Christmas Wine News

Sheridan's Wine Shop

We have come to expect the Sheridan brothers' operations ­ which now includes a new shop and sandwich bar just off Dublin's Pembroke Road ­ to surprise us with innovative thinking, and so it is with their new wine shop, run by the charming Enrico Fantasia, above their peerless cheese shop on Galway's Castle Street, in the centre of the city.

The Old world is triumphant here, particularly the brilliant range of Italian wines which shows a great deal of research by the team. Running through this range just barrels up the superlatives: the quintessential tarriness of Chianti in the lovely Borgo Scopetto Chianti Classico; the power and finesse of Domini Veneti Vigneti di Forba, a valpolicella to die for (it's not that long ago that valpolicella seemed to be a wine that would make you die); and two in particular that showed outstanding winemaking: the Vignai da Duline Viburnum and Morus Alba, the former sour-sweet in fruit, the latter 'as fine and complex as a fine Burgundy' according to our notes. Don't miss this hot new destination.

Contact Enrico at: enrico@sheridanscheesemongers.com and check out their Xmas boxes on: www.sheridanscheesemongers.com

RM Wines

Interviewed recently in The Financial Times, Jancis Robinson M.W. revealed that her Xmas dinner would be starting with Sally Barnes' famed Woodcock Smokery smoked salmon, from Castletownshend in West Cork.

Well, if you are thinking of some of Sally's fish to start the meal, then take a tip from Jancis and: Think German. Ms Robinson has long been one of the great champions of Riesling from Germany, and it was whilst tasting some of the fine selection of German wines from RM Wines of Dublin that we reckoned we might have found a magical match for smoked salmon.

Specifically, it was the Zur Schwane Silvaner Auslese 1993 that convinced us that the auslese has a viscous texture that would be simply sublime with smoked salmon. The wine is sweet, but crisp, that complex double act that the best German wines manage so well. But, above all, it is the texture of an auslese such as this that stopped us in our tracks, and texture being vital to how well a wine works with food, we reckoned this one would do the Xmas trick. If you can't get the 1993, then snap up the 1999, highly praised recently in the Irish Times

For more details of the RM wines list of interesting German wines, and to receive their newsletter, contact Mary Egan, RM Wines, email: mary@rm-wines.com Tel/Fax : 00353 1 6335923

Nectar Wines

We have been keeping an eye on John McGrath and Carl Byrne's little nectar Wines company ever since coming across their fantastic mas de Libian wines, from the Cotes du Rhone. Well, these guys are moving fast; they have opened a smart new wine shop in Tuam, Bodega, at the top end of the town on Vicar
Street. Here, John and Carl have found room for all the wines they import: the Mas de Libian; fine, subtle Chateauneufs from Domaine de Fontavin; the lovely, punchy Spanish wines of Masia Sague; some pleasing Beaujolais from Metrat et Fils, and good new worlders such as Barking Owl from Australia and Tekena from Chile. Along with Sheridan's this is a key new address in the West.

Tel: (093) 702 72 email: bodegawines@eircom.net website: www.nectarwines.com

Staunton Wines

Eating and staying in one of the new Bridgestone discoveries for 2004, Travara Lodge in Courtmacsherry, gave us the first introduction to the range of Australian wines imported by Anthony Staunton, for this is one of the West Cork restaurants to stock the wines. Mr Staunton's name may ring a bell because of his family's association with Staunton's black and white puddings, from Timoleague, in West Cork, though he no longer has an association with the company.

Instead, his energy is devoted to the Riverina range of wines from New South Wales, from the 1164 reserve range through to the everyday Bushman's Gully wines. These are fresh, lively and well-crafted wines: the Bushman's Gully range are very fine quaffers for everyday drinking, whilst the Warburn and 1164 range are pricier but extremely reliable: look out for the rare Warburn Durif 2000 with its exotic melée of savoury spicyness.

For more details and stockists of the Riverina range, check out Mr Staunton's website: www.stauntonwines.com