About Me

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Dublin, Ireland
Hi, I'm Dermot Nolan, and I became a Master of Wine (MW) in 1997, and resigned from the Institute of Masters of Wine in 2023 after being an MW for exactly 26 years. I opened a wine shop in DĂșn Laoghaire, Ireland, called The Wine Library, which closed in 2018, and this is my personal wine blog. I will do my utmost to be fair and responsible in my posts – please read my Who Pays article in re the ethics of wine trips and writing. I have worked in wine education, retail, and consultancy since 1990. I was a Director of the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) from 2008 to 2014 and was also a member of the Events Committee, founder of the Trips Committee, and member of the Governance Committee. Having had problems with potentially libellous comments from unidentifiable posters, I now require that if you post a comment, you must identify yourself properly or it won't be published. Please note that I do not review products or services on request so kindly don't ask. I value my independence and I believe my readers (few that they may be) do so also.

Friday, March 23, 2012

John Avery MW RIP

The last post was about the passing of Trevor Mast, this is about the passing of John Avery MW, who died today. John was a big, bluff man, with a booming voice, strong opinions and a great sense of humour and of history. I first met John on the MW West Coast USA trip in 1999, then again on the Australia trip of 2001 and the Portugal trip of 2002.
On the Australia trip, we spend Anzac day travelling from Coonawarra to Melbourne, via a morning tasting and lunch at Best's Great Western (and an afternoon visit to Mt Langhi Ghiran). On all MW trips every event has 2 MWs with specific duties - one is the scribe, who writes up the event for the trip report, the other is the official thanker, who thanks the hosts and organisers on the day. This day, it was John's turn and he gave an intensely moving speech on the topic of Anzac Day and Gallipoli. It was simply marvellous. John Avery RIP, 23/03/2012.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Sad news

News today that Trevor Mast, of Mt Langhi Ghiran, has died. Trevor became ill with Alzheimer's some years back. He was a pioneer, in many ways, and a really nice guy. One of his innovations was enclosing a vineyard block in a wire net frame - four walls and a ceiling. This reduced wind flow and increased vineyard temperature resulting in riper fruit.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Eye of newt, and toe of frog...

...Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing is how the quotation goes. Why quote Shakespeare? Partly, why not? But also to introduce an interesting piece by Fiona Beckett about some very smooooooooth wines.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Another snippet

According to Harper's, the London International Wine Fair will be short a number of New Zealand producers. There has been a marked decline in numbers at London over the last few years, in both producers and visitors, but this is a blow and may well spell the beginning of the end for this venerable show. ProWein is becoming a far more interesting proposition for a lot of people, with a more diverse range of exhibitors. Sic transit...

Three snippets

Caveat Emptor (which means "buyer beware" and not "empty cave", as I recently saw on another blog!) is the most important rule when thinking about investing in wine. Why? Well, read this small piece from the indefatigable Jim Budd, who spends a lot of time exposing fake investment companies.
Jamie Goode has an interesting piece about some additions to the Jacob's Creek range, which I would love to see arriving in Ireland.
Finally, for those who are investing in China, or for those who think Australia should only promote big brands, here's an interesting piece about how the Chinese believe Australia should market its wines in China.