An opportunity to write your own wine review and win some champagne into the bargain.
"It is, perhaps, the Ulsterman of Burgundy and that is no mean compliment. One hears the clang of armour in its depths; Mozart closes his clavecin when it is poured, and Dr PG Woodehouse defers telling that story he was about to begin. But Bach moves towards his organ; Henry Ainley opens the pages of Henry V; the host turns on the lighting of his Rembrandt; and the noble wine blends in with them all."
- Stay me with Flagons, Maurice Healy, 1940
As the above quote demonstrates, it is not only today's wine critics that can turn on the style. Do you find wine descriptions a little pretentious, even faintly ridiculous? If so, we have the competition for you. We would like you to write, in no more than 100 words, an amusing description of your favourite (or least favourite) wine. Please do not hold back - we are looking for the verbose, the floral, but most of all, the amusing.
O'Brien's Wine Off-Licences has offered to donate a dozen bottles of Beaumont des Crayères Grande Réserve Champagne - one for the each of the best 12 entries, with a magnum for the description we believe to be the best.
E-mail your entry to jwilson@irish-times.ie or post it to Wine Competition, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2. Entries must be received by Friday, June 6th.