Today marks the last time we can remember the 1918 World War I armistice within a century of its realisation. 

The European wine harvest is in full swing but the late spring frost and hail and an extreme summer heatwave have not proved beneficial.

My selections this week are from the Lidl French wine sale plus some new Alsace wines from Karwigs in Carrigaline, Co Cork — Chateau d’Orschwihr.

The number of new Irish whiskies seems to be growing by the week with new brands being launched and the old guard easily keeping up.

The autumn is wine fair season in Irish supermarkets. Aldi was first out of the blocks last Sunday with an intriguing selection of wines from around the world at their usual low prices. 

The grapevine species vitis vinifera (of which all wine grapes of quality are a member), can in theory be grown anywhere on earth between 30 degrees and 50 degrees Latitude.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the FA Cup remains just as special to him now as it did when he watched his first Wembley final on black and white television as a schoolboy in Alsace.

UCC French lecturer Prof Grace Neville recounts how the sinking of the Lusitania shocked France

Amid all the mind games and wars of words and controvassy and flashpoints we are treated to year in, year out in the Premier League, there is something unique and intriguing about this particular enmity.

I am writing this week’s column outside in the garden such is the weather at the moment. It is not just the Irish that are obsessed with the weather, however — talk to any grape grower or winemaker.

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.

This was the tie both sides said they had wanted, with each viewing the other as the best bet for a Champions League future, writes Jon West.

Though it had been some time, at least a couple of Ice Ages, since The Menu had last trod barefoot through the fields to school, several years ago he returned to the groves of Academe.

British Private John Parr set off on his reconnaissance bike on the lookout for German troops amid the rolling farmland and woods south of Brussels in August 1914.

THE price of Burgundy is going to increase again next year as for the third year in a row the region has been hit by hailstones as big as golf balls.

Begin Again ****

SUMMER 2014 remains as unpredictable as we have come to expect in Ireland so I will be hedging my bets with recommendations for summer drinking over the next few weeks.

The French government’s plan to redraw the national map and merge regions which have had a strong identity for centuries has drawn fierce criticism.

NEW ZEALAND represents less than 1% of the world’s wine production but has become hugely influential in the past 20 years thanks to their unique take on Sauvignon Blanc.

From the starter to the main course to dessert, wine columnist Leslie Williams serves up some must-have holiday drinks.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ***

THE Government’s proposal to introduce minimum pricing on alcohol following the recent budget increases will probably mean an end to the €5 bottle of wine in the supermarket.

DOES the glass you drink from effect the taste of the wine?

THERE is an old adage about the wine industry that if you want to make a small fortune, you need to invest a very large one first.

NOBODY does an eye roll like Stephanie. Like last week. On a lovely morning, the cherry trees outside dappled with sunshine, she’s at her desk talking to a client who should be in a room with me discussing her career, but who, we gather by eavesdropping on Steph’s conversation, is in fact at our old premises in Northumberland Rd.

VALENTINE’S DAY, next Thursday, is probably your first good excuse to splash out on a decent bottle of wine since Christmas.

DARK winter days in January are not the time you expect to drink rosé, but there is one reason you should — if you are serving Indian food.

From festive fizz to top tipples for turkey Leslie Williams serves up must-have holiday drinks.

France is planning heavy tax increases on beer, upsetting brewers – even in other countries.

IT’S almost a year since SuperValu introduced its exclusive ‘Specially Sourced’ wine collection and, significantly, had enough confidence in it to throw much of the range open to a media tasting.

Unlike independent offies and the big German discounters, the price of wines at most of the big retailers go up and down periodically.

WITH spring lamb coming into season, now’s the time to consider what to put with it.

Wine tastings are always interesting, but the organisers of a one-off event devoted to the riesling grape next month have outdone themselves.

I’VE been catching up with the affordable end of two old-school wine wholesalers who supply independent wine stores.

IF you’ve taken on a ‘new you’ programme to counteract the excesses of the festive season, you deserve every credit.

CONTRARY to the waggish boast, the banning or marginalisation of a language does not lead to increased use of that language.

THE first rule to matching wine and food is don’t panic, and that’s just as true at Christmas as any time of year.

HERE’s a particularly good example of the top-class fun and great value offered by winemaker dinners.

IT’S EASY to take a good restaurant for granted.