Buy some wine from Alsace
Wine from Alsace, eh?
The message is a simple one. Head on down to your local supplier of interesting wines and try a wine from Alsace. Even the supermarkets will probably have something from one of the big names such as Trimbach or Hugel.
The bottle has to be that shape
You cannot avoid the tall, Liebfraumilchy-looking bottle: it's a legal requirement of the region. The shape of the bottle does not determine the taste of the contents. You can choose from a wide variety of grapes, and styles from piercingly dry to very sweet and mellow. I admit it's not always easy to tell sweet from dry by looking at the label - the Alsatians themselves are discussing the possibility of a sweetness/dryness indication on the label - but you could always ask the person who is selling you the wine.
Ask your wine merchant
If Bubble Brothers are your local supplier of interesting wines, then what you buy will have been grown and vinified by the Meyer family, whose present generations are pictured here. The family has followed the principles of biodynamics, without unnecessary hoo-ha, for the best part of forty years.
In short—try some wine from Alsace
Alsace makes delicious, food-friendly wines that deserve a much, much wider following in Ireland. I hope you'll take my tip.
Michael Kane of Curious Wines has already waved the flag for Riesling
