Who says Ireland can’t have a wine industry of its own?

Irish wine: David Llewellyn harvesting grapes at the Lusca vineyard, in north Co Dublin. Photograph: @davidsorchard/Twitter

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 26th January, 2019

By my reckoning the Pant Du vineyard, just south of Anglesey, in north Wales, is about 120km from the coast of Co Wicklow. The principality now has more than 15 vineyards. I have tasted some very good sparkling wines from one, Ancre Hill, in Monmouth. Will it be long before we have our own wine industry in Ireland?

David Llewellyn (who also grows apples) was the pioneer over here, planting vines, under cover and outside, in the early 2000s. He released the Lusca 2016 Cabernet Merlot recently. He may soon have competition from Waterford, where David Dennison is working on his Irish wine, and Tipperary, where rumour has it that there are plantings of Frühburgunder.

I was always taught that wine is the produce of fresh grapes, so the following three drinks probably cannot technically be called wine. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t very nice.

Killahora Orchards, in Co Cork, has 108 varieties of apple and 36 of perry pear on the site of an ancient orchard. Barry Walsh and Tim and Dave Watson produce several ciders, a pommeau (a mix of apple juice and apple brandy) and an ice wine. Killahora deserves a whole article to itself, and I promise to address that later this year.

Ice wine is made by picking frozen grapes and gently pressing them to extract sugars and other dissolved solids without the frozen water. Most is produced in Canada and Germany. It is possible to cheat a little and put fresh grapes in a freezer. More recently apple producers have been doing the same with frozen apples, making ice cider. The Killahora apple ice wine gently ferments for up to a year, making a wine with 11 per cent alcohol, lots of sugar and plenty of refreshing acidity.

Kate and Denis Dempsey set up the Kinsale Mead Company two years ago. The idea came about after work trips to Portland, in the United States, where he got to know people making wine, cider, perry and mead. “It was always at the back of my mind: how come no one in Ireland is making mead?” Denis says.

Their meads are neither sweet nor cloying. “We wanted to make serious, proper drinks that would work with food. The reaction has been really good; people love the fact that they are rediscovering an ancient Irish drink.”

The Dempseys hope one day to be able to make all of their mead from Irish honey. At the moment they import honey from Spain.

I have written about the Mónéir strawberry wine, from Wicklow Way Wines, before. Today I include its blackberry and elderflower wine, described to me by one member of the wine trade as tasting like a light Bardolino.

Móinéir Blackberry Wine, Wicklow Way Wines
11%, €22
Fragrant aromas of red cherries and black fruits; concentrated cassis and blackberries with good acidity and excellent length. Very moreish, attractive wine. Ours went well with pork. From Mitchell & Son, Dublin, Co Wicklow and Co Meath; La Touche, Greystones, Co Wicklow; Wines on the Green, Dublin 2; Bubble Brothers, English Market, Cork; Avoca, Dublin, Co Meath, Co Kerry, Co Wicklow and Belfast; Wicklow Wine Co, Wicklow; Quintessential Wines, Drogheda, Co Louth.

Atlantic Dry Mead, Kinsale Mead Company
12% €22 (70cl)
Very seductive subtle flavours of honey and citrus, with a lovely clean finish. I enjoyed this with two firm cheeses, Comté and Caís na Tiré. From selected SuperValu; O’Briens; Dunnes Stores, Cork; Mitchell & Son; McCambridges, Galway; Ardkeen Quality Foodstore, Waterford; Wine Centre, Kilkenny; 1601 off-licence, Kinsale, Co Cork; Wines on the Green; Dollard & Co, Dublin 2; Martin’s, Clontarf, Dublin 3; Bubble Brothers, Cork.

Killahora Orchards, Rare Apple Ice Wine 2017
11%, €27 (375ml)
An explosion of flavours: toffee apples, baked spiced apples, honey and apricot. Crisp and acidic; sweet but not in the least bit cloying. Try it with tarte Tatin or apple pie. From Terroirs, Dublin 4; Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; Bradleys, Cork; McCambridges, Galway.

Lusca Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2016
13%, €49 (€30 per half-bottle)
Attractive, clean, light blackcurrant and redcurrant fruits, good acidity and a decent finish. Try with white meats and charcuterie. From David Llewellyn (087-2843879); Wines on the Green, Dublin 2; Mitchell & Son; Lilac Wines, Dublin 3; Le Caveau, Kilkenny; Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny; Searsons, Monkstown, Co Dublin; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Dublin 6W.