There is no doubt our climate is changing and while weather shouldn’t be confused with climate the fires in Australia have focused a lot of minds.

New Orleans, the Crescent City, nestled into a bend in the Mississippi, is truly wonderful — you might want to add it to your US bucket list.

Go pack your bib and tucker

As the last week of August approaches I’m not giving up on summer just yet.

Travelling by rail in Europe reminded me of what I knew, but had forgotten.

A retired Wall Street investment banker is spending millions of euros “on a labour of love” rebuilding a castle which was once in his family’s possession for hundreds of years.

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

As everyone except US president Donald Trump seems to know by now the climate is getting warmer and more unstable, and it seems likely this will have a major effect on the wines we will be drinking in the future.

A focus on the Mosel and its tributaries this week as I have found myself drinking it in a couple of restaurants recently.

Food news with Joe McNamee.

With the clocks going forward, longer evenings are coming and hopefully warmer days and evenings. Given that we have already had some warmer days I’ve found myself drinking more white wine and rosé, as well as Beaujolais and lighter styles of red.

I apologise in advance for this column as there is considerable decadence ahead. I was lucky enough to visit Adare Manor for one of their prized wine evenings recently, the good news however is that these evenings are open to anyone for approximately €75 to €85 per person — excellent value given the wines being served.

I was asked recently what wine region I would most like to live in full-time and after a few moments thought I surprised myself by choosing not Burgundy or Provence but Piedmont in Northern Italy.

From wine to after dinner beverages, Leslie Williams unveils his drinks menu for the festive season.

I was asked recently which wine region I would opt to live in given an endless budget and unlimited resources. After much deliberation I picked Piedmont in Northern Italy, home to the Slow Food movement, white truffles, hazelnuts, and wines made from Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, writes Leslie Williams

Bare stone walls, bright white low wooden-beamed ceilings, conservatory and the Zen simplicity of Rohan Reilly prints throughout — swish, yet entirely of its place in charming Baltimore by the sea.

School is back, holidays are over but don’t despair, wine is here to

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.

Peter Dowdall on a plant that gives its all for four to five seasons, then appears to give up the ghost.

This week a focus on Austria, one of the most consistent wine producing countries on the planet — I’d even go so far as to say that I have yet to taste a wine from Austria that I didn’t like.

This week Leslie Williams recommends two juicy reds and three northern whites

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.

A tale of two contrasting regions this week — Burgundy and Murcia in Eastern Spain.

Back to southern France again this week, as I find myself enjoying the wines from here more and more.

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

I always feel I am tempting fate when I write about wines for summer in Ireland — I feel as if the weather gods are waiting to thwart me should I even mention the garden or the word barbecue.

With Michael Roddy’s Michelin guide to the best restaurants in hand, this made for the ultimate gastro tour. 

Nick Munier is well known from various TV appearances but you will probably know him as the yin to Dylan McGrath’s yang on the RTÉ version of MasterChef.

The Menu is, naturally, swathed in green this weekend, raising a glass to the Oul’ Sod and all who eat in her, recalling another splendid celebration of fine Irish produce and producers last week in Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild’s annual awards beano. 

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

Welcome to 2017, the Trump Presidency is only weeks away and we still don’t know what is happening with Brexit but at least we have wine to get us through, writes Leslie Williams.

I must confess, when L’Atitude 51 first opened in 2012, I thought it would soon become another swiftly-forgotten entry on the endless rollcall of hospitality failures. 

A fabulous ‘last supper’ as Kevin Thornton, one of Ireland’s finest ever chefs calls time on his current restaurant.

The Lidl September French Wine sale has established itself on the calendar by now, and once again they have a number of stand-out wines and a few famous names.

It is no great revelation that our tastes in wine frequently change with time.