Irish tourism is facing more uncertainty after the US issued warnings about travel to parts of Italy and the French authorities closed the Louvre Museum in Paris over concerns for its staff catching the coronavirus from the hundreds of people streaming through its doors.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars).

The National Public Health Emergency Team is to immediately ramp up warning campaigns about the spread of coronavirus at ports, airports, schools, and public offices.

Restrictions on public gatherings and sporting events put in place by the Italian authorities apply in the Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto regions.

Ireland and other EU countries have been told to be on alert for possible cases of the coronavirus.

Despite suffering a heavy defeat to Six Nations holders England at Castle Park, Doncaster, captain Ciara Griffin insists the Ireland women’s team are closing the gap to the Red Roses.

This week I’m focusing on a recent trip to the most expensive vineyards in Italy (courtesy of O’Briens).

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.

Italy has been neglected on this page of late but I promise to make up for this in the next few weeks as I have two trips planned — one to Tuscany and one to the Veneto.

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.

THE tree is up, Santa letters are in the post and the kinder-spawn fret endlessly as to whether the man himself will pony up on their extensive list of demands, but it is only on hitting Dublin that I begin to feel the first stirrings of Christmas spirit. The town is delightfully en fete: enough lights to humble the milky way, pine forests in every window and streets packed with grimly determined shoppers.

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

Leslie Williams pays a visit to Michaels restaurant, 57 Deerpark Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin

The current crisis in Catalonia is just one of a number of separatist issues being looked on with disfavour and alarm in Europe’s corridors of power, writes John Lloyd    

The presidents of Italy's wealthy northern regions of Veneto and Lombardy have claimed victory in autonomy referendums that seek to grab additional powers and tax revenue from Rome.

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

Two US private equity funds have quit talks to buy a mountain of bad loans from ailing Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena, dealing a blow to plans to secure a state bailout for the bank.

This week I am returning to Italy with a scattered selection of suggestions that range from north to south.

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 dreaded ‘C’ word is fast approaching so if you can be disciplined (or can lock the wine away somewhere) it is good to begin picking up some wines or at least thinking about what you will need.

Italian wine is a reflection of the country’s politics, equally fascinating and frustrating.

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

I have a nostalgic theme this week as I was reminded at recent tastings by how much our tastes have changed since I first became interested in wine.

Pope Francis said yesterday that the mistreatment of migrants who are escaping war and injustice “makes one cry”, as he visited the northern Italian city of Turin, stopping to pray before the shroud that some Christians believe is Jesus’ burial cloth.

Heartened by recent election successes by an anti-immigrant party, Italian politicians based in the north vowed yesterday not to shelter any more migrants saved at sea, even as hundreds more were being rescued in the Mediterranean from smugglers’ boats in distress.

This week I want to share with you some of the reasons why good Champagne is expensive. One reason is our punitive tax system (fizzy wine is double the tax of still wine), but also because this is not an easy wine to get right.

Tony Clayton-Lea flies into Venice and makes his way around one of Italy’s most famous regions to experience beautiful landscapes, hidden gems, vineyards and glorious late spring sunshine

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.

IT IS market day in Desenzano on the southern shore of Lake Garda. Along the waterfront, vendors hawk their wares: clothes, jewellery, handbags and pottery beckon to passersby.

Enda might still abandon Mick and Ming

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

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.

IRELAND has become a nation of wine drinkers in a very short time but the wines we drink now are quite different to those sampled in the mid-2000s.

Lucayan, trained by Francois Rohaut, came out on top in a desperately tight finish to the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French equivalent of the 2000 Guineas, at Longchamp yesterday.

PREMIER Silvio Berlusconi faces a significant test in regional voting to be held across Italy tomorrow and on Monday — and danger is all around him.

Italy has approved rules for labelling Prosecco, putting the sparkling wine on a growing list of protected delicacies to shield their markets from imitations, officials revealed.

Victoria Beckham's 34th birthday celebrations looked like they'd never stop over the weekend - the former Spice Girl was the host of a star-studded party on Sunday.

Taiwanese director Ang Lee was honoured with the coveted Golden Lion award for his latest movie Brokeback Mountain at the climax of the 62nd Venice Film Festival in Italy at the weekend.

The rice dishes of the Veneto region are famous. Rice was introduced there by the Arabs and many varieties of short-grain rice still grow in the marsh lands around the river Po.

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale has rocked northern Italy and parts of Switzerland, Austria and Germany.