THIS MONTH, Fearghal O Nualláin and Simon Evans will begin the first Irish circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle. Their unsupported expedition will cover more than 30,000km, passing through 30 countries and some of the highest, lowest, driest, coldest, warmest and loneliest places on earth. In doing so, they will be promoting the positive contribution that cycling can make to mental health and the environment, raising funds for Aware and highlighting climate change. See www.revolutioncycle.ie for details. Here, O Nualláin writes about his attraction to Languedoc.
MY INTEREST in wine stems from a teenage fascination with the kitchen. A part-time job washing dishes in Tosca on Suffolk Street, Dublin, sparked an interest in the crazy world of professional cooking. When I finished school, all I wanted to do was cook. While working at l'Ecrivain, I did my first wine course in DIT Mountjoy Square - I remember running from Baggot Street every Thursday after work. Often, I fell asleep during the theory class. I always woke up for the tasting bit, though.
I'm a big fan of Champagne and all sparkling wines. It'll be Bollinger RD or Perrier Joet Belle Epoque, if someone else is paying. I don't have any preference for Chardonnay or Pinot Noir rich blends - light and elegant and citrusy or full bodied and biscuity, I'm not picky. But if I'm buying, it'll usually be a nice Prosecco - Tesco's finest isn't bad.
A few years ago I went to Reims with some friends. It was great to actually see all that chalk in those rolling plains and touch and taste the unripened grapes clinging to the Chardonnay vines. And to have your lips chapped by the bitter April frosts that the Champagne region is so prone to. Although taste is such a fickle thing, I swear the bottle Dom Perignon '96 that we tasted after the tour of Moët's cellars tasted all the more mineraly after an afternoon surrounded by chalk.
Although it is not very fashionable these days, I have a particular penchant for barrel-fermented Chardonnay. There's nothing better with a roast chicken and all the trimmings than a glass of white Burgundy or a big and brash South African from Springfield or Thelema. I have to admit though, that the caramel popcorn quality of some Californians isn't for me.
Working part-time in Bubble Brothers in Cork, while a student in UCC, really got me interested in some of the lesser-known parts of France and Italy; regions that often slip under the radar. When it comes to reds, I tend to prefer chunky rusticity to polished opulence - therefore I drink a good deal of Cahors, and Languedoc. When it comes to Cab Sauv and Merlot, I prefer my Bordeaux blends from South Africa or Margaret River. I think if you're really honest with yourself, the price-to-quality ratio of Bordeaux just isn't there; you are still paying a premium for the name.
Burgundy, seems a bit like Beckett, afficionados say that if you don't like it then you don't "get" it. Well then I don't "get" Burgundy, and prefer to drink Pinots from Alsace or New Zealand rather than Nuits St George. A bottle of Backert '97 from Alsace that cost €17.95 was more memorable than many Grand Crus that cost 10 times as much; light but so complex, and a finish of cherries and game that went all night long.
Château Jouclary 2005, Cabardès, €13 Something for everyone; modern vinification techniques, and 40 per cent global crowd-pleasers Merlot and Cab Sav make it approachable and easy drinking enough to be unleashed on the novice. Local varietals, Syrah and Grenache, give it a regional flavour and enough local typicity to please the wine-buff. Bubble Brothers, The English Market, Cork, and www.bubblebrothers.com.