Maybe you want to grasp the essentials of Chardonnay in five minutes flat. Maybe you emphatically don't, but rather fancy tasting your way through six 1985 Bordeaux classed growths. Maybe you feel like immersing yourself for hours in Italy or some other significant wine-producing country. Maybe it would be fun to chat up the suave and handsome grand-nephew of Madame Lily Bollinger, or observe another Frenchman knock the corks out of magnums of champagne with a sabre? Only one thing for it, folks. The wine fair, next weekend.
With its mix of glamour, activity and a vast array of decent things to drink, the International Wine & Fine Food Fair in the RDS next Saturday and Sunday sounds like the best wine bargain of the year. At £6, admission is half what it was for Wine '95, Ireland's first attempt at a major wine event. Not only that, but this time around there are more and better wines, more satellite events, more visiting stars. There are 14 national pavilions, making it easy for visitors to get to grips with the wine style of the various producer countries, or to track down well-known names. Further back, leading wine merchants and importers have individual stands - as do purveyors of quality foods: coffee, chocolate, cheeses, venison and so on.
Star quality you'll find all over the place - not just in the wines but behind many of the stands. That's no surprise, perhaps, at a international event opened by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, the owner of Mouton Rothschild and two other distinguished Medoc chateaux. Look out for the amiable Aussies, Bruce Tyrrell of Tyrrell's Wines and Dr Tony Jordan of Greenpoint, along with Portugal's resident Australians David Baverstock and Peter Bright. You may also buttonhole Javier Ochoa from Navarra, maker of one of Ireland's favourite Spanish reds, and Alessandro Candido, maker of one of our bestselling Italian wines - besides begging a precious mouthful from Guy Bizot, the Bollinger man.
The Wine Development Board knocks the stuffiness out of wine education with short, fun tasting sessions - five-minute bursts on the main varietals from John McDonnell and 15-minute introductions from the extrovert MW Maggie McNie with Mary Gaynor. There's an Antiques Road Show-style valuation clinic each afternoon and a charity auction on Saturday at 6 p.m., at which John de Vere White will knock down 60 to 70 lots donated by the trade, with all proceeds going to the Hospice Foundation and International Orphan Aid. Some of our wine merchants are also organising special events. Out in front are Searsons, with all sorts of extra enticements, including masterclasses on Spanish wines and on sherry by leading authority Julian Jeffs; two tasting lunches at the RDS; a sampling of top Burgundy back to 1976 and the aforementioned tasting of 1985 Bordeaux in magnum. Tickets for all of these events - priced from £12.50 to £45 but including admission to the fair - should be snapped up in Searsons in Monkstown.
Mitchells are holding a demonstration each day of the magical qualities of Riedel glasses, by presenting eight wines each in the shape of glass designed specifically for it. McCabes have no special event, but it's fair to say their stand is a special event in itself.
The International Wine and Fine Food Fair takes place at the RDS Main Hall next weekend (October 11th-12th). Open Saturday 12 to 8 p.m., Sunday 12 to 6 p.m. Admission £6.
Sherry
Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla: (Torres stand in Spanish pavilion; on sale in Mitchells, Verlings, McCabes, SuperValus and many good off-licences; also Direct Wine Shipments Belfast. Half bottles about £6.99). Sherry should be high up the list of fair pleasures to probe, with more half bottles on the market at last and the fine Lustau range more widely available than before.
White
Albarino Martin Codax, Rias Baixas, 1996: (Spanish pavilion; on sale at Egans Liscannor and Karwigs Wine Warehouse, Carrigaline, about £7.50) Discover Galicia's aromatic Albarino grape - one of my favourite finds this year - here in a fresh and not too expensive form.
Ca'Nova Vigneto Lugana, Pasqua, 1995: (Molloys stand; on sale from Molloys Liquor Stores at £7.49). Here's an Italian curiosity worth investigating - proof that the often wishy-washy Trebbiano grape can be luscious.
Knappstein Clare Valley Riesling 1996: Australian pavilion; on sale at Dunnes Stores Stephen's Green & Cornelscourt, McCabes, Foleys, Bird Flanagan, Taggarts Rathgar, Grogans Ranelagh and other outlets, £8.99-£9.99) Conduct your own fair survey of the zippy, lime-and-lemon-fresh Rieslings to which I've grown so addicted.
Red
Principe de Viana Garnacha de Vinas Viejas, Navarra, 1995: (Spanish pavilion; on sale from SuperValus and many independent off-licences, £6.99-£7.70). Grenache will be out there in force, too, as it climbs into fashion as a varietal. See Bottle of the Week.
Domaine D'Aupilhac Le Carignan Vin de Pays du Mont Baudile 1995: (Searsons' stand; on sale from Searsons at £9.50). Gifted winemaker Sylvain Fadat makes this soft, plummy, approachable wine entirely from Carignan, a grape that can often result in clumsy efforts.
Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel 1995: (McCabes' stand; on sale from McCabes at £13.95). Seek out an occasion of Zin, with this big mouthful of concentrated berry fruit and punchy spice.
Bottle Of The Week
Juicy Grenache is beginning to be a big hit with the second division of the ABC club - the Anything But Cabernet brigade. But few that I've tasted so far can rival Principe de Viana Garnacha de Vinas Viejas 1995 (pavilion and outlets above, £6.99-£7.70) for sheer panache at - yes, a fair price. Lovely raspberry fruit with a dash of spice, and a great rush of acidity gives bite to the finish.
On The Grapevine
Supersale: Superquinn has just launched a cracker of a wine sale. Working with the French supermarket chain Casino, buyer Michael Donlon has 60 wines on offer, many of impressive quality at genuinely tempting prices. On the basis of a tasting held for the press, I've drawn up a hefty list of recommendations. Bargains for everyday drinking include a spicy Fitou, Domaine du Grand Bosc 1994 for just £4.99; a gently savoury Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Chateau La Grange Clinet 1994 for £6.94, and a white Burgundy I liked last year, Charles Vienot Rully Blanc, in the much fresher but still creamy 1996 vintage, down from the usual price of £7.29 to £6.59.
But the real excitement lies in serious treats to stash away for a few years. My favourites are Bordeaux 1995s: soft and seductive Chateau Moulin de Tricot Margaux (RRP £14.53, down to £11.14); Chateau Lilian Ladouys, rising cru bourgeois star of St Estephe (RRP £17.65 down to £14.95); and succulent Chateau Pibran, a Pauillac cru bourgeois (RRP £20.26 down to £15.99). Big spenders on big names which can be relied on to perform well even in difficult years may also be tempted by meaty Chateau Lynch Bages 1992 (RRP £29.60 down to £24), and the power-packed St Julien Chateau Gruaud Larose 1994 (RRP £31.23 down to £25.60). As for stylish whites, my number one vote goes to. de la Louviere 1995, second wine of the Lurton family's pessac-Leognan chateau of the same name (RRP £14.30 down to £10.98).
The sale is on until November 1st, but you'll need to move fast to capture the goodies . . .