'People are intrigued by them': Meet the pioneers making wine in Ireland

Ireland has never been regarded as wine country, but a handful of pioneers have paved the way for a new generation to embrace the art of winemaking, writes Leslie Williams

Ger Wall, Aoife and Colm McCan, and David Dennison

When German-born Thomas Walk planted Rondo vines outside his holiday home in Kinsale four decades ago, few could have imagined he was laying the foundations for Ireland’s modern wine industry. Today, his vineyard is one of 27 represented by the Irish Winegrowers Association.

But Ireland’s relationship with vines goes back much further. In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede wrote that Ireland “abounds in milk, honey… and vines”. More recently, a grape pip found in an ancient cereal-drying kiln in Kells was radiocarbon dated to the 7th century AD, suggesting grapes were present here centuries ago.