Wine dinners — where importer and restaurant collaborate to showcase a particular range of wines — are often great fun and very good value too.

I once heard one of Chile’s most illustrious winemakers, Aurelio Montes, affectionately refer to the pinot noir grape as being like his teenage offspring: full of potential for a great future — but a royal pain to deal with right now.

WINE fans will be sniffing and sipping their way through fine vintages at events in Cork and Co Dublin tonight.