If you were at a wedding in the last few years, chances are that you were served prosecco.

May is sustainability month in the Irish Examiner and last week I wrote about the challenges facing wine makers and wine drinkers as we all try to lower our carbon footprint. I’m sure some people were aghast at my recommendation of wine in a bag as despite it having a lower carbon footprint than glass it just feels wrong.

The annual Spanish Wine Week runs from next Monday (April 8) until the following Sunday (April 14) with wine and food events around the country. For a full list of events and promotions visit www.spanishwineweek.ie.

Just a few days left before Christmas and if you are stuck for present ideas don’t forget that a decent bottle of wine or gin is always a welcome gift.

FoodCloud Hubs is an internationally acclaimed-Irish social enterprise that has pioneered the redistribution of surplus or ‘waste’ food from retailers to local charities, beginning with its first distribution centre in Little Island, in Cork, and they have just launched the third national hub, in Oranmore, in Galway.

When we think of Champagne we tend to think of the big brand houses who spend fortunes every year on marketing so it’s easy to forget the smaller quality-conscious houses and growers plugging away in their wake.

The Food on the Edge symposium (October 22-23) returns with a gathering of chefs and food personages, from home and abroad, assembling in Galway for talks, panel discussions, and masterclasses, led by joint MCs, chef/restaurateur JP McMahon (Galway), chef Matt Orlando (Copenhagen), and Sasu Laukkonen (Helsinki).

A dip into South America this week following tastings with two producers. Garzon is a fairly new project (2008) on the east coast of Uraguay with flying winemaker Alberto Antonini in charge of winemaking while La Celia in the Uco Valley in Mendoza was founded 125 years ago.

There’s life in Redmonds yet — a well-attended meeting to save the 126-year old Cork GAA club from extinction deciding that while the club’s Tower Street premises will have to be sold to clear off mounting debt, Redmonds will continue inside the whitewash in 2019.

The news filtered through in dribs and drabs last week, but the bottom line was consistent in all versions of the story. Redmonds GAA club is to close down.

What's big for food in the week ahead?

A first this week as I believe this is debut appearance of wines from the Azores on this page.

How time passes when you’re having fun. And time has certainly passed for the 11-year-old West Waterford Festival of Food 2018 (April 20-22), an event at which The Menu has, in years gone by, put away more fun than a clown school on nitrous oxide.

Time to confess. I’m a European nationalist (if such a thing is possible), if I could afford it I would buy Paul Smith over Ralph Lauren, Citroen over Chrysler, Bordeaux over Napa Valley, Cornas over Barossa.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and fiercely independent — it is after all an island between two continents — Africa and Europe

MISSED BY ALL: The Menu was saddened to learn of the recent death of Biddy White Lennon, a fellow member of the Irish Guild of Food Writers, of which she was both a founder member and former chair.

One question I am often asked is what is Ireland’s best selling wine and the answer — Santa Rita 120 — probably shouldn’t surprise you, writes Leslie Williams.

To understand the changing heart of the GAA, it’s worth a trip to the Cork City Junior C Football League final.

The world of wine is a large place and columns like this I hope help distil it down to a manageable size.

For some reason 2016 seems to have had a higher proportion of celebrity deaths than usual, and this month two well-known wine names could be added to the list — Louis Latour (aged 83) and Etienne Hugel (aged just 57).

 

History will be made on Sunday when the first final of the Cork Senior Hurling Championship will be played in Páirc Uí Rinn – 40 years after the decider was played at the UCC Grounds in the Mardyke.

The wine industry in Ireland used to be a bit of a boys’ club but times have changed.

Father’s Day is tomorrow so this week I want to focus on wines your dad will probably like. 

The menu consents to being showered by Father’s Day gifts from his progeny; less grudgingly, if those gifts are designed to appeal to his innate gluttony.

BOYNE BECKONS

I am often asked where I like to buy my wine and the honest answer is (and should be), everywhere. However I must confess a bit of a bias towards the independent sector.

While Mrs Menu informs him that he is not currently in the market for true love and will wind up in traction if he takes to acting otherwise, the feast of St Valentine is nigh upon us and the only route to a man’s heart, through the belly, is a longtime and exceedingly well-worn path for The Menu.

Many moons ago, The Menu took great pleasure in regularly visiting a wonderful old period home, Lettercollum House, in Timoleague, Co Cork, enjoying splendid meals based around organic produce grown on site afore heading upstairs for blissful repose in the collectively-run guesthouse. 

HIS WEEK I am focusing on Waterford which held its annual Harvest Festival just a couple of weeks ago with a strong focus on local food producers and of course on wine. 

While The Menu remains forever enraptured by our glorious West coast, he knows full well that man does not live on scenery alone...

The Menu loves chips and The Menu also loves Limerick.

WHAT are the biggest influences on the flavour of a glass of wine?

IRELAND’S economy seems to be slowly starting to rise out of the mire in recent months but spare a thought for Argentina’s winemakers who have been suffering massive instability in recent years.

The Menu, having saddled up the doughty Neidin and ensured his Party Hat was cocked at a particularly rakish angle, lit out for the Big Smoke earlier this week to the Irish Food Writer’s Guild Annual Food Awards, one of the highlights of the Irish culinary year when the cream of Irish food writers assemble to honour the world-class Irish food world.

WITH New Year’s Eve just hours away do not delay in buying your favourite Champagne, Cava or Prosecco.

The Menu welcomes news of the 17th annual Knorr Student Chef of the Year competition.

Do check out these hampers: Bandon-based Urru (www.urru.ie) and the magical Diva Boutique Bakery (www.divaboutiquebakery.com) has an online pop-up Christmas food shop;

LEESIDE LEGEND: Cork-born Jackie Morley signs for West Ham in 1955 where he spent three seasons before returning in 1958, joining League of Ireland newcomers, Cork Hibs.

René Redzepi and Yotam Ottolenghi have been booked for Ballymaloe LitFest 2014.

It is with great distress The Menu learns of the difficulties facing the magnificent Co Clare-based Irish Seed Savers, in very real danger of perishing due to severe Dept of Agriculture funding cuts.

IRISH wine consumers like familiarity and consistency in their wines and it is largely for this reason that over 50% of the wine we drink is from Australia or Chile and almost all of that is from grapes such as Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.