Sir, - Kevin Myers (February 7th) is deliberately provocative in rubbishing French wines in the £5 to £9 range. Despite his age and the number of wine tastings he has attended, he demonstrates obvious gaps in his various education.
His assertion that "most Irish people do not know whether Chateauneuf du Pape comes from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire or the Vatican" is probably true for non wine drinkers! The rest of us know that it comes from the Rhone, and afficionados will also know the best producers.
His aspersions on the Sopexa Irish sommeliers' contest were ungracious (could he have done better?) and even if some of the contestants are still learning, the best of them have done Ireland proud in international competitions. Our Sopexa friends would laugh at the notion that "the promotion of French wines in Ireland has depended on the granting to Irish sommeliers the right to wear funny hats and gowns". They have several methods of promoting their wines, obviously with great success (over 40 per cent market share in Ireland).
I am not saying all French wines are perfect, but other countries have had their problems also. He praises the Don Carlos range, but I have had some disappointing bottles; likewise I have had a few disappointments with other Spanish, Down Unders, Bulgarian and Chilean wines, which are not as reliable as he thinks.
When Mr Myers buys a bottle of, say, Californian "Cabernet Sauvignon he, in his own words, "knows what he is getting". Wrong! Under Californian law it need only be 75 per cent of the named variety, other grapes, unnamed, making up the other 25 per cent.
If he finds French labels incomprehensible, what does he think of German labels, even since the Gothic script disappeared? His reference to French wines selling on "viticultural mystique" is old hat but terroir certainly has a role. Surely he will agree that in budget priced wines the French have made tremendous strides, particularly in the South, through the Vins du Pays route.
If Kevin cared to taste his way through the admirable 97 version of Jacinta Delahay's book The Best of Wine in Ireland, confining himself to bottles from £410 £10, he would see that French wines won twice as many stars as the nearest competitor, Spain. He professes to love good French wines - at what price levels, I wonder? If he trembles at £9 odd for a French wine, he could instead buy his Playboy magazine, a bag of chips and a £3.99 French wine called Abbaye St. Hilaire. He might then compile a list of non French wines of comparable value, which we would all await with bated breath. - Yours, etc.,
Knocknashee,
Dublin 14.