Top tipples revealed as blind tasting whittles down finest 15

THE National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) has unveiled its 2007/2008 Gold Star Award wines.

The diverse collection of 15 wines — six reds, six whites, a rosé and two sparkling wines — were revealed at The Irish Wine Show, the annual trade exhibition and wine tasting that took place yesterday at the Leopardstown Pavilion.

The list of recommended wines, on sale at 330 independent off-licences nationwide, was chosen by a panel of 18 tasters led by Jane Boyce MW (master of wine) and John Wilson.

They took part in a series of blind tastings earlier this year and whittled down the 200-plus wines that had been submitted by importers. The adjudicators awarded points on the basis of appearance, smell, taste and value for money.

The final winning list of 15 is made up of the winners of 12 categories — reds and whites from new world and old, in three price bands (under €8, €14 and €20) — along with one rosé and two sparkling wines.

To add further interest, the panel also picked out its supreme wines of the year, the classy Italian Masi Masianco 2006 (white) and Beringer Founder’s Estate Old Vine Zinfandel 2004 (red), the latter taking the further accolade of NOffLA wine of the year.

Each of the winning wines — proudly wearing its gold star logo — will be sold exclusively by NOffLA members. As such, the Gold Star Awards are an important marketing tool for independent off-licences.

Despite signs two years ago that it was flattening out, the wine market in Ireland is continuing to grow. Sales reached 8.2 million cases last year, according to the Wine Board of Ireland, an increase of 70% since the millennium.

Independent off-licences face growing competition from the supermarkets. They have responded with discounts and special offers. But just as important to them is this diverse but accessible shortlist of quality wines across a wide range of prices points.

* See Blake Creedon’s wine column in the Weekend section of the Irish Examiner this Saturday for a more detailed look at this year’s NOffLA Gold Star Awards.