Wine with Leslie: The best French Claret to drink this summer

Claret is one of the most food-friendly and digestible of wines

Claret, in case you are wondering, is a corruption of ‘Clairet’, the name for a lighter style of Bordeaux that is still around but rarely seen on Irish shelves these days.

Ireland and France have a long history for many reasons, partly due to proximity, a shared religion, a shared ‘old enemy’ and of course through trade.

‘Enjoying Claret in Georgian Ireland’ by Patricia McCarthy is a beautiful new book that explores the Irish love of red Bordeaux wine which continues to this day, but arguably reached its peak in the 18th-century Georgian period. Patricia’s previous book was Life in the Country House in Georgian Ireland where she realised just how central claret was to the life of a Georgian Gentleman (and a few Gentlewomen).