Wines for warmer days

I am writing this week’s column outside in the garden such is the weather at the moment. It is not just the Irish that are obsessed with the weather, however — talk to any grape grower or winemaker.

The great Burgundy winemaker Benjamin Leroux gave a fascinating talk at Kelly’s Resort Hotel in Rosslare a few weeks ago about his (superb) wines. He mentioned in passing that there have been five August harvests in Burgundy since the turn of the millennium. It used to be normal to have just three or four August harvests every century.

If the warming trend continues, perhaps soon we will be talking about growing conditions in West and North Cork or the Sunny South-East.