WINE: Mary Dowey offers some impressions from London's wine fair.
The setting: The London International Wine and Spirits Fair at the ExCel Centre in the Docklands, where 1,200 producers attracted 16,000 visitors from 36 countries for a three-day sampling session.
Most charismatic winemaker: Willi Opitz of Austria - a man I've been keen to meet for ages. So high is his profile that it is hard to believe it is just 10 years since he and his wife abandoned careers as a mechanical engineer and a paramedic to become wine producers. A non-stop talker, Opitz is currently promoting wine weekends at the family's new hotel beside the winery in Illmitz. Visit www.willi-opitz.at
Most exciting wines: Opitz's hedonistic sweet wines, with intense, pure flavours that reverberate for minutes. Opitz One, favoured by the White House, is the best known and the most unusual - a Trockenbeerenaulese made from botrytised red grapes; the 2000 vintage was a revelation. I also fell for his Goldackerl Beerenauslese 2003 - a sweet white wine with both richness and delicacy. Opitz is looking for an Irish importer. Come on, come on!
Most unusual wines: A first taste of Georgia - a country with a longer history of grape growing than most. Some wines from GWS, a winery owned by Pernod Ricard, are being taken up by UK supermarkets. The red grape, Saperavi, unique to Georgia and responsible for the juicy, spicy, Tamada red 2002, is definitely one to watch.
Most intriguing food matches: The "Sommeliers' Choice" table at the German pavilion featured a mouth-watering selection of wines chosen by top restaurants for signature dishes. I reckon the Riesling Trocken Pechstein from J. L. Wolf in the Pfalz would be a knockout with the seared Scottish scallops and baby spinach and beetroot salad in Ransome's Dock; and J J Prum's Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2000 a treat with the terrine of smoked salmon, halibut and marinated salmon in Pétrus. Time we saw star German wines like these in more Irish restaurants.
New boost for sherry: The Tio Pepe stand was buzzing. Fino sales in the UK are up 13 per cent since this brand was repackaged, and are set to climb further with Tio Pepe's sponsorship of Hell's Kitchen, the Gordon Ramsay series screened on ITV over recent weeks.
New spirit of the age: Absinthe. Sales of La Fée, the first commercial absinthe produced in France since the drink was banned in 1915, doubled in 2003. With an ad campaign by Team Saatchi, backing from Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio and absinthe-flavoured menus from top London chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, maybe that's no surprise! Log on to www.eAbsinthe.com.
New glasses: Riedel O - a range of wine tumblers from one of the world's most revered glass manufacturers. "They look more casual than conventional glasses, and you can stack them to save space," said a demonstrator. Each of the six is a different shape to suit a particular grape. €10 each from Mitchell & Son, Kildare Street, and Riedel stockists nationwide.
Bottles of the week
Wolf Blass Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc, South Eastern Australia 2003. Hatched, dare I say it, by Chris Hatcher and his team, this zesty, summery white wine made almost as much impact at the Wolf Blass tasting in Dublin as the swanky Platinum Label Shiraz. Why? Because of pineapple smoothness allied with crisp, lemon freshness - and a very tasty price. From Superquinn; many SuperValus; Dunnes Stores; O'Briens; Molloys and many other outlets, usually EUR9.99.
Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza, Catena Zapata 2002. When I sampled this wine in Argentina a year ago it was an awkward adolescent, but it has grown up very smart. Look out for rich blackberry flavours, layers of spice and a lingering juicy tang. From Cabot & Co, IFSC; Kellys, Clontarf; Donnybrook Fair, Donnybrook; McCabes, Mount Merrion & Gables, Foxrock; On the Grapevine, Dalkey; Bradys, Shankill; Wicklow Wine Co; Greenacres, Wexford; Macs, Limerick; Shannon Knights, Shannon and others, about EUR12.95.