THERE are risks attachcd to drinking for a living. I'm not talking about the physical hazards involved in marinating the internal organs too frequently in wine - not when every month brings a fresh report on the benefits to be derived from drinking two or three glasses every day. No, swanning around tasting events it strikes me there's a danger of detachment from the everyday world of wine-buying. To fend it off, I've spent a good deal of the past week talking to wine merchants about the questions customers most frequently fling at them.
In a market where consumption is climbing so steeply, and where wine education is spreading at almost dizzying speed, retailers have their work cut out. For a start, they need to be familiar with the flavour and style of all the bottles on their shelves. "The level of consumer knowledge is astonishing now," said one. "You'll get a customer coming in saying: `I quite liked that white wine bought last week, but could you recommend something with a bit more Viognier in it?' It's scary.
At the same time, the canny wine merchant will be careful not to patronise customers who are less clued up, no matter how much tongue-biting that may require. (A fair bit, I imagine, in the case of the SuperValu manager who spent a good half hour the other week trying to meet the needs of a customer who came looking for a red Chardonnay, adamant he'd had a good one the previous night.) At the present rate at which people typically trade up, today's wine beginners are next year's bulwarks of the middle-price market and, who knows, may turn their well-trained nostrils up at anything under £20 in a few years' time.
But, besides knowing their stuff, and knowing how much of it to spout at any given moment, wine merchants are increasingly expected to be masters of a more subtle skill: Good, old-fashioned salesmanship is what it is - the knack, of sizing up the customer's requirements through friendly dialogue. "We'll always try to draw people out gradually," says Jimmy Redmond of Redmond's in Ranelagh, one of Dublin's most successful wine shops. First you need to know roughly now much a customer wants to spend, then what type of wine they prefer red or white, New World or old world, whether it's to go with a particular meal, or to drink at a party, or to give as a present.
When we have that information we'll make two or three suggestions and gauge the reaction.
The trained, versatile 1970s wine merchant is a whizz at piecing together scores of jigsaw of this sort every day. He or she (the handful of women in the trade is at last expanding) needs to be as prepared to discuss passable plonk as vintage port; as ready to rave about the berried fruit flavours of Zinfandel as to source retsina, if that's what is demanded. Selling wine really isn't as simple or straightforward as selling cans of beans (or beer), all credit to our supermarkets for helping to make wine an everyday pleasure - but when it comes to customer service, wine merchants have an edge the multiples can't match.
What are some of the most common dilemmas which wine merchants are expected to solve? I've listed half a dozen below, paired with my suggested answers in a bottle. One bit of advice, though, before you pop into your friendly local wine shop to test the current strength of our counter culture. "Don't just ask for a nice bottle of wine," says John Wilson of Searson's, in a heartfelt plea shared by thousands of retailers up and down the country, "You wouldn't believe the number of people who do that every day. Do they think we're going to say we sell horrible wine!"
Q: What's a safe (cheap) bet for a party or reception?
A: Consensus rings out loud and clear. It will be New World for those easy, fruity flavours people find so easy to enjoy with or without food - and for unbeatable value, it will probably be Chile. There are plenty of good choices around, but few pass the price/ popularity test better than Conchay Toro Chardonnay/ Sauvignon Blanc 1996 partnered with Conchay Toro Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (very widely available, £4.99-£5.49) - two blends devised for maximum appeal.
The white is zippily refreshing but mellow; the red packed with ripe blackcurrant and minty flavours.
Q. Can you, suggest a really good red wine that's a bit different?
A: Next in frequency to the dreaded request for a nice bottle of wine" comes the plea for "a really good red wine," retailers report. Into it they read the desire for plenty of body, plenty of flavour - and in this case something to make it stand apart from the endless examples of Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelves.
My vote goes to Esporao Tinto 1991 or 1993 (Molloys, Redmonds, McCabes, Terroir's, Superquinn. Jus de Vine, Village Wine Centre Killester, Raheny Wine Cellar, Karwig's Cork, Kilkenny Wine Centre, Blue Haven Kinsale, £8.99-£9.59) a smashing Portuguese wine made in a thoroughly modern style.
Q. What goes with an Indian takeaway?
A: Unless you know precisely what dish you're going to order and have time to research the perfect wine match in advance, it's probably wisest to follow your own general preference for white or red and then aim for the middle ground. The best all-rounders are likely to be young, fruity red wines (Tempranillo, Beaujolais) and fairly aromatic whites (New World Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier etc). But why not strike out for adventure? Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne 1995 (some SuperValus, Superquinn, Vintry and other outlets, usually about £7.99) isn't just aromatic but intriguing: a luscious Australian rendering of a white Rhone grape, all peaches and pineapple shot through with lemony freshness. It's a cracker with Chicken Tikka Masala.
Q: What's likely to appeal at a ladies' lunch?
A: Women used to like sweet, white wine, no doubt about it. Now, I'm reliably informed, many of us think we still like quite sweet white wine when in fact it is dry but fruity white that sets us purring. Light, fresh-perfumed New World Sauvignon Blanc is the ticket. Chile has the best value, New Zealand the best known, but South Africa is catching up, marrying elegance with staying power. Wildekrans Sauvignon Blanc 1995 (Vintage shops, Grogans Ranelagh, Dublin Wine Co. Malahide, Buttercups Enniskerry and other outlets, usually £9.49) is zingy but beautifully smooth, with a long, tangy finish. Not cheap - but can't economies be achieved on the food?
Q: What's guaranteed to impress at a dinner party?
A: If it's your dinner party, you'll want to feel confident about the wines. If it's somebody else's, you might as well bring something which, should it happen to appear on the table, you are bound to enjoy. Louis Latour Montagny ler Cru La Grande Roche 1995 (McCabes, Foleys, Vintry, Higgins Clonskeagh, £10.30-£10.99) is one to be proud of, either way - a really stylish wine from one of white Burgundy's biggest names. Its flavours develop beautifully in the mouth, from yeasty, lemony freshness to apple-pie-and-cream smoothness.
Q: What can you give a picky wine buff as a present?
A: Picky wine buffs can be indescribably painful, scorning 90 per cent of what the New World has to offer and rating only certain producers and certain vintages everywhere else. One suggestion is to zero in on Austria, a pocket of the old world which is rising above past disasters to produce some stunning wines:
As Riesling is a favourite with most wine fanatics, delectable Freie Weingartner Wachau Riesling Achleiten 1995 (Searsons, £14.95) should earn a huge outpouring of gratitude.