IN the weekly fusillade of phone calls discharged to track down stockists of the bottles featured in this column, I've noticed one name cropping up more and more. SuperValu it is, attached to a batch of locations that include Raheny, Deansgrange, Killiney and Killester in Dublin and Kinsale, Tralee, Dingle and Athlone. Odd, I thought, having seen in my own local SuperValu a less than inspirational selection. How come certain outposts of the empire have discovered, so conclusively, that there is life beyond Liebfraumilch?
In search of an answer, off I went last week to Raheny Wine Cellar, one of the SuperValu off licences mentioned most frequently, and most glowingly, by wine importers. It is one of the new style supermarket wined shops, custom built adjacent to the main shop but with an out side entrance, which means it can stay open beyond normal supermarket hours. It flourishes as a separate entity, but in a fundamental way which has more to do with the structure of SuperValu than the shape of the shop. All the stores in the retail operation set up by Musgraves in the late 1980s are independently owned, with the owner often doubling as manager. This gives them a certain freedom to foster individuality. Nowhere is it more apparent than in the wine department.
"We can develop our own style, put our own stamp on it," says Colin Sheil, who took over as manager of Raheny Wine Cellar, in August 1994, after five years with Findlater's. This week Ian Lacey, formerly in charge of wine at SuperValu Deansgrange, took up a new appointment as wine manager for the entire group - not to homogenise the approach but to maximise buying power while encouraging the individuality that is proving so successful.
Look more closely at Raheny. When Colin Sheil arrived, the Wine Cellar sold a lot of beer, a lot of spirits, and a distinctly moderate amount of wine - mostly familiar big brands like Piat d'Or, Blossom Hill and Pedrotti. Exactly two years later, it has a terrific range of wines, from humble £3.995 through richly diverse middle ground right up to the peaks occupied by the likes of Lynch Bages, Domaine Dujac Morey Saint Denis, Tignanello and Torres' Gran Coronas Mas La Plana. And wine turnover has doubled.
"I think quality is the only way to go," says the young manager whose route to the Cellar involved falling in love with a French girl whose father's excellent cellar made the wine business suddenly seem like a decent way to earn a living. "This is a fairly settled, residential area, so we have customers who've been buying wine for years. What I try to do is encourage them to experiment more and trade up a bit."
There are in store tastings on Saturday afternoons, giving people a chance to compare the quality of similar wines, a pound or two apart. There are also regular tastings at the wine club whose membership has swollen, in no time, to over 300. One way or another, customers are being won over to more exciting wines.
"When I started, virtually every wine we sold was under £5." Colin Sheil says. "Maybe a couple of bottles a week cost more, but that was about the height of it. Now we sell dozens and dozens of wines at around £7.50, and even the most expensive bottles in the fine wine corner aren't purely decorative!"
It's interesting - gratifying, even - that his top seller isn't Liebfraumilch or anything remotely like it, but Candido Salice Salen Tino, a hearty, rustic red from the heel of Italy recommended more than once in this column and on sale in Raheny at the excellent price of £5.99. "Italian wines do very well in general, especially among our younger customers - our Raheny yuppies. People are getting slightly tired of Australian wines. They're turning to Italy and Spain particularly, and also toe Chile and South Africa. France, doesn't seem to be as popular as it was, although the vin de pays are coming up a lot."
The selection changes all the time and is drawn from a wide cross section of importers. Any I have spoken to seem more than happy to supply the dynamic SuperValus, especially now that the big three, Quinnsworth, Superquinn and Dunnes Stores, are importing more wine directly and as a consequence need their services less. "I have to be like a football manager," Colin Sheil explains, "and know who all the good players are." Not a bad simile, since he gets such an enormous kick out of it, too.
Whites
. Paarl Heights Chenin Blanc 1995 (Raheny Wine Cellar £4.99; widely available). A lovely summer wine at a good price - crisp and clean but with plenty of tropical fruit flavours and a slightly honeyed finish.
. Wakefield Clare Riesling 1994 (Raheny Wine Cellar £6.49; widely available). A zingy Australian Riesling, fatter in style than its lean German cousins. This one went down well at a Raheny Wine Club tasting and has been flying out the door ever since.
. Vinas del Vero Gewurztraminer 1995 (Raheny Wine Cellar £6.99; also SuperValu Deansgrange, Dalkey, Killiney, Bayside; Molloys, McCabes, Savages Swords, Jimi Wines Limerick and other outlets). Yes, a Spanish Gewurztraminer - and a super one, too, spicy and mouthfilling as you would expect, but at a much gentler price than Alsace Gewurz commands. Lovely as an aperitif, or with liver pate or shellfish. "It sells consistently," Colin Sheil says, "and it's a wine I wouldn't be without because it's so different."
Reds
. Kourtaki Vin de Crete 1995 (Raheny Wine Cellar £4.99; widely available). A Greek goodie for under a fiver, with soft, ripe fruit and a peppery punch - perfect for the onset of the casserole season. "Irish people love these warm, full bodied Mediterranean wines," our Raheny wine man reports.
. Domaine Maris Minervois Carte Noire 1990 (Ralieny Wine Cellar £6.39; also SuperValu Killiney, Killester and Superquinn). When Colin Sheil first came across this wine in a blind tasting he guessed its price at around £10. "I still feel that way about it," he says. "It's one of the best value wines I have." Super, rich flavours delivered with French restraint.
. Canepa Zinfandel 1995 (Raheny Wine Cellar £6.49; also SuperValu Deansgrange, Killester; Roches Stores Blackrock and Corrib SC, Galway). Another oddity - a Zinfandel from Chile rather than California. "A big, fruity mouthful - not very complex, but it doesn't pretend to be." Another cold weather wine, which probably means we should stock up on it any time.
. Piero Mancini Saccaia 1992 (Raheny Wine Cellar £7.29; also Cooneys Harold's Cross, Vintry Rathgar, Redmonds, Terroirs, Egans Drogheda, Lanney's Wine - Cellar Ardee). From a state of the art Sardinian winery, a smashing red, with all those robust southern flavours that appeal to Irish palates coming through in a wine with unexpected elegance. See Bottle of the Week.
. Quinta do Carmo Vinho Regional Alentejo 1992 (Raheny Wine Cellar £15.99; also leading Superquinns, Redmonds, Jus de Vine Portmarnock). A terrifically impressive Portuguese red from an old family estate with Rothschild involvement. "This is one I recommend to people who are looking for something to lay down for a couple of years." Colin Sheil says. "It's drinkable now but still a bit tannic. In a year or two it will be brilliant."
On the grapevine
. Reading matter... Gilbeys has just launched Wines From The World's Best Cellars for consumers. Its description of it as "a totally innovative approach to wine education" may be a little over the top: it's an expensively produced booklet about their most prestigious labels and a newsletter. Plenty of interesting, information, all the same, presented in a lively way - though it's a pity the educational themes isn't reflected in a more fastidious; approach to spelling and grammar. Available free: write to Freepost PO Box 5246, or look out for application details in participating wine shops.
. Dining matter ... Northern wine merchant James Nicholson is hosting a series of wine dinners south of the Border in early September, starting with what sounds like a very classy evening in the Commons next Wednesday. Charles Sichel presents wines from his family's two great Bordeaux properties, Chateau Palmer and Chateau d'Angludet, while Martin Shaw of Australian producers Shaw & Smith takes care of the whites. £85 per person. Book directly with the Commons, tel 01 475 2597.