What happens when a pair of high fliers with a London house apiece inherit another in Ennis? Gravitation towards Ireland, and the realisation of a long-term dream to open a wine bar. "It could have happened anywhere in the world," says Rosalie Byrne-Muir. "We might just as easily have done it in Kuala Lumpur."
While Ian Muir continues to work as an engineering project manager, operating out of Shannon, Rosalie is putting her experience in administration to use in Domaine, their one-year-old wine bar and warehouse tucked around the corner from Wood Quay. Downstairs you can enjoy your chosen bottle with or without light food such as pate, cheese, warm focaccia. Upstairs is the place to go if you feel like buying wine to take home.
Although the list is at the shakedown stage - the Byrne-Muirs seem strangely sceptical about the abundance of well-made, well-priced wines in Ireland - it's broad in scope, with names such as Anselmi, Tasca d'Almerita, Cape Mentelle, Fetzer Bonterra, Comte Cathare and the excellent organic Can Vendrell (see below) to catch the eye. Prices are reasonable, and they get a kick out of nudging beginners away from boring bottles.
"One guy went from a cheap German white, which we've since dropped, to Pouilly-Fuisse in six weeks," Muir reports. His biggest surprise, he says, has been how little Irish people know about wine. But if you're wine-minded, thirsty and in Ennis, then Domaine is the place to go.
Domaine Wine Bar and Warehouse, River Lane, Wood Quay, Ennis. Tel: 0656844884. Summer hours Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monthly tastings: booking advisable.