Wildwood Balsamics

Fionntan Gogarty has won at least a silver award at every Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards since he started entering his vinegars and dressings. Most recently, he won a silver for an elderflower dressing and gold for elderberry with star anise vinegar.

He is half-French, which is important for what he makes. The first step in making his vinegars is to produce a wine, which then becomes a vinegar, then a balsamic and then it is fermented with fruits, herbs, berries, seaweed and flowers.

Wildwood Balsamics is made beside the seashore at Fionntan’s house in Ballina, Co Mayo.

Practically all of the ingredients for the flavours are gathered locally, sometimes with unexpected results.

“A buyer from Fortnum and Mason commented on the blackberry vinegar he had tasted. He said: ‘Yours was the only one I tried which had salt in it.’ I replied that I didn’t add salt, but then I realised that the blackberries I harvested at home grow beside the sea so they are naturally salt-laced in the same way as the heather, the fuchsia, the herbs,” he explains.

It’s been a steep learning curve. I really was thrown in at the deep end. Now we have 22 flavours on our list

Fionntan is a landscape artist who found that once the recession hit, people didn’t have the money to spend on art any more. He had been making his vinegars as a hobby and friends told him he should make more and sell them.

He entered an Irish Times competition for an artisan producer to win a stand at an event. He was successful and spent the time running up to the show “bottling like mad”.

“I didn’t even have fixed prices in my head, but by the end of the show I had completely sold out. I realised that it was easier to sell something for €10 or €15 than €1,000, so I decided to give the business a go,” he says.

Commercial production started seven years ago. He started laying down vinegars in the second year.

“It’s been a steep learning curve. I really was thrown in at the deep end. Now we have 22 flavours on our list, including elderflower, wild rose petal, rosemary, wild garlic and samphire with dill.

“One of the most popular flavours is the cliff samphire. Everything is gathered by hand. I have a lot of Woofers (agricultural students on placement) who help with that. We grow a lot of our own herbs. The thyme vinegar, for example, is made with thyme blossom, not leaf.”

Fionntan says the biggest seller is the heather blossom, which grows abundantly in north Mayo. Some other flavours are small batch.

They are sold in 100ml and 200ml bottles all over Ireland, in stores such as Primrose in Derry, Indie Fude in Co Down; Liston’s of Camden Street, Lotts and Co and the Airfield Estate in Dundrum – all in Dublin.

Other stockists include the Little Greengrocer in Kilkenny, the Urban Co-Op in Limerick, Sheridan’s and McCambridge’s in Galway, Crinkles in Kerry, Urru in Bandon, Cork and Magee of Donegal.

A distributor called Ireland Food West is helping to make a mark on the mainland UK market.

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Burren Balsamics

Susie Hamilton Stubber from Burren Balsamics is based in Richhill, Co Armagh. She started making her vinegars four years ago. She wanted to come up with an affordable product that would become a store cupboard essential.

“We source all our balsamic vinegar from Modena,” says Susie.

That vinegar is then infused with Irish fruit and herb combinations, such as the blackberry and thyme, which took the best artisan prize at Blas in Dingle in 2017.

Other blends include Armagh bramley apple, chilli and honey, raspberry, blueberry, rhubarb and ginger and a balsamic reduction.

“We only use whole fruit, never concentrates. During the last year we have completely changed our methods of manufacture. Previously they were made in a traditional way allowing the fruit and the vinegar to mature in barrels. We now use modernist techniques – the extraction of oxygen and cooking at low temperatures,” explains Susie.

Susie’s background in the food industry means that she is always coming up with new ways to use the vinegars.

“They are fantastic when you use them to roast vegetables or when you add them to a casserole or gravy. I drizzle them over ice-cream and I even use the raspberry one in a brownie mix,” she says.

The newest addition to the range is a white Italian balsamic condiment, which comes in original form and also infused with combinations such as blood orange and cardamom, tarragon, cherry and seasonal wild garlic.

“They are more expensive than the black versions,” says Susie. “The vinegar itself is sweeter because it has a very high percentage of grape must.

“They are really delicate and special and we have presented them in new packaging which we are really happy with. They stand out on the shelf. We have trialled a version with edible 24 carat gold leaf, which has gone down really well with customers.”

The vinegars are sold throughout Ireland and beyond to chefs, shops and also at events.

The Burren Balsamics range.

“I spend a lot of my time at shows and fairs because it gets the name out there. There is also no comparison with getting people to taste the product and be able to give them ideas and advice for usage,” says Susie.

“People don’t realise that they are free from gluten and fat free and that every ingredient is 100% natural. They are also suitable for vegans.”

She says the biggest challenge is the same with any artisan producer – time management.

“You find yourself juggling a lot. You have to make the product, bottle it, label it, distribute it, sell it, deal with all the admin and finance, as well as keeping on top of your diary. I get help with social media and I have a great chef, Bob McDonald, who works with me on new flavour combinations. We are working towards zero food waste by using the ingredients we have infused to make a range of chutneys, relishes and marmalades.

“I really wouldn’t want to do anything else. Getting the awards from Blas and Great Taste were all recognition of all the hard work that goes on day to day. It’s fantastic.”

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