The first spring visitors have arrived to jolt us out of our winter rut. They came in two waves over the past few weeks, armed with wines as bright and fresh, after the long diet of soupy reds, as the daffodils on mud-caked roadsides.
Fairs were held, first by a score of New Zealand wineries, then a batch of Austrians, to prime Irish palates for a wide range of styles - some familiar, others not. It was a reminder that these two countries, both tiny in the world league-table of producers, are up near the top of the heap for quality.
First the Antipodeans, on their second annual migration to the Coach House in Dublin Castle. By this stage I think most wine lovers know that if it's knock-your-socksoff Sauvignon Blanc you're after, New Zealand is the place to find it. Cloudy Bay is the benchmark - hugely aromatic, tinglingly zesty and so winning in its elegant way that aficionados grab every drop that comes into the country - even at around £17 a bottle. Never fear: there are countless other good examples - pungent nettles-and-gooseberry Sauvignon Blanc from the heartland, Marlborough, on the cool South Island, others with soft, riper fruit character from Gisborne and Hawkes Bay on the North Island. Hunter's, Cooper's Creek, Forrest and Corban's Cottage Block are names particularly worth punching into your personal organiser.
Less well known - and unjustly so, on the evidence poured out at this buzzing fair - is New Zealand's talent for Chardonnay. I know, I know - Ireland is awash with Chardonnay already, but if some of the synthetic banana-and-butterscotch stuff (or even the watery pear-drop stuff) could be replaced by New Zealand's harmonious renderings, life would be a lot more interesting. They are not inexpensive, it must be said. With the focus on quality rather than quantity (and organic viticulture the norm), no New Zealand wine falls into the category of cheap plonk. But at least there is a good chance your spending will be rewarded with liquid satisfaction - something more erratically delivered in the mid-to-high price range by powerful wine-producing countries. Hotshot Sauvignon producers such as Cloudy Bay and Forrest can be relied upon for cracking Chardonnays. I have focused on Chardonnay in this week's recommendations, partly because it has been unfairly eclipsed by Sauvignon Blanc, but also because I find it difficult so far to wax enthusiastic about New Zealand reds. In previous years the Cabernet/Merlots seemed too herbaceous or stalky; now some in this latest batch, from more favourable vintages, are teetering towards a strange fusion of herbs and jam. More exciting are the Pinot Noirs, but even here there are lingering doubts about burnt and bitter elements which would make me think twice about shelling out £15-£16.
Now to Austria - quite some distance behind New Zealand in the Irish market. There are three main reasons for this. The first is that Austria is only now beginning to recover from the damage inflicted on exports by the scandal of 1985, when unscrupulous producers doctored their dessert wines with diethylene glycol to bump up the sweetness. The second is that, with their tall bottles, gothic script and unspeakably complicated names, they are easily confused with German wines - and those are notoriously hard to sell. Then there's the matter of price. Elevated. These negative factors may seem substantial, but I don't believe they are. The scandal resulted in the tightest set of wine industry controls in the world; and it's high time we consumers got over our suspicion of tall, Germanic-looking bottles and grasped the essential fact that, whether from Austria, Germany or Alsace, they frequently contain exceptionally delicious wine - especially if they come at a price which suggests they have nothing in the world to do with Liebfraumilch. Austrian prices, meanwhile, may seem as high as the Alps, but at least the wines frequently attain lofty peaks in terms of quality and individuality.
Although red grape plantings are apparently on the increase, white wines dominate - and many on offer at the wine fair in the Shelbourne Hotel, in Dublin, immediately showed why. Austria excels at producing deliciously full-bodied but dry whites, among them classy Riesling, mouthfilling Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris and the native speciality, Gruner Veltliner. Produced in bulk this can be nondescript, but in the hands of the country's new crop of passionate producers it turns into a lovely, tangy wine with a whiff of bay leaves and white pepper.
More delectable still are Austria's sweet wines. Around the Neusiedlersee in the extreme east, noble rot, (the fungus required to produce the most illustrious dessert wines), arrives reliably every year (more than can be said of Sauternes and many other regions, where producers fret and pray). The shrivelled grapes yield intensely flavoured Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines, or are left on the vines to freeze at the onset of winter and make thrillingly concentrated Eiswein.
Willi Opitz and Alois Kracher are the sweet-wine kings, with prices that may freeze the blood in your veins until you stop to reflect that the best of sweet Bordeaux costs even more. I haven't yet seen their treasures in Ireland, but if any of you have money to splurge on Lenten luxury, try the 1995 Eiswein of Johanneshof-Reinisch instead - available from Terroirs at £35 a half bottle.
Chardonnay away
Stoneleigh Vineyard Chardonnay 1995/6 (Molloys, Superquinn, Deveneys, McCabes, Carvills Camden Street, Seasons, Grapes of Mirth, Rathmines and other outlets, £7.99£8.99).
This is all about poise and balance - a Chardonnay you won't tire of - at a very decent price. See bottle of the week.
The Sounds Marlborough Chardonnay 1997 (16 leading Dunnes Stores branches countrywide, £7.99). This new arrival is another good example of Marlborough Chardonnay that won't break the bank. A big wine - 13.5 per cent alcohol - but it holds itself well back from the brink of blowsiness. Smooth and creamy with a toasty edge.
Esk Valley Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 1996
(Redmonds, McCabes, Deveneys, Findlaters and other outlets, usually about £9.50). An assertively smoky, oaky Chardonnay with tantalising mineral elements that linger nicely. Well made.
Nautilus Estate Marlborough Chardonnay 1996 (Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, Foleys Cabinteely, Cheers Rathfarnham, Bennetts Howth, McCabes, usually £10.99).
Now here's that magic combination - power delivered with mighty restraint. The aromas may not make a huge impact, but the complex, lasting flavours will.
Austrian peaks
Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, Terrassen Thal, Freie Weingartner Wachau, 1995 (Searsons, £8.95). Well, yes, they're going to have to do something about pronounceability. But drinkability is assured with this tangy, full-flavoured rendering of Austria's most popular grape - from a co-operative of 700 small growers, considered one of the best in Europe.
Pinot Blanc Kabinett, Weingut Stadt Krems, 1996 (Raheny Wine Cellar, Duffys Terenure, McCabes, Lord Mayor Swords, Bennetts Howth, usually £10.99). A lovely Pinot Blanc, all peaches at first, then refreshingly dry. Recommended, they say, with fish or caviar, but I'd save it for a special aperitif.
Domane Muller Pinot Gris 1995 (Mitchells, £11.45). Another exquisite mouthful, this time of spicier, slightly riper flavours - but still with that uplifting acidity. Muller also makes impressive Chardonnay and Sauvignon, but more typically Austrian grapes hold most intrigue.