Italy, Puglia: Castel di Salve.

Castel di Salve is a relatively old winery dating from 1885, established by the Duke of Salve, Antonio Winspeare, in an area of southern Puglia known as Salento. You'd be right to think that surname doesn't sound very Pugliese or Italian even - some online research reveals that he was a bit of an interesting character...

Tasting notes and recommendations include this proper dry rosé made from local variety Negroamaro, two white wines and five reds also showcasing Primitivo and Malvasia Nera.

Alsace tasting

Domaine Louis Sipp: www.sipp.com

This sumptuous tasting was organised by the Northern Ireland Wine & Spirit Institute in Belfast a couple of months ago and was led by regional expert Anne McHale MW, who communicated a few nuggets of juicy information from the region, which I've regurgitated here rather randomly.

Pinot Noir: Australia, New Zealand & California

This comparison of one of the world's most celebrated varieties, from three entirely different countries / states, is condensed from a couple of generic wine tastings held in Dublin recently. I've narrowed the Pinot talk down to 25 flavoursome recommendations, many of them available in Ireland, the UK and the US; and some brief info about the regions featured.

California: random red and white.

From tablascreek.com

My pick from a recent California Wine tasting in Dublin of half-a-dozen random reds and a white made from varieties such as Zinfandel, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, Grenache noir and blanc and Viognier. This is the first of a few posts highlighting California red and white wines available in Ireland and the UK.

Roussillon: Domaine of the Bee, England: Hart of Gold.

Justin and Amanda Howard-Sneyd in their 80+ year-old La Roque Carignan vineyard.

What has the Roussillon, in deepest Catalan France, got to do with English bubbly, you may be wondering? Well, it's the same couple behind Domaine of the Bee, kickstarted in 2004 with the purchase of some old vine plots near Maury (which is Occitan but never mind), and Hart of Gold, an upmarket English sparkling launched with the 2010 vintage.

Australian sparkling wine: Arras, Jansz, Blue Pyrenees.

Image from houseofarras.com.au.

House of Arras - Tasmania.

Established in 1995, Arras produces some of Australia's finest (and dearest) traditional method sparkling made under the watchful eye of founder winemaker Ed Carr. The story goes that Ed went to cool-climate Tasmania in 1988 to look for suitable sites... Nowadays, blocks of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are selected from six regions 'with varying terroir from inland to coastal, and warm/dry to cool/wet.'