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.

This week, I’m focusing on Veneto, home to some of my favourite Italian wines, such as Bardolino, Soave and, of course, many Irish people’s favourite: Amarone della Valpolicella.

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.

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.

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.

A selection of some of the best wines stocked by Whelehans Wines and I would urge you to visit and have a chat with David, Martina or Gavin.

Ireland’s wine drinkers have fully embraced the big bold Malbec wines from Argentina but this week I’m recommending a couple of Pyros Wines from a valley you have probably never encountered before.

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.

Easter is almost upon us and many of us will be preparing traditional roast lamb.

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

From the main course to the pudding, wine columnist Leslie Williams has the perfect drinks list for the festive season 

If there is a case to be made for GIY being one of Ireland’s most progressive food activist organisations, then The Menu is always happy to testify accordingly, especially taken as he is with this latest initiative, a social eating programme for primary schools, called Eat Together, that begins to address the crucial issue of food education in primary schools.

Independent off-licences breathed a sigh of relief when the Minister for Finance opted not to increase excise duty on alcohol. 

There is a tendency among wine enthusiasts to constantly refer to the beauty of vineyards and wine regions, but some of this I think comes from the fact that we feel so at home in these magical places that produce our favourite sustenance.

Now in truth the grape never went away, it was really the fat oaky styles that we abandoned, says Leslie Williams.

With Christmas just a few hours off, Leslie Williams has a guide to the best wine stocking fillers that will suit any meal over the coming days.

Want a little Christmas spirit? From sparkling wines to cider, beer to gin, our wine columnist, Leslie Williams, has the perfect list to choose from.

To get a feel for the world of wine you need to get a feel for geography and do a bit of driving – perhaps from Napa to Sonoma, from Bra to Barbaresco or take a drive up the D2 from Bordeaux through Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe. 

Galway Hooker’s Irish Pale Ale began production in 2006 and was the first of the second wave of Irish craft beers (Franciscan Well and Carlow were the previous decade). 

Macivors cider orchards were first planted in 1855 and are still in the same family. 

Watching the Euros has got me thinking about French wines so once again this week I’m back in the Languedoc.

April has been declared ‘Natural Wine Month’ by Le Caveau wine merchants in Kilkenny which specialises in organic, bio-dynamic and ‘natural’ wines.

Stockists: Bradleys, No. 21 Group, Stacks, Ardkeen, World Wide Wines, Mchughs, Drink Store

Just a few days left to pick up some last minute presents and to prepare for Christmas.

The thing I love most about the Christmas meal is that for once I am not the only one fussing and worrying about what wine to serve. 

Recently I gave over my column to the joys of sherry and wrote about how well it goes with food. This week it is the turn of port. Port and sherry are drinks we wrongly associate with Christmas when in fact they work all year round.

Chile has come a long way. If you told a wine merchant in 1990 that in 2015, we would be drinking more wine from Chile than anywhere else in the world, they would simply have laughed at you.

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

This column is a massive fan of the wines of Spain. In my opinion, Spain currently offers the best value (price versus quality) of any wine-producing nation.

Two brave David’s to talk about this week — David Whelehan of Whelehan’s Wines which opened in December in the old Silver Tassie pub in Loughlinstown on the N11; and Dave Gallgher of Green Man Wines in Terenure which opened last month.

When I tell people that I write about wine they immediately ask “how do I get a job like that?” The answer I generally give is that I have no specialist skills but I do think about the wines I taste and drink a lot more than most people.

The annual Irish Food Writers’ Guild Awards, in Dublin’s Michelin-starred L’Ecrivain, is invariably one of the finer beanos in the culinary calendar, with Chef Derry Clarke always putting on an exceedingly fine nosebag, each course based on the produce of a particular award winner.

A fierce man for the moving pictures, The Menu is very much looking forward to Alliance Francaise de Cork 26th Cork French Film Festival.