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.

Despite all the words this page has expended on a myriad of wines, the reason we are interested is because they all have one thing in common — “the power to banish care”.

SEPTEMBER is never a good month money-wise with the summer holidays a distant memory, the children arriving from school with requests for extra books and sports equipment, and the radio programmes beginning their doom-laden countdown to the next austerity Budget.

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.