllan Conwy. Yfwch Tintern Parva Dathliad neu Ancre Hill Blanc de Blancs i’ch dathliad arbennig nesaf neu jest i roi wmff bach i’ch hunan a mwynhau bywyd!  Mae gymaint sy’n newydd a chyffroes yma i flasu yn ogystal a gwinoedd o lefydd mwy traddodiadol.  Prynwch winoedd llethrau Cymru a dathlwch weledigaeth criw bach sy’n rhoi ein gwlad ar y map.  

This special cluster of people need congratulating for their passion and hard work.  Instead of your normal day to day tipple, give Robb and Nicola Merchant's Pinot Noir Précoce from White Castle a go with your Hafod cheese.  This wine has been aged in oak casks and has enough body and flavour to stand up to this strong organic cheddar. Pay Menai Mussels the respect they deserve with a fine bottle of Solaris from Colin and Charlotte Bennett's Conwy Vineyard.  Drink Parva Dathliad or Ancre Hill Blanc de Blancs for your next special occasion or just for the hell of it on a Sunday afternoon! There is so much that is new and exciting here to taste. Buy wines from the slopes of Wales and celebrate the vision of a small group of people who are putting our country on the map.


 

Gwaith  David Cowderoy, Michael Harrison a Linda Johnson-Bell (gwinwr, prynwr i Bibendum ac awdur gwin yn ôl eu trefn) oedd  penderfynu ble roedd y clod am ddisgyn allan o'r 41 gwin yn y gystadleuaeth.
  
David Cowderoy, Michael Harrison a Linda Johnson-Bell (wine maker, wine buyer and wine author respectively) had the unenviable task of judging the 41 wines entered.


Gwobrau/Awards

Gwinoedd Gwyn/White Wines
Efydd/Bronze
White Castle Gwin Gwyn 2014,
Llaethliw White 2015
Conwy Solaris 2015
Tintern Parva Afon Gwyn 2014

Arian/Silver
Tintern Parva  Bacchus 2014
Kerry Vale  Solaris 2014  [Trophy]

Rhosliw/Rosé
Efydd/Bronze
Gwinllan Conwy Rosé 2015
Llaethliw Rosé 2015

Arian/Silver
Tintern Parva Bwthyn Rhosyn 2015    [Trophy]


Gwinoedd Coch/Red Wines
Efydd/Bronze
Kerry Vale Red Kite 2014
Conwy Rondo
White Castle Rondo 2014

Arian/Silver
White Castle Pinot Noir Précoce 2014   [Trophy]

Rhosliw Byrlymus/Sparkling Rose Dim gowbr/No Awards

Byrlymus Gwyn/Sparkling White
Efydd/Bronze
Ancre Hill Blanc de Blancs 2009

Arian/Silver
Tintern Parva Dathliad 2013   [ Trophy]

Saturday 27 August 2016

Gwin Dylanwad Wine yn Medina, Aberystwyth

Safle Newydd, Safon Ardderchog/New Location, Same Excellent Quality

Rydym yn falch o'n cysylltiadau a busnesau sy'n gwerthu ein gwin ac mae Medina yn Aberystwyth bendant yn taro'r nod. Ewch i'w safle newydd yn 10, Stryd y Farchnad i brofi bwyd gwahanol a modern iawn. Gallwch ddewis gwin o Dylanwad i bartneru un o'r salads iachus a blasus neu rhai o'r parseli bach cig hyfryd cefais heddiw! Awyrgylch braf, fodern ac agored gallwn eistedd yna trwy'r dydd ond yn anffodus roedd gwaith yn aros!

We're proud to be associated with the businesses that choose to sell our wines and Medina in Aberystwyth is no exception. I visited their new premises today at 10, Market Street and I have no hestiation recommending it. The food is interesting with great flavours, try one of our wines to complement a delicious meat-filled parcel with one of the healthy but tasty salads in this modern, airy space. Well worth the trip from Dolgellau!
 
http://medina-aberystwyth.co.uk
 
Delicious Home-baked savouries Aberystwyth

Delicious Salads

Proud to supply wines to this excellent business

Saturday 19 March 2016

Rarebit & Rioja - Recipes and Wine Tales from Wales

'Rarebit & Rioja' 'Bwyd a Gwin'
Recipes and Wine Tales from Wales

Lansiad o gyfieithiad 'Bwyd a Gwin', sef 'Rarebit & Rioja' sydd wedi cadw ni'n brysur yn ddiweddar. Ar ôl llwyddiant y fersiwn Gymraeg rhoddodd hwb i ni geisio llyfr Saesneg ac mae cychwyn eithaf da wedi bod. Yn ogystal â ryseitiau o'r dyddiau roedd Dylan yn rhedeg y bwyty, mae hanesion teithio i ddarganfod gwin.

