If your household has been cast into gloom by less than brilliant exam results, there's comfort to be gained from this week's wine column - and I don't just mean the balm of tasty bottles. In 1984, young James O'Connor of Wexford was hitching a lift up to Dublin to discuss with his tutor at Dublin City University what life could possibly hold in store for a person who had failed his Business Studies repeats. The first driver to stop was a fellow with a van load of turnips. On the road, the two struck a deal about a fruit-and-vegetable partnership. That was the beginning of Greenacres, one of the most enticing food and wine shops in the entire southeast.
The premises on North Main Street had been in the O'Connor family since 1860, when a steam bakery drew crowds of shoppers. These days, they are lured by the tempting smell of 200 cheeses, 20 kinds of salami and heaven knows how many sorts of olives, set out in enormous pottery bowls on a table just inside the door. The fruit and veg are still there, and towards the back you will see the promising glint of a range of bottles that grows wider by the day. Fate has had a hand in this, too.
"We started with wine in 1994," James O'Connor explains. "That year my wife Paula had triplets, and a bottle of wine in the evening is the one thing that has kept us going ever since." Bordeaux is a central plank of the business - partly because it's in demand during the Wexford Opera Festival (English visitors fill their cars with classed growth claret and Irish cheese), and partly because the proprietor has a personal weakness for it (Lynch-Bages, his favourite, is available in seven vintages including 1981, 1988, 1989 and 1990, all at £110 a bottle). Much of his Bordeaux, luckily, is more accessible in price to the everyday buyer, with our Bottle of the Week a runaway success at £7.99.
An equally popular white is Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc 1997. At £7.99, it too costs a pound or two more than typical supermarket bestsellers: apparently the average Greenacres customer is prepared to pay for a decent drink. The reserve wines of Chile's Santa Rita, for instance, easily outsell those of the 120 range here: £7.99 compared with £5.99. In fact, the bestselling wines of all, according to James O'Connor, are around £10.99 - bottles like Lawson's Dry Hills Chardonnay from New Zealand or Klein Constantia Chardonnay from South Africa.
It's encouraging to hear that champagne is also in constant demand, selling a steady two cases a week and far, far more at Christmas; last year festive season figures were four times up on the previous year. This, too, may have to do with the boss's fervour. "I could start drinking champagne at breakfast time and never stop," he confesses, admitting to a special fondness for Gosset and Veuve Clicquot Rich Reserve.
On south to Waterford, where I've been a vocal fan of David Dennison's Wine Vault ever since I first set foot in his medieval cellar a couple of years ago. At that time, I thought it would take more than an evening glass or two to save this impassioned oenophile from the stress of running, simultaneously, a wine shop, restaurant, wholesale business and wine club. Now, blow me down, he has branched out still further with a nationwide mail order service. Shatterproof cartons have been specially acquired, orders can be for any number of bottles, however small, and delivery is guaranteed within 24 hours - "provided there's somebody in the house, of course," the Waterford dynamo adds.
But David Dennison never forgets that his main priority is to offer an exciting selection of wines from worthwhile producers, for many of whom he acts as sole Irish agent. "The £810 price bracket is the main thrust of our business," he says. Chateau Grand Monteil Bordeaux Rouge (£9.45) is a long-standing success. The spectrum of drinking pleasure on offer stretches from the traditional (the delectable Real Tesoro sherries, for instance: don't miss Tio Mateo Fino, £6.95 a half bottle) to the innovative (note the Verdelho from Western Australia below).
The next few months will see an overhaul of David Dennison's list, with new discoveries from Spain, France and Italy. In mid-October, he is due to launch his range in Dublin with a major tasting for both trade and consumers: more details soon.
Whether you live in the southeast or are simply visiting, the other wine source worth inspecting is Pettitt's, the supermarket group. At first glance, you may think the total acreage of bottles in each of its five stores looks meagre enough, but diligence in the selection process makes all the difference. The result? More tasty gems than in many a Dublin supermarket of comparable size.
Over two years ago, Pettitt's came up with the strategy of offering a special wine "collection" every season. Wine consultant Tom Doorley selects a dozen interesting bottles for each - almost always at razor-sharp prices - and a newsletter describing them in juicy prose goes out to customers and local wine club members. Dropping into the St Aidan's Shopping Centre branch in Wexford, I spotted, alongside fast moving mass market brands, Mark Bredif's smashing Vouvray 1996 (£8.99 when it's often £2 more), Santa Rita's top of the range Casa Real 1994 (£15.99 when it can be £3 more), the rewarding Argentinian Arnaldo B. Etchart 1993 (well priced at £9.99) and tasty Norton Merlot (only £5.99).
I understand, now, why a Dubliner holidaying in the south-east this summer vowed never again to stuff his car with bottles.
Address book:
Greenacres Food & Wine Hall, 56 North Main Street, Wexford, tel 053 22975, fax 053 24905, email info@greenacres.ie
The Wine Vault/David Dennison Fine Wines, High Street, Waterford, tel/fax 051 853777/051 853444, e-mail bacchus@tinet.ie
Pettitt's, St Aidan's Shopping Centre, Wexford; The Duffry, Enniscorthy; Main Street, Gorey; Wexford Road, Arklow; Duke Street, Athy.
White
Thomas Mitchell Marsanne 1996 (Pettitt's, £6.99; also selected Dunnes Stores and Superquinns).
Full marks to Pettitt's for splashing out on an individualistic white like Marsanne. This one from the Spring Collection manages to have gorgeously concentrated apricot flavours and crispness at the same time. A delicious aperitif.
Montana Reserve Chardonnay 1996 (Greenacres, £10.99, also McCabes Merrion, Kielys Mt Merrion, Kellys Clontarf, SuperValu Raheny, Lynchs Glanmire).
A restrained, classy Chardonnay which is among Greenacres's top sellers - further proof, if any is needed, that New Zealand has more serious strings to its bow than exuberant Sauvignon Blanc.
Peel Estate Verdelho 1995 (Wine Vault Waterford, £12.50; also Grapes of Mirth Rathmines).
One of the most enjoyable white wines I've tasted all summer, it evolves from lemon-and-lime freshness towards spicy depth with a marvellous persistence of flavour. Worth the price.
Red
Chateau des Ganfards Bergerac 1997 (Wine Vault Waterford, £7.95; also Grapes of Mirth, Rathmines)
Anybody who finds Bordeaux a touch austere will enjoy this juicy vibrantly fruity young red from further east - mainly Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Col di Sasso SangioveseCabernet, Banfi, 1996 (Pettitt's, £7.99; also Redmond's; Carville's, Camden St; and O'Donovan's, Cork).
A super-attractive Tuscan, with Cabernet in the blend producing a smooth, supple alternative to Chianti. Lipsmackingly delicious - and great value.
Chateau Villepreux Bordeaux Superieur 1995 (Greenacres, £7.99; also Molloys, Deveneys, Carvills Camden St, Thomas Foxrock, Bennetts Howth, Shanganagh House Shankill, Pielows Enniskerry and other outlets).
A terrifically pleasant, harmonious red Bordeaux with ample fruit and a kiss of classic cedar. See Bottle of the Week.
Class Act! Wine appreciation is the fastest growing winter sport, and if you haven't already signed up, now is the time. The Wine Development Board spreads the net widest, with 90 courses in 29 different venues countrywide, including nine that are new this autumn. Tel (01) 280 4666, fax (01) 280 7566, email winedb@iol.ie.