From the horse's mouth

TOP SHOP:James Nicholson, the straight-talking award-winning owner of JN Wines and chairman of Down Royal Racecourse, is a self-confessed horse racing fanatic, but wine is his greatest passion - and it shows

CO DOWN WINE MERCHANT James Nicholson is a refreshingly straight-talking man. There’s no wilfully precious wine-speak, no references to wines smelling like barnyards, hyacinths or wet leather. The reason Nicholson doesn’t need to bother with artifice is that, when it comes to buying and selling wine, he knows his stuff. And while his striking, architect-designed shop might be tucked away in the sleepy village of Crossgar, Co Down, Nicholson’s formidable reputation is far from obscure.

He was recently named regional wine merchant of the year at the International Wine Awards – the Oscars of the wine world – for the 17th year running, and British wine authorities Jane MacQuitty and Jancis Robinson consider his innovative range of wines, sourced with care from small growers and estates, to be among the best in the UK.

As far as John McKenna of the Bridgestone Irish Food Guideis concerned, Nicholson is the real deal: "He finds the best wines from the best producers, he sells them in the most radically beautiful wine shop in Ireland, and his work defines the entire spectrum of the culture of food and wine. He is not simply a modernist: he is an iconoclast, and the work of Jim Nicholson and his wife, Elspeth, is as important to the food culture as the achievement of Myrtle Allen in Ballymaloe House."

“I’m not into mystery and bullshit, wondering whether a wine tastes of blackberries or blueberries,” says Nicholson. “What I’m interested in is whether this is a good glass of wine, whether it will keep 10 years. Everyone can learn about wine if they put their mind to it – if you have 10 good wines in a case of 30, most people will find them. The public’s knowledge of wine has certainly increased in the past 10 years and, while people are probably consuming less wine, they’re consuming it in a clever, quality-conscious way. They can’t be fooled by nonsense.”

Nicholson admits that “the loveliest wines do tend to be the most expensive. When you’re tasting, the longer the finish, the better the wine is. You’re looking for length and persistency of flavour. ”

Nicholson started out in the wine business 34 years ago, as an idealistic 23-year-old. “At that age, you think you’re never going to die, never going to fail – I was full of it, and I had the energy to work 24 hours a day. I’d left school with a few ropey A-levels, and wine was the first thing I was actually interested in. That passion is still there today. If you can get up and do something you love, it helps you get through the day.”

The secret behind JN Wine’s success is the meticulous research that Nicholson and his team put into the wines they sell: travelling, tasting, and deliberating. At home in Ireland, he works half the week in the North, and the other half at his premises in Dublin, but he spends three months of the year away, visiting vineyards across the world.

“I was in Rioja last week. I’m off to Burgundy the week after next. After Christmas I’ll be travelling to Australia and New Zealand, then it’s straight back to Bordeaux. Honestly, I must be Hertz’s best customer in Europe – they know me in all the airports.”

Nicholson says he’s looking for hand-made tailored wines that offer value for money, and for passion and intelligence in the winemakers he meets. “I need to see the passion – if I don’t see that, I know it’s going to be an uphill struggle. When you see the effort and pride, the absolute and utter enthusiasm that some producers have for what they make – well, let’s just say I can’t see the average Wexford potato grower getting the same feeling from his product.”

Sometimes, a long-term working relationship develops. “A sense of place is important. I’ve seen vines planted that are now 20 years old, collapsing under the weight of the fruit.”

One good connection often leads to another: “You’ll find that a producer in Rioja turns out to have a good friend in Australia who makes great wine, and they swap ideas. It’s not scientific. It’s about knowing who’s who.” As a well-known wine guru, Nicholson receives up to 40 unsolicited bottles of wine a week, but these don’t tend to be welcome arrivals: “99 per cent of them are only good for cooking,” he snorts.

For those customers looking for more than a one-off bottle or case of something special, Nicholson offers “cellar plans” for investors, working closely with top producers to secure annual allocations of the most sought-after wines. “Some of the returns have been astonishing,” he says. “The economic downturn, particularly poor returns from the stock market and property, have prompted people to look elsewhere and wine is attracting increasing attention as a commodity which can be expected to rise in value. If someone says they want to invest their life savings, I wouldn’t be comfortable with that. But if someone wants to speculate a few thousand – well, they won’t lose their money.”

A self-declared horse-racing fanatic, Nicholson is chair of Down Royal racecourse, and the JN Wine Champion Chase, run at Down Royal, is the first grade-one event of the Irish National Hunt season. But wine is clearly his first love.

“Sitting down to supper with five or six winemakers, with 25 bottles on the table to dip in and out of – that’s my greatest pleasure,” he says

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