Wine: Bella Luna Pinot Grigio

IN RECENT weeks I have featured a lot of supermarket wines because that’s often where the bargains are to be found. However this is not always the case as I found out when I walked around two of the larger O’Donovan outlets in Cork with Gary O’Donovan.

O’Donovan’s is a family owned business with Gary as managing director and a couple of siblings also involved. There are now 16 shops from Mallow in north Cork to Carrigaline in the south and Midleton to the east of the city. The business was founded by Gary’s father who was a lifelong pioneer but clearly not one to impose such views on his customers.

The first shop opened in Douglas in 1980 and the chain has expanded steadily since. Asked whether he has ever thought about venturing outside of his native county, Gary gave me a wry smile and simply said “yes!”, so watch this space.