Any ideas about wine in Ireland and Scotland? We are tuned in to spirits in both places but not too knowledgeable about wine availability in either place.
@ToddFrench was there recently.
Beer.
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Maybe you can be more specific what you are asking for?
There are loads of great places to drink and buy wine. Thereâs also a lot of crap.
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Not big beer drinkers but we do like whiskey. Just asking if anyone has had experience in buying wine there as we would like to not overdo the spirits.
Just donât spell it whiskEy if you are in Scotland!
Wine selections are fair to middling most places, even fine dining. It does not seem to be a priority most of the time. That doesnât mean you canât find something pleasing to drink, just donât expect top shelf or deep lists. There can be oddities - we used to find Musar at a tiny liquor store in Bowmore on Islay. Go figure. And there is usually a decent chablis to be had in most places that serve good seafood.
Impossible to overdue the spirits in Scottland! Itâs like carbs on your birthday.
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Look for wine bars in the cities for interesting wines (probably not ultra premium though). Havenât been over in ages so canât give any suggestions.
Markups in restaurants used to be less than North America.
Sarah is right ⌠wine is usually a partner to the food not a thing in itself. As well as Chablis youâll often find âdecent daily claretâ etc. Sheâs also righf about oddities, also the odd bargain.
Note in Dublin was kinda a natural/not major producer wine bar restaurant thing. We enjoyed the dinner, the glass of wine I had was fine, nothing to write home about.
As others have mentioned, the only decent bottles/BTG I found were mostly Chablis. Lots of Australian wines across menus too. After the first few nights in Dublin and Conamera, I switched over to trying local Gins as I was really not impressed with the wines. For the quality of the BTG selection it was ok, but nothing to seek out. I did walk into 2-3 random stores in Dublin, Killarney and 1-2 other places, and nothing caught my eye as âwowâ. In Cork I found a wine bar with â06 Dom for 315 Euro. Not a steal as its about $250 in the US, but at a restaurant, thatâs a small mark up and not too bad for a fun night out if someone wanted.
I disagree. While the selection is spectacular in both countries, the âdrink standardsâ of 35ml suck - you need a double just to have what would be considered a single here.
Wine is everywhere but the pubs. Restaurants focus far more on wine than cocktails, in my experience, and run the gamut in terms of varieties. Youâll have no problem.
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100ml or more or heâs out!
I think itâs 25ml or 1 imperial Fl oz.
But what I found amusing is that in almost all venues including some upscale restaurants, wine by the glass is offered in 2 sizes - often 175ml or 250ml. Three âlarge glassesâ = 1 bottle !!!
IRL>AUS you know
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I donât think the do gooder health lobby would allow 250ml glasses in this country
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I have found in my travels in UK and Ireland and from observation during wine sales trips there a couple of decades ago, the following dynamic is typical.
Top white table cloth restaurants tend to have very fine lists, which they curate from a breadth of suppliers.
In cafes, pubs and local restaurants, many of which are chain restaurants, the lists tend to be compact and often sourced from one wholesaler.
Please note there are some general generalisations to follow and it does not represent all on licences.
Pricing tends to be tight eg wines by the bottle are in the 25 to 50 quid range. The lists tend to feature regional classis eg Chianti Classico, Chateauneuf du Pape, Chablis, Barossa Shiraz etc etc, and often there is one example from each region, often not from a well recognised producer, but producers that the local wholesaler works with. They are generally not great wines, but serviceable and smashable. I suspect that margins can be quite good as the wines are not from exalted producers and are not widely available.
There tends to be more chain retaurants in the UK than we see in Australia and perhaps this also contributes to the lack of inspiration on lists.
nothing from Scotland. Ireland, just Dublin
that is a nice link, that said there are more options outside of Dublin in Ireland, though I did visit Cork and wouldnât necessarily call MacCurtain a destination or a âmust visitâ while in Cork as an example.
stay at Gleneagles and eat at the restaurant, spectacular. Edinburgh has some great restaurants, ondine is a seafood spot that is great, as well a some one star Mich spots
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I found a lot to be impressed by in Edinburgh. TIMBERYARD had a really nice list which wouldnât be out of place in a trendier restaurant in New York or San Francisco. I also was impressed by The Kitchin in Leith albeit a tad more pricy.
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And just as pricey. Iâll be in Edinburgh in March. I am sure I will check it out. Probably a BTG, Beer, or cocktail night