WORDS D. Joyce-Ahearne
ILLUSTRATION Alice Wilson
Ireland can proudly boast perhaps the most important contribution to the world’s drinks cabinets of any nation. Guinness and whiskey are international commodities and Baileys, poitín and Irish coffees are among the most widely recognisable symbols of our culture. Throughout history, our diaspora, one of our other noted claims to fame, has spread the Irish penchant for fermenting anything we can get our hands on. Hennessy Cognac was founded by Irishman, Richard Hennessy in 1765. When France’s best wines were classified in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, two estates, Château Léoville-Barton and Château Lynch-Bages, were, as their names suggests, originally Irish enterprises.
Today we’re seeing somewhat of a role reversal. Instead of the Irish going abroad to try their hand at non-native brews, the drink is now coming to us. Alongside the growing experimentation with traditional Irish alcohols through craft culture, there is now an apple brandy being made in Cork along the lines of the esteemed Calvados brandy, while Irish wine is being produced in Lusk, just north of Dublin.
At Longueville House in west Cork, Michael O’Callaghan planted vines and began making wine but stopped in 2000. He replaced the vines with 20 acres of Dabinett and Michelin cider apples. Giving up on wine, Michael made the leap to apple brandy. His son, William, continues his father’s work on the estate today and produces Ireland’s only vintage apple brandy. “We wanted to make an apple brandy because apples grow well in the Blackwater Valley whereas grapes don’t; it’s all down to the weather. There is little if any difference in the method of production between what we do and the way Calvados is made.”
O’Callaghan harvests the apples every autumn and they are crushed and pressed in an oak cider press located in the cider house on the grounds. After the crushing process, the pressed juice is naturally fermented into cider, which is poured into pot stills and distilled into an apple brandy. The brandy is matured in French oak barrels for four years and, as it ages, it draws out the tannins from the wood, resulting in a rich, dark-coloured 40% liquor.
On the other side of the country in Lusk, Co. Dublin, David Llewellyn is making his own wine. He currently produces around three hundred bottles a year but having recently planted more vines he hopes to produce over a thousand bottles from next year’s harvest. After studying Horticulture, Llewellyn’s first experience of the wine-making process was working on a small estate in Germany where the grapes were grown and the wine produced on site.
At Llewellyn’s Orchard, Llewellyn runs a similar operation. His grapes, mostly black (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rondo, Dunkelfelder) are grown both outdoors and in polytunnels. Beginning in the late eighties, he experimented with various grape varieties seeking short season, early maturing grapes that could grow in the Irish climate. Though white grapes are usually better for cooler climates, Llewellyn is making more red wine. He found that the German grape Rondo works best in Ireland’s cool short summers and could set fruit and ripen.
While Rondo is a hardy grape that can be planted outdoors, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot could never ripen in the open without protection due to their heat requirement. These are planted outdoors but are covered during the growing season and the polythene covers keeps the wind and rain off so the grapes can ripen nicely.
The grapes are hand-picked in late-September to late-October, depending on the year. Whereas traditionally wine is pressed in a basket press, Llewellyn uses a rack and cloth press, usually used in the production of cider. Having been crushed, the grapes are layered on cloth between layers of racks that are then pressed. Llewellyn uses oak chips to “oak” the wine; the wood is added to influence the flavour as it ages. The wine is then bottled on site.
“I make the wine in a very simple way. I don’t have high-tech machines, apart from a machine to crush the grapes and then the press. After that, I don’t filter it, I don’t have a centrifuge [for clarifying the wine], I don’t have any sterile bottling facilities. It’s all very traditional. I let the wine develop itself.”
Grapes grown in a hotter climate will be higher in sugars and in certain tannins resulting in a wine that is more full-bodied, higher in alcohol content and deeper in colour. In a colder climate like Ireland, the grapes don’t reach the same level of sugar and this is what shapes the tastes of Llewellyn’s wines. Given the climate then, Llewellyn explains, Irish wine “is relatively light, fruity, not terribly high in alcohol, 12% is what I’d normally have.” Although the taste is comparatively weak in contrast to robust continental wines from a warmer climate, Irish wine is not without its positives. The Schönburger/Sauvignon Blanc blend has a pleasingly interesting bouquet and is a great, complex wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend was also very pleasant, if a little on the light side.
Irish wine is an experiment and still a work in progress. Though he will be producing more next year, it’s not Llewellyn’s intention to go into wine production full time as it’s too risky. It’s expensive to make and this is reflected in the price of €40 a bottle. As Llewellyn said himself it’s a niche market but anyone in Ireland interested in wine should really try it to see what the terroir in their back garden can produce.
Both Longueville House Apple Brandy (€34.99) and Llewellyn’s Lusca Wine (€39.99) are available at the Celtic Whiskey Shop & Wines on the Green on Dawson Street.
