Out of the gloom, at last. Longer days, livelier nights and, as the wine trade emerges from its ritual late winter hibernation, a bright array of new bottles has suddenly appeared. It's as if those vibrant colours, shaking high street fashion into giddy life, have been expressed in flavour terms. As far as fresh possibilities for everyday drinking are concerned, this is the best spring season I can remember.
Over the past couple of weeks, I've come across as many true-tasting, engaging new wines (most new to the market, a few just new to me) as it might take two or three months to unearth in a less productive season. A few trends are apparent. The south of France, Argentina and Italy are still climbing up on the quality graph while holding steady on price. The organic movement is gathering momentum, faster than you or I can bone up on the benefits of biodiversity. Most important of all, Irish importers - some intriguing new ones included - are bloodhounding their way through the wine world to bring us better and better bottles. Here are 12 hot tips, almost all comfortably under £10.
New Cheapie
A drinkable wine at under £5 is now as rare as a blooming daffodil in dark November. Under a fiver so often means under par that I postponed pulling the cork on Falorni Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 1998 (SuperValus/Centras/Roches Stores, £4.49) for weeks. Needlessly. This modest Italian has plenty of appeal - baked toffeeish fruit, lively acidity and a slightly chewy finish. Like so many Italian wines, it'll come across as a touch astringent if you try quaffing it on its own, however. Pair it with a pizza, at the very least.
New Shop A few weeks ago Vaughan Johnson flew in from Cape Town for the opening of his new shop in Temple Bar. The urbane Johnson - a lawyer and accountant who conceived the idea of giving South Africa "its first decent wine shop" back in 1985 - was attracted to Dublin not merely because of our booming wine market but because it's a fun place. He's well-known back at home for his own-label wines - easy-drinking bottlings with easy names such as Sunday Best and As You Like It. Vaughan Johnson's Good Everyday Cape Red, South Africa, NV (Vaughan Johnson's, Temple Bar, £5.49) is another hit - a blend of Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet and Cinsaut, full of lip-smacking, juicy fruit at a great price. It's racing out of the door - to Temple Bar receptions, and next-day customers intrigued by a party wine that's actually tasty. The shop, by the way, is well worth dropping into.
New Worldy Sicilian
By and large, Italian white wines don't get the tastebuds salivating as effusively as the country's reds. Although a platter of anti- pasto often makes them slip down easily enough, they can be insipid, watery nonentities. Not so D'Istinto Catarratto- Chardonnay, Sicilia, 1998 (widely available, about £5.49). Produced by the Sicilian arm of Australian giant BRL Hardy, this is a really tempting white wine, with ripe, peachy notes, good acidity and respectable length. Another example of flying winemakers putting a widely underrated local grape variety to convincing use. This, I believe, is my first taste of Catarratto.
Fresh As Springtime
Dan Mulhall, out in Doonbeg, seems to have a nose for sniffing out terrific wines on his regular pilgrimages to France. His es Savennieres from Domaine de Closel has swallowed up inches of this column. Now along comes the sort of white wine that you feel Bordeaux should pull off a lot more often - well-made and reasonably priced. Chateau La Graviere Entre Deux Mers 1998 (SuperValu, Kilrush; Peggy Starr, Kilkee; Ennis Gourmet, Ennis; or direct from Doonbeg Wine Imports, tel/fax 0659055334, about £6.50) has inviting aromas of marzipan and lime and a tingling, fresh attack backed up with creamy smoothness. Look out for it in many restaurants in the west, where it's a worthy house wine. If only they were all this good . . .
New Hope For Chard
I reckon I've recommended fewer Chardonnays in the past year than any other mainstream wines. Too many samey, dull, bland whites. Who needs all this boredom by the bottle? But just in time to restore some faith, up pops an amazingly delicious number from the south of France. Domaine de Martinolles Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc 1999 (Burgundy Direct, £6.75 if you buy a case which may be mixed, tel 012896615, email burgundy@indigo.ie, www.burgundydirect.ie) is a big mouthful of sun-ripened, almost tropical fruit balanced with brilliant acidity - rich, in other words, but incredibly refreshing, with a classy, lingering finish. Rather like a good New World Chenin Blanc. Which is maybe why I like it.
