Dublin restaurants have rowed in firmly behind the inaugural Dublin Wine Fest (April 20th-25th), one of five new drinks festivals organised by Great Irish Beverages. Reduced prices on wines, add-ons such as free canapes, competitions to win dinners and drinks, and self-guided wine trails through each of the festival’s four neighbourhood hubs, are features of the programme.
The hubs are defined as City Centre, Georgian Dublin, Liffeyside and Green Luas, and there are participating restaurants and winebars clustered in each, offering a variety of good deals and special events.
In the City Centre hub, for instance, you could kick off at Stanley’s at 5pm by joining their daily seminar on the history of wine-making while trying a flight of their fashionable ’orange’ or skin-contact wines, served with a duck terrine canape. Choose between Coppinger Row and Balfe’s for a spot of terrace action, with festival wines served with cheese and ham for €5.50 at the former (5pm-7pm) , and an antipasti platter with two glasses of wine for €25 at the latter (3.30pm-7pm).
Georgian Dublin’s offering includes ely wine bar, Dunne & Crescenzi, KC Peaches, Eastside Tavern and Diep le Shaker, as well as House where wristband holders (€5, from participating venues, giving access to wines at discounts of up to 30 percent), can end their evening in the wine tasting room, sampling 16 wines for €20, with a complimentary cheeseboard.
The lively Liffey hub brings a cosmopolitan flavour to the festival, with steamed buns and matched wines at Chameleon, small-plate pairings such as Thai gyoza and Grüner Veltliner at Koh Dublin, and four food and wine pairings at The Woollen Mills (€10 each or all four for €35).
Hop on the Luas to Ranelagh and Dundrum for wine-related specials at Ananda, The Butcher Grill, Camden Kitchen, The Port House and Rock Lobster, among others, or choose between a fresh crab tostada or jamon and Toonsbridge tapa with a glass of wine at Tribeca (€7.50). China Sichuan is pairing its bestselling and delicious Chinese turnip cakes with a glass of Fantini Fiano (€12), and tea-smoked jasmine ribs with Allegrini Palazzo della Torre (€15).
Great Irish Beverages organised the Dublin Cocktail Fest last October and the Dublin Whiskey Fest in February, and will run gin and tonic and cider festivals in June and August.
For full details of events and particpating restaurants, see facebook.com/GreatIrishBeverages.
