Ely Winebars don’t do things by half really. So it was no surprise that when they chose to take on ‘Italian Icons’ as the theme for one of their regular Thursday night tastings, they went all-in and poured wines from the length and breadth of the country – from Piedmont to Sicily with stops off in Veneto, Fruili-Venezia-Giulia and Tuscany along the way.

This was my first Thursday tasting in Ely, but it certainly won’t be the last. There was a constant buzz around the two long dining tables, and the socialising catalyst of a glass of Amarone merely fuelled the jovial mood and turned the volume up a few notches. Great fun!

~ Paddy Murphy, Vine Inspiration

DUBLIN – Forest fires in Australia. Heavy rains in Spain. Hailstorms and heat waves in France and Italy. Plus a cumulative 60% tax increase in the past twelve months. No, these are not signs that the apocalypse is upon us. They are just the factors affecting how a bottle of wine makes its way to your table – and what it costs when it gets there – when your table is within the city limits of Dublin, Ireland in particular.