The launch of the English version of our book 'Rarebit & Rioja' has been very exciting and already they are selling well. After the initial launch in Gwin Dylanwad Wine, we had a book signing in Cardiff, Abergavenny and Llandudno Waterstones. We have a busy schedule ahead of us with 'Siop Y Pethe' in Aberystwyth and Waterstones Aberystwyth in April; London Welsh on the 5th July and Penfro Book Festival on the 9th September to mention but a few!


Rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i fy mrawd, Tom Griffiths a dynnodd y lluniau i'r llyfr. Treuliodd 'dw ni ddim sawl Dydd Sul a Llun yn ein cwmni yn trefnu bwyd roedd Dylan wedi coginio i'w gael mor ddeniadol yn y llun ac ar y plât! Sgil arbennig iawn rhaid i mi ddweud.  Cynghorodd ambell berson fod lluniau o fwyd yn anodd iawn - yup! - a doedd neb yn cymryd lluniau o fwyd go iawn ond 'triciau' gyda phaent ac yn y blaen yw ffotograffiaeth bwyd.  Wel, gallaf ddatgan nawr fod pob un llun yn y llyfr o fwyd go iawn, wedi'u goginio gan Dylan, ei ffotograffu gan Tom ac wedi'u fwyta gan Tom ar ôl y 'photoshoot' ddarfod.

We are very grateful to my brother Tom Griffiths for the lovely photographs of the recipes in the book. He spent many a Sunday and Monday arranging the food and messing around with different shots to try and get it just right. Food photography, as we quickly found out when trying to do our own pictures initially, is an extremely skilled job. Many advised us that it involved very little food but clever tricks of the trade with oils and paint etc.  Well I can tell you now, that every single recipe in this book was cooked by Dylan, photographed by Tom and subsequently eaten by Tom at the end of the photoshoot.
 
Photograph - Tom Griffiths




Noson Lansiad/Launch Night

Ar dudalen gyntaf o'r llyfr, mae llun arbennig gan fy nghefnder Andy Jones o’r tu allan o 'Gwin Dylanwad Wine'. I ddweud y gwir, mae dipyn o ffotograffwyr yn y teulu.  Mae ei frawd Alwyn Jones hefyd a'r sgil, ac yn meddwl yn ôl, roedd eu tad yn ddyn creadigol iawn ac yn deall y gêm yn dda. O beth rwy’n cofio, nid oedd John yn llawer o luniau teulu oherwydd credaf mai ef oedd yn eu tynnu!


On the inside cover of the book, my cousin Andy Jones provided this superb picture of the exterior of 'Gwin Dylanwad Wine'. We have a few photographers in the family, his brother Alwyn Jones is also skilled with a camera.  Indeed, their father John, a lovely gentle man who was always fun to be in his company, was a camera enthusiast too. Thinking about it, many of the family photographs were taken by him, as his absence from the pictures often testify.

Photograph -  Andy Jones
Mae llawer mwy yn y llyfr na ryseitiau, mae am deithio a'r egwyddorion o wneud gwin a'i bartneru gyda bwyd. Mor braf yw clywed fod pobl yn mwynhau'r straeon yn ogystal â'r coginio. Credaf hefyd fod gwerth tynnu sylw at y caligraffi hyfryd a luniodd mam Dylan. Bu farw pan oedd yn fachgen ifanc iawn ond hawdd gweld ei dylanwad ar ei mab gyda'i gariad at fwyd, coginio a'r pethau hardd ym mywyd.

The book really is more than just a recipe book.  It is a bit of a travel book and it's really nice to hear people commenting about their enjoyment of the stories, wine advice and  the chapters on the principles of making of wine.  I think it's also worth noting that there are two beautiful pieces of calligraphy illustrating recipes. These were created by Dylan's mother. Sadly, she died when he was very young but her influence lives on in Dylan's love of food, cooking and all things beautiful.
 


Saturday 20 February 2016

Ar Agor/Open

Blogio Eto!  Blogging Again!

Wel, ble 'da ni wedi bod?!  Ateb? Rhedeg y busnes ac yn panicio! Er ein bod wrth ein bodd gyda'r lle, mae'n rhaid dweud fod rhedeg siop a bar yn bur wahanol i redeg bwyty.  Un o'r manteision nawr ar ôl setlo yw'r gallu i adael y lle gyda'n staff hollol ddibynadwy a mynd i ffwrdd. Rydym newydd ddychwelyd o ffair win ym Montpellier ac roedd Gwin Dylanwad Wine yn parhau i agor fel arfer. Bydd Terri ac Emma yn mynd i Vinitaly efo Dyl ym mis Ebrill fel eu bod ddim yn colli allan! 
  
Where have we been?!  Running the business is the answer and this has been a steep learning curve. Even though we have come from a restaurant background, we've never run a bar before and certainly not a full blown shop. Having said that, we're getting used to it and really enjoying the experience. It's a totally different game but it is allowing us a bit more freedom (not a lot yet but we'll get there) - our fantastic team of staff last week ran the place for the half-term week while we visited a wine fair in Montpellier. They shouldn't feel too hard-done-by because Emma and Terri are going to Vinitaly with Dylan in April!



