For the week that’s in it, and even though we are a day after St. Patricks, I will talk about the Irish who have followed the dream and bought the vineyard in the sun. In fact, this topic is so close to my heart, I will even do a quick turn as an estate agent in the hope that Pat, John and the rest of the experts don’t decide to down tools in protest. Fear not estate agents of South Tipperary, as I will only discuss property in France, and in particular, vineyards in France. I can almost smell the lavender.

I mentioned the Irish owned Domaine des Anges in last weeks article and I won’t repeat myself as to the quality of these wines, but suffice to say that Tomás Clancy of the Sunday Business Post agrees and he has just raved about them in last Sunday’s paper. Did he gain inspiration from my article last week? The wines reviewed received huge ratings but unfortunately, he did not tell the Irish Business world that I stock them. If the world is listening, I do. I am also glad to say that they can also be found in one of the best restaurants in Tipperary. Befani’s on Sarsfield Street have the Red and White as part of their new organic section. Their imaginative menu will compliment these wines fantastically and I can’t wait for my next visit. But enough shameless publicity.

Other Irish people making a go of wine making in France include Sean and Caroline Feeley of Chateau Haut Garrigue in the Bergerac region. They are in the process of moving from organic to biodynamic winemaking and their quality rises year on year. You might have seen them on the cover of the Irish Times last year, at a Red Nose Wine Tasting or on the Nationwide TV program before Christmas. RTE sent out a crew to film the harvest and even though it is very hard work, they made it all sound and look very tempting. One of our own, David O Brien from Rosegreen brought the great Chateau Vignelaure back to life in the mid 90’s and it now sits alongside some of the icon wines of France. Their Rosé is also spectacular and if we manage to get a summer this year, this is one to savour. I hope you all called down to the Arches on St. Patricks Day to taste all of these Irish wines. Maybe it will give you a taste for the dream.

As I check my range of websites on current vineyards for sale, the first thing that strikes me is that there is a lot. It is a good time to be a buyer and in particular, a cash customer. There is a very nice Provence vineyard for sale with 100 acres and a large Mas ( farmhouse ) to restore for €1.2million. There is small Loire Valley house and vineyard for sale for €478,000. It also has an orchard, so you could give Bulmers a rattle on the side. However, if my ship came in, I think I would go for an 18th Century Maison de Mâitre with a vineyard and a pool. It has 11 bedrooms and lies near the coast between Cannes and St. Tropez. I think I would feel bad only paying the asking price of €2.6million. I’d offer them €3million just so I could sleep at night. To sleep, perchance to dream.

It is not all one way traffic – some winemakers actually move to Ireland. I have raved about Mas Daumas Gassac on many an occasion and the world famous wine was started by the equally famous Áime Guibert. He finds refuge from the heat of the Languedoc in Ireland, and in Cork to be exact. The family have a house near Bantry and he sails his boat in the summer. His son Roman spent part of his education in Rockwell College, and he tells me that he made regular trips to Clonmel to practice his English in Dannos. His older brother Samuel will be coming to Ireland on April 14th for a very special tasting. As well as the Grand Cru wines, we will taste their full range which starts from €9. I spoke to him this morning about the tasting and he was calling from Japan. I am very serious when I say that his schedule reads something like this: Tokyo – Buenos Aires – Paris – New York – San Francisco – Clonmel – London – Berlin – Madrid. This is a real rare chance to meet one of the very special families in wine and who are almost single-handily responsible for dragging the Languedoc out of the doldrums. It also helps that the wines are superb and really do have something for all budgets. Numbers will be limited so call in to reserve your seats.

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For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Fate intervened this week and has chosen the article subject for me. In the words of the great Leonard Cohen, “I was born like this, I had no choice, I was born with the gift of a golden voice”. Whatever about the golden voice, I had no choice, as two things happened in quick succession that led to the article subject matter. As with many of life’s interesting ( and uninteresting ) stories, it started with a bottle of wine. I have been tasting samples since my trip to France and also from the various wine fairs that I have been attending. I am inundated with samples of wine and it is proving tough going getting through them all. People who have heard me sing will appreciate the damage potentially being done to the “golden voice”. During the week, I tasted some samples from a very well reviewed house in the Rhone Valley. The famous American critic Robert Parker loves them and to be fair, the wines are very much full bodied tour de forces. The winemaker recommended that I open the top end wines about 5 hours before drinking. I had tasted the wines at a show in Montpellier in January but never checked the alcohol content. It is only when I got the bottles did I notice that 2 of the wines were marked 16%. The wines were well made and the alcohol was well integrated with the fruit, but that’s a big number – and this has a lot to do with 2007 being an exceptional year in the south of France. After my official tasting was done, I took the nicest bottle and had a couple of glasses in front of the TV. I only had 2, but I don’t mind telling you, I was like the annoying guest at the end of a wedding by the end of the second glass. I had a theory on everything and only for the children asleep upstairs; I may have even exercised the golden voice. I can handle a drink, but this one knocked me out. I slept the sleep of angels.

