Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha, Cariñena, Spain — €11.99

THERE was good news for the Government this month as it seems their take on wine duty was significantly up over Christmas, despite the criminal increases introduced in November’s budget.

The bad news is that this means we are unlikely to get a cut in the next budget, and small off-licences and specialist wine importers will continue to go out of business, just as they did last year.

All the more reason to shop local, and readers in Cork can go one better by buying some of the wines recommended this week from Wine Alliance based in Glanmire.