Ar agor ar 3 llawr/Open on 3 floors

Mae'r siop win yn y seler wedi gweithio'n arbennig o dda, nid yn unig oherwydd tymheredd perffaith i win ond hefyd mae'r lle yn siwtio. Ar ôl gwneud camgymeriadau ffôl fel rhoi'r pacedi cardbord Halen Môn lawr na rydym wedi rhoi silffoedd yn y darn gwydr ar y llawr cyntaf. Byddaf yn defnyddio'r pacedi Halen Môn 'na am byth! Dyna ni, pawb yn dysgu rhywsut! 

We're really pleased with the cellar wine shop, it suits the product and is a good constant temperature for keeping wine.  We made our mistakes! Like putting the Halen Môn (Welsh seasalt) down there - I'm still working my way through the damp-damaged packets! Cellars and cardboard packaged salt don't go, so we now have nice shelving in the glasshouse for the other food products.
 
Siop seler/Cellar shop


Yn y bar, gwelwch dair oergell fach tu nol i Caryl (sy'n canolbwyntio ar gael y gwydrau'n berffaith lan). Caniateir y rhain i ni gadw fyny i 15 gwin ar agor ar y tro am 3 wythnos. Felly, gallwn gynnig blasu bach yn y bar o winoedd unrhyw bryd yn ogystal â detholiad eang o winoedd da fesul gwydred neu botel.

In the bar, you can see the wine pods behind Caryl (who is diligently cleaning glasses). This preservation system allows us to keep up to 15 wines open for 3 weeks.  We can therefore offer mini-tastings in the bar at any time and a nice range of quality wines to drink by the glass or the bottle. 
 
Wine Pods - Preservation System

Fyny grisiau mae'r ystafell flasu ble mae Dylan yn cynnal sesiynau blasu gyda sgwrs am y gwinoedd.  Daeth y bwrdd mawr i mewn trwy'r ffenest ar y chwith a ni fydd yn symud o'r fan am hir iawn.  Rydym wedi cynnal sesiynau blasu i ddysgwyr yr iaith Gymraeg a siaradwyr cyntaf - fel dwi'n ffond iawn o ddweud, rhugl ar ôl un gwydred! Rydym hefyd yn llogi'r ystafelloedd yma i gyfarfodydd neu bartis preifat.

Upstairs, we have the tasting room with a superb boardroom table that had to be hoisted in through the window on the left. I doubt if it will ever leave the building now.  Dylan hosts tutored tasting sessions here and we have also conducted wine tastings for Welsh learners and fluent speakers. Fluent after a glass! The rooms upstairs are also available for private hire for family gatherings or meetings.




Ystafell Presagio gwelwch isod. Wedi'i enwi ar ôl y winllan yn Sbaen o ble mae Dylan yn prynu Rioja. Mae'r llawr derw yn yr ystafell hon yn dyddio nôl i tua 1600. Jest stafell i bobl orffwys gyda diod.
 
 
Below is the Presagio room, named after the vineyard from where Dylan buys his Rioja. It has a lovely oak floor dating back to the 1600s. A room to sit and relax in with a glass of wine. 

 
Ac ystafell Bossotti yw'r nesaf, wedi'i enwi ar ôl y teulu o'r Eidal o ble mewnforiwyd ein gwinoedd cyntaf.  Ar y waliau, gwelwch luniau Huw Lewis-Jones, artist lleol. 
The room below is the Bossotti Room, named after the Italian family vineyard in Piedmonte from where we first imported wine. The pictures are by Hugh Lewis-Jones, a local artist.


Methu peidio rhoi llun o Dyl tu nol y bar!

Couldn't resist a photo of Dylan behind the bar!



Mae wir wedi bod yn flwyddyn brysur. Rydym mor falch o’r diwedd i orffen y cyfieithiad o'r llyfr Bwyd a Gwin.  Mae lansiad y llyfr yn Gwin Dylanwad Wine ar y 1af o Fawrth 2016.  Fel arall, gallwch alw i weld ni yn Waterstones Caerdydd neu yn un o'r sesiynau arwyddo trwy'r flwyddyn. Bydd gwybodaeth fel maent yn cael eu trefnu. Dewch am lymed bach a 'nibbles' o'r llyfr.

It really has been a busy year. I thought the translation would never materialise, but here it is.  The launch is in Gwin Dylanwad Wine, Dolgellau on St David's Day, 1st March 2016.  If you can't make that, call in at the signing in Waterstones, Cardiff on the 5th March for a taster of Rioja and a nibble of something from the book!  There will be other signings in bookshops throughout the year and we shall post information about them.  I hope people enjoy the stories, wine information and recipes as much as they did with the Welsh version.


'Rarebit & Rioja'