Wine happenings

WINE: Mary Dowey 's wine recommendations, events and news

WINE: Mary Dowey's wine recommendations, events and news

SOUR GRAPES France has so many important regions producing so many benchmark bottles that no wine writer can neglect it for long. But I feel profoundly irritated by the French wine industry's regular attempts to promote its efforts via snide criticism of wines from the New World, which it writes off as incapable of producing anything complex or sophisticated. Infuriating rubbish.

Now along comes the latest Burgundy advertising campaign. What do we find? One ad features a chap sniffing a glass of white wine with the caption "John, the discerning New World grower, knows all about the bouquet of white Burgundy. He just can't get it into his glass." Then some stuff about the influence of terroir and tradition on Burgundy before a punchline: "As for getting it into the glass, that's what the discerning drinker might call savoir-faire or know-how. Or, for John, a moment yet to share and treasure."

Hang on, folks. Does John really want to replicate white Burgundy or is he, perhaps, happy to make a top-notch wine that is typical of his own neck of the woods?

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Of course, Burgundy benefits from wonderfully diverse terroirs and 1,000 years of winemaking experience, but this advertisement is shockingly patronising, not to mention pretentious. Why doesn't the BIVB, Burgundy's wine board, just focus on raising quality in the region (we still see plenty of shoddy bourgognes) instead of vaunting its superiority?

CHARITY BEGINS AT GUILBAUD'S The donors and bidders were exceptionally generous at the recent Great Wine Auction and black-tie dinner held at Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation, which netted more than €92,000. Among the 30 or so lots were two cases of Champagne Cristal 1996, cases of Penfolds Grange 1995 and 1998, Guigal's three legendary single-vineyard Côte Rôties 1999 and a trio of five-litre bottles of Marimar Torres Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 1995, 1996 and 1997. But perhaps the wine of the night was one opened and savoured on the spot, Château Léoville-Barton Saint Julien 1988, a harmonious delight served with venison. An excellent choice by the guest of honour, Lilian Barton of Château Léoville-Barton. At an afternoon vertical tasting of 11 vintages of this highly regarded "Wine Geese" château, the 1988 and 1985 were rated the long-haul stars and the 1997 a lovely wine for more immediate drinking.

GOURMET WEEKEND Who wouldn't be tempted by the thought of a weekend in a castle on an island on Lough Erne, combining cookery demonstrations with a tutored Burgundy tasting, a cheese seminar and what should be some splendid meals? Belle Isle Castle and School of Cookery, near Lisbellaw, in Co Fermanagh, has joined forces with Berry Bros & Rudd, the wine merchant, for this extravaganza, April 22nd-24th. The price, £450 (about €650) a person, includes a champagne reception on the Friday evening, two gourmet dinners with wines to match and two lunches, as well as accommodation and tuition. Call Andrea Law at 048-66387231 or e-mail accommodation@belleisle-estate.com.

ARGENTINE AMBASSADOR Argentina is one of the wine-producing countries that intrigues me most. And one of its most intriguing producers is José Alberto Zuccardi. Endlessly innovative, energetic and enthusiastic, the head of Familia Zuccardi wines was in town the other day. He came to Dublin to launch two upmarket ranges, the Santa Julia Reserva wines (Chardonnay and Malbec, here soon at 12.99) and the premium Zuccardi Q series (Chardonnay and Tempranillo, about €18.99). Both will sit at the upper end of a portfolio driven by the well-made, keenly priced Fuzion blends and entry-level Santa Julia varietals. These are suave, polished wines; the Malbec Reserva in particular stands out effortlessly in its price category.

Zuccardi now has an astonishing assortment of 35 grape varieties under cultivation. The Spanish grape Albariño, the southern Italian Greco di Tufo and the Portuguese Trincadeira have all been added to the questing winemaker's collection in the past year. "Things are moving fast in Argentina now," Zuccardi says, mentioning that wine investment is continuing at full pelt as the economy stabilises. Wine tourism is flourishing. "Now the focus must be to improve the quality of our wines," he admits. Perhaps. And to give the serious wines a longer period of maturation before release, I would suggest. But already there are strong signs that Argentina is the next wine El Dorado.

ANOTHER AWARD FOR ELY I still meet wine lovers who haven't discovered Ely wine bar, Dublin's most exciting venue for wine explorers. If you're among them, here is yet another reason to visit the multi-award-winning enterprise of Erik and Michelle Robson: Ely has won the Wine Award of the Year in Georgina Campbell's Ireland Guide 2005. Wine is given due consideration throughout this carefully compiled hotel and restaurant guide, which costs €19.95 from bookshops. Ely is also opening a wine bar in the CHQ building in Docklands.