Alsace: Riesling

After tasting an impressive lineup like this, it's easy to conclude that, although better known for Gewurztraminer or Pinot Gris, Alsace's best-kept secret is really their superb Rieslings. These are mostly dry too, as well as making some (tiny amounts of) brilliant late-harvest Riesling.

Alsace: Pinot Noir and Crémant fizz.

Pinot Noir is the only red variety planted in the vineyards of Alsace, which represents just about 10% of the region's overall production. In 2022, it was finally accepted into the exclusive Alsace Grand Cru club (51 mapped-out sites) in Hengst and Kirchberg de Barr*.

Piemonte: Barbera red wines.

Barbera is the most-grown red variety in Piemonte and the second most important in terms of wines, although still perhaps overlooked and underrated. Wine pros and geeks can get obsessed with the 'great' wines made from Nebbiolo from the region, the famous names of Barolo and Barbaresco,

Piemonte: Roero Arneis white wines

The geeky stats tell us that 774 hectares (compared to 3000 of the much less charismatic Cortese grape by the way) of Arneis are grown in the province of Cuneo, on the hillsides above the left bank of the Tanaro river to the north of Alba and southwest of Asti.

Nebbiolo and beyond: exploring Piemonte.

The full title of this masterclass was 'Nebbiolo and beyond: exploring Piemonte through a selection of native grapes', which was tutored by Elena Barattini, Langhe wine ambassador and wine educator, at a tasting in Dublin called 'Barolo & friends.'

Greece: Santorini, Peloponnese, Crete, Thessaly.

From winesofgreece.org.

Most of these 10 good-quality Greeks were sampled at an enlightening tasting organised by the Northern Ireland Wine & Spirit Institute led by Lisa McCully; and three others also bought from the Wine Society (impressive Greek range) and Marks & Spencer (moderately adventurous).

Chardonnay: California, Australia, New Zealand.

I've always been a Chardonnay fan, even when it seemed to become unfashionable and suddenly everybody wanted nothing but Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. In recent years, there's been a gentle shift away from in-your-face oaky Chardonnays towards either a purely unoaked ripe fruity type Chardy (does what it says on the label);