A FEW weeks ago, 63, people spent a large part of their Saturday in Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, at a lunch where each delectable course was matched to a vintage champagne. It was exquisite in every detail, right down to the moss green, voile, silk ribbons, tied around the hand printed menus a £60 a head blast of self indulgence where the stars, apart from Patrick's two Michelins, were £75 a bottle champagnes from the house of Salon, the swankest and most exclusive of producers.
What relevance has this to ordinary mortals? Hold hard and you may read two things to your advantage. The first is one of those good news stories that make all of us glow, for the organisers of the fancy lunch the Irish importers of Champagne Salon and many other thrilling wines are a young couple whose wine business is less than two years old. Their success hinges on hard work, youthful vigour, inspired public relations and a lot of other things which it is refreshing for the more jaundiced among us to be reminded of now and again.
The second is that, if you are planning some sort of Easter treat but have still not quite got around to buying its elements, Terroirs, the Donnybrook shop of Sean and Francoise Gilley, may be the place to go. A gold Amex card, however handy, is not essential. For under a tenner you could have the makings of a scrumptious little feast a good bottle of wine, some flavour some saucisson, a bit of Irish farmhouse cheese. You might even, oh heresy, forget the wine and just buy Suavor coffee (as supplied to the Elysee) with a packet of Edinburgh butter shortbread.
While we have plenty of delicatessens selling wine, Terroirs is, as far as I know, Ireland's first serious wine shop to sell a tempting and pretty comprehensive range of food. Francoise, being French, has discovered many of her country's best producers small companies where quality, individuality and personal contact count. The personal touch is also applied to customers in Donnybrook even down to honouring a recent request for goose fat.
Terroirs adopts the same approach to wine, getting in touch with what are known as boutique wineries small estates run by quality obsessed enthusiasts. This is how Sean and Francoise Gilley come to have, on their shelves, what can only be described as a bijou collection of unusual gems. Included in it are the wines of Johanneshof, one of the names that made enormous impact at the Austrian wine fair in Dublin a couple of weeks ago the Burgundies of Jean Marc Boillot, recommended to them by a customer freshly returned from a French holiday the earthy red made in Francoise's native Anjou by film star turned wine maker Gerard Depardieu and the Californian glories of Clos du Val.
California is a particular strength Terroirs has bottles from over 30 Californian wineries, for when Francoise met Sean Gilley he was working in Verlings on Dublin's north side while she was doing summer work for a Dublin importer she was on her way to a job in California as public relations assistant to Bernard Portet at Clos du Val.
Torn though she was my unfolding romance, she went to the Napa Valley as planned. "I learnt a huge amount," she says. "Sean came out to visit me a few times and I think he learnt a lot too." It turned out to be a two year practical lesson in wine making techniques and tasting, along with the fine detail of PR.
Back in Ireland in 1994, they decided to set up an importing business, get married and open a wine shop which would also sell food and wine accessories openers, glasses, decanters, even table linens. When a vacant premises was spotted on Morehampton Road they spent summer evenings assessing its suitability pounding adjacent pavements to get a feel for the area and counting the number of cars driving by.
The Gilleys first surprise was to discover they had tumbled into a more moneyed clientele than expected one that gobbled up the collection of classed growths Sean had proudly but rather tentatively put on the shelves, and cried out for a wider selection of fine wines.
The demand for good champagne proved relentless. "We would never have dared take on Champagne Salon at the beginning," says Francoise, about soon we felt sure it would do well."
In this polished little strip of Dublin 4, expenditure on a bottle of wine knows no limits. Not long ago, Terroirs was asked to locate a first growth Bordeaux from a pre 1950 vintage as a retirement present for a Japanese wine lover. At auction, Sean Gilley procured a 1929 Chateau Lafite which the recipient later (fortunately) pronounced among the best drinking experiences of his life. The price? £750.
But don't let that put you off. In this small, bright shop there are worthwhile discoveries to be made at all price levels. The Gilleys describe their new Sergio Traverso range of Chilean wines, due to arrive any day now, as their biggest excitement this year. The price, praise the Lord, is £5.99.
Terroirs Temptations White.
Johanneshof Reinisch Weissburgunder 1993 (£10.99).
Early on, Terroirs demonstrated its faith in this Austrian estate whose rendering of Pinot Blanc is crisp with the character of Granny Smith apples yet has plenty of body perfect to cut through the richness of Easter smoked salmon.
Domaine du Petit Val Bonnezeaux 1993 (£14.99).
This sweet white wine from the Coteaux du Layon in Francoise Gilley's homeland of Anjou is too well kept a secret Chenin Blanc ripened into honeyed voluptuousness. It makes an unexpectedly splendid partner for foie gras. If you're a fan, make an Easter treat of it with the Castaing brand from Terroirs, and O'Connors delicatessen in Listowel.
Guigal Condrieu 1992 (£29).
When Sean and Francoise chose a starter of warm foie gras on their first date, this is the wine Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud chose for them rather than the usual Sauternes. Expensive but gorgeous. Also available from Superquinn and many good off licences.
Red
Cape Safari Pinotage Reserve 1994 (£5.99).
An outstanding South African at a bargain price. See Bottle of the Week.
Clos du Val Le Clos NV (£9.69).
The house red from the Napa Valley winery where Francoise Gilley learnt so much of her trade inviting, up front aromas of blackcurrant, mint and eucalyptus and rich, round flavours. Very appetising, easy drinking.
J M Boillot Bourgogne 1993 (£13.99).
A seductively fragrant, strawberry soft Burgundy with a nice tannic grip from the man who was previously partner and wine maker to well known producer Olivier Leflaive. Look no further if something is still required for your festive lamb.
Terrabianca Piano del Cipresso 1990 (£15).
One of the best wines we've tasted in the past year, Sean Gilley says. A rich big Supertuscan, 100 per cent Singiovese, with gorgeous blackcurrant, herb and chocolate tones. Also available from Verlings, Searsons and Karwig's, Cork.