A few years ago on a visit to Chile I went for a swim in the Pacific Ocean at 7pm on a warm evening in mid-December, it was a little bracing but also blissfully refreshing.

Michael Noonan decided to spare the wine community in Ireland further pain in the recent budget so I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies.

WHILE everyone else is talking about a crash, there was a gentle and altogether more reassuring “pop” as the National Off-Licence Association unveiled its 2008 Gold Star Awards.

THE National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) has unveiled its 2007/2008 Gold Star Award wines.

THERE’S a big surprise in store for Irish wine drinkers today. A quick look at the latest National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) Gold Star Awards raises just one question — where have the French gone?