Galicia, located in the northwest of Spain, is riding the crest of a winemaking wave right now and their signature grape, Albariño, is leading the charge.  An aromatic and versatile variety that tends to produce high acidity, light-medium bodied wines with plenty of pear, citrus and floral notes, Albariño is proving to be a worthy alternative to Sauvignon Blanc.  Rías Baixas ...

We have been awash with some exceptional Irish beers over the last few months, but I thought it time to look at some of the great imports that have landed over the last few weeks. There is a bit of an eclectic mix of styles, a little bit of something for everyone.

Fist up, the highly rated Wyoming brewers Melvin. Melvin are a small brewery with a big reputation and numerous nat...

We are delighted to introduce to you, Roku Japanese Gin! This is the first premium Japanese Craft Gin and it is exclusive to O’Briens at €44.95.

This unique liquid was born out of a vision to create a truly authentic Japanese product to meet demand for a crafted, premium gin with a distinctive and balanced flavour.

Meaning ‘six’ in Japanese, ROKU incorporates s...

Today sees the start of our most eagerly anticipated wine promotion of the summer. Running from Wednesday 01st to Monday 06th August we are offering 15% Back on your Loyalty card for any purchase of 6 or more bottles of wine. With decent weather forecasted for the long weekend we picked a few wines to make the most of this public holiday.

First up we have Russian Jack, a benchmark Marlb...

To second this lyric from Summer Wine ( Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood 1967), one of the joys of the summer is being able to cook, eat and relax outside. When picking your wines for BBQ’s, picnics and summer garden suppers, go for something that will please all your guests and that won’t break the bank. For reds usually something with alcohol around 12% works with hotter tempera...

Throughout the year on hillsides, in by-ways, and forests of Glendalough and wider Wicklow you will find Glendalough Distillery’s full-time forager, Geraldine Kavanagh, busily searching out the freshest botanicals for their gins. Last week a team from O’Briens were lucky enough to tag along on one such trip in to the Wicklow Mountains.

At first, we are confronted with a wash of gree...

On wine buying trips to our wineries, I sometimes unearth irresistible vinous gems that don’t fit into our ongoing wine range. Often these are from little known wine regions, unusual grapes, are made in tiny quantities or may be stylishly retro but potentially share the same fate of being just simply overlooked. Therefore, we put together a selection of those special wines to tempt ...

Over the last couple of weeks I have picked out a number of new and interesting gins from our line-up. However, for this week’s blog I have focused on just one to fully understand the care and attention that goes into distillation of some of these great spirits. I could have picked from an array of great gins that showcase attention to detail with ingredients or distillation techniq...

Summer is a great time of year to enjoy bubbles, they lift any occasion into an event. There is a vast range of styles, grape varieties, budgets and countries available to choose from as there is with still wine. So when making your choice for sparkling wine, consider your budget and ask yourself, do I want to match with food, and most importantly what style of wine do I like?

If you ar...

We have loads of great  gins on promotion in The Great Gin Sale. Last week I took a look at some great new gins from across the water. This week I'm turning to some Irish gins that have quickly become classics on our shelves. With so many on offer it can be hard to choose. So here is just a small pick of great Irish gins released over the last couple of years, you may just have miss...