The next morning I was not hung-over, but I felt like I had been out for a big meal. The head was a little seedy and I didn’t jump out of bed with my usual energy. I did my few jobs around the house and had a few messages to do in Clonmel. One of them was to collect the new edition of Decanter, the UK wine magazine. I sipped away at a coffee and flicked through the pages and came across an article by Andrew Jefford, who asked the question “Can fine wine be made at 14% or even 15% alcohol, or is quality compromised”. Considering my previous night’s endeavours, I felt compelled to submit to fate and this is how my article’s subject came to be decided upon. Considering the length of time it has taken me to get to that point, no doubt some of you are wondering if I am re-sampling, but I can assure you I am on the coffee.

The article looks at both sides of the argument and lets various people state their case. Realistically, if you have a vineyard that is blessed with lots of sun and heat, you can get fairly consistent results and you don’t have the problems of grapes not getting to their full ripeness. This is why vintage is less important in the south of France than in Bordeaux. However, when you get a really good summer with lots of heat, then the potential trouble arrives. The more sun that the vines receive, then the more sugar content is in the grapes, and the higher the sugar content, the higher the alcohol content. There are ways and means to reduce and increase the alcohol levels artificially in wines, but at this stage, for those of you who have read a few of my articles at least, I tend to only be interested in wines that reflect the land where they are grown, and the people who cultivate this land. In essence, don’t mess with what nature has delivered. You have to take the good with the bad, or at least the winemaker does – I don’t have to buy them in a bad year. Wines alcohol levels range from about 4.5% ( in Moscato ) to about 20% in Port. The balance is everything and if you can noticeably smell or taste the alcohol in a port, then you can confidently class it as bad example. The alcohol is in balance with the fruits, which in this case are sweeter than a normal wine. But if you go back 50 years, table wine was in the 11% to 12.5% range, even in abnormally hot years. The big change has come from a mix of lower yields, selective harvesting and more efficient yeasts. If you then add Global Warming to the pot, you get more sugar and more alcohol. The ancient concept of terroir now comes back into focus as the vineyards that are exposed the most to the elements have to really work hard to control the levels. A lazy winemaker will be found out very quickly – pruning is a year round exercise. The higher altitude vines are that little bit cooler and this helps in the really hot years.

As if fate was really giving me a push, I just had the same conversation with Gay McGuinness who owns the wonderful Domaine des Anges in Provence. He was in the warehouse this morning dropping off the new order of wines. After some suitable comments about the Tipperary – Kilkenny match ( Gay is a Kilkenny man ), we got onto wine. Their vineyard is quite high and overlooks the famous Mount Ventoux. The amount of their wine that was sold this Christmas is a testament to the quality of the wines, both red and white. You won’t see too many wines that balance the higher alcohol so well, especially at the €12.50 price point. Considering St. Patricks Day is arriving, this might not be a bad option to show your love of wine and all things Irish. The winemaker is Ciaran Rooney, a Dublin man who is forced to live in one of the most beautiful regions on the planet. Interestingly enough, there are different rules worldwide for alcohol level labelling. Australia allows for a 1.5% tolerance, so a 14% labelled wine could be 12.5 or 15.5%. It is a similar story in the U.S. and New Zealand. European wines are a little tighter and demand a 0.5% threshold. Going back to my 16% sample wine, I am afraid I won’t be importing it, but they have some very nice Cotes du Rhone wines, red and white, at more realistic levels that I am interested in pursuing further. With vines, and the essential sunshine they require, there really is the potential of too much of a good thing.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

An exciting one day food extravaganza is planned for Clonmel on St.Patrick’s Day Wednesday next the 17th of March. The fair will take place under the arches of the Main Guard and promises to be a treat for all the family. Along with the fine food available to try and buy there will also be Tipp Fm Roadcaster on the street creating a unique atmosphere reminiscent of years gone by. It will enrich the area, support a feeling of community and will definitely be an event for the whole family to enjoy.

Everyone knows that one of the best things about St.Patrick’s Day is food, glorious food. At this special, under the arches food extravaganza there will be plenty of delicious offerings to be had. All the producers involved are members of the Tipperary Food Producers Network, who operate very strict quality criteria, and therefore you are guaranteed top quality local products. Each of the participants has won various awards for their produce but the true test is always in the taste and there will be plenty of opportunity to sample on the day.

Those taking part are Inch House, renowned for their black pudding, The Scullery who do a particularly tasty pudding in their delicious range. , Crossogue Preservers. The Cookie Jar, Tasty Treats and. James Whelan Butchers will be showcasing their famous Steak burgers while Crowe’s Farm will bring their award winning artisan bacon and ham to the feast. Local baker Nuala Hickey will be showcasing her world famous brack while Una O Dwyer will be cooking her award winning range of sausages. Red Nose Wine will provide samples from some of Ireland’s modern day winemakers in France. The newest members to our network Audrea Hassett and Sarah Baker will also be showcasing there products.

Don’t miss this special event where you can source all your ingredients or buy food gifts for everyone you know. It is the perfect antidote to food shopping in the supermarket and a real treat for your taste buds. Under the Arches at the Main Guard Clonmel will be crammed with goodies and will be open from 12noon to 4.30pm on Wednesday 17th of March for one day only.

St.Patrick,s Day Food Extravaganza Under the Arches at the Main Guard has been organized by Tipperary Food Producers Network in association with the Clonmel Chamber of Commerce, Clonmel Urban Council and the St.Patrick,s Day Committee.