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 Dún 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.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Sad news

The Drinks Business has a small piece about the death of Peter Lehmann who was one of the biggest characters in the Australian wine industry over the last 40 years. He single-handedly saved a lot of small growers from financial ruin in the early 1980s and was a champion of Barossa semillon - his top wine, Margaret, is a gorgeous wine.
Also, Wine Australia have decided to close their Irish operation, run so well by John McDonnell. When John returned to Ireland in the early 1990s we were the 5th biggest market for Australian wine and Australian wine had a far higher percentage of the market here than in the UK. Now we are far less important and so John's services are no longer required. Shame.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Devastation in Vouvray

There is a shocking picture in Decanter's report of today's violent hail storms which have caused very serious damage. Given that growers in Muscadet are still struggling with the effects of the 2008 frost this type of damage, coming after a short year in 2012 and coupled with the overall lateness of the season this year, could be fatal for some growers.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Some sad news

I am sorry to say that I received news today that John Taylor MW passed away on Friday last. John was a keen Arsenal fan (which I did not hold against him!) and a really nice character. He became an MW 41 years ago and his passing reduces the number of active MWs to 303 (Thanks to Siobhan Turner for the correction).