New Organic (1)
Remember Chateau du Parc, the organic Marks and Spencer red from the Languedoc which was a Bottle of the Week a couple of months ago? It now has a white partner - not from France, as you might expect, but from north-east Italy. Like the Sicilian mentioned above, Organic Villa Masera Bianco Veronese 1999 (Marks and Spencer, £5.50) overturns the notion that Italian whites are too neutral for their own good. It's beautifully fruity (peaches again), smooth-textured and compelling
Without going overboard on alcohol. I'd love to see a lot more white wines show off their charms at 11.5 per cent.
New Organic (2)
Another star to chase that Chardonnay torpor! Domaine La Batteuse Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc 1998 (Good Food Store, Ballsbridge; Bubble Brothers, Cork; Scallys SuperValu, Clonakilty; Organico, Bantry; Connemara Hamper, Clifden; Cosgroves, Sligo and other outlets, or direct from Mary Pawle Wines, tel/fax 064-41443, email marypawlewines@oceanfree.net) may not set your nostrils twitching - it smells pleasant, not sensational - but it really springs to life on the palate, as organic wine should. Super mouthfeel, impressive length - from a small estate that's been organic for more than 20 years.
Magic From The Midi
With Abbotts Cirrus, Cabardes 1998 (Oddbins, £7.99) the south of France keeps up that winning streak. See Bottle of the Week.
Swanky Argentine
Argentina is hot, hot, and getting hotter - especially in the red department. So far, most of the hubbub has attached to gluggable wines at low prices - most of them examples of soft, easygoing Malbec, the country's star grape. But signs are that Argentina, like Chile, is eager to prove itself capable of greater things. Try rich, brambly, all-enveloping Altos de Temporada Malbec Reserve 1996 (Dunnes Stores, £9.99) and taste the difference. Made on a small estate by a Bordeaux-trained producer following very traditional methods, it's a top-class effort with a nice bit of grip in the middle to hold your interest. Well worth a tenner.
New Name To Watch
River Wines is an interesting new Irish company. Based in Termonfeckin, Co Louth, it is building up an attractive portfolio of wine, mainly French, with a smattering from elsewhere in Europe - which customers can buy direct by what used to be known, before the e-era, as mail order. Minimum order: one 12-bottle case which may be mixed; delivery within three working days. More on good everyday drinking from this source soon, but let's start with a treat. Chateau du Trignon Viognier, Cotes du Rhone 1998 (River Wines, £11.99 - see note on case minimum above, tel 1850 794 637, email rvrwines@indigo.ie) is the bottle you long to find in the fridge after a hard week - apricot-perfumed, sensuous, altogether luscious.
Make for McCabes
"More than just another sale," says Jim McCabe of the promotion running for three weeks from today until April 16th in his shops in Mount Merrion and Foxrock. Instore competitions, tastings (try to sample some of the Burgundy and Bordeaux on offer at 20 per cent less than usual), and yes, of course there are plenty of price cuts. I'd be tempted by Penley Estate Shiraz- Cabernet 1994, down from £14.99 to £12.99, and Vale da Raposa Douro 1997, down from £7.50 to £6.50, for a start . . . At 51-55 Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, and 2 Brighton Road, Foxrock.
Organic Guides
If you like the sound of the organic wines mentioned above - and indeed the whole, burgeoning trend towards viticultural methods that favour both the planet and the palate - you may be interested to know that two paperback guides have recently appeared. Newest on the scene is The Great Organic Wine Guide by Hilary Wright (Piatkus, £8.99 in UK) -
good on the broad picture but limited as a buyer's bible, listing only 150 wines. More satisfying is the Friends of the Earth Organic Wine Guide by Monty Waldin (Thorsons, £7.99 in UK), combining background essentials with details of more than 400 producers and 2,000 wines. It desperately needs an index, though - and region-oriented running-heads.