Struth! Putting it all on show in Ireland

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says Aussie winemakers aren’t averse to employing anything from the outlandish to the bizarre to promote their products, and that Hunter Valley winemaker Neil McGuigan must surely take the cake with his latest effort.

In September he’s uprooting eighty of McGuigan Wines’ 60 year old Semillon vines – and re-planting them in a public Square in the centre of Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. And he’s also taking along posts and wire to support the vines where they’ll be planted in neat rows in Meeting Place Square, a stack of wine barrels, an Aussie tractor, and if not everything else down to the kitchen-sink then the closest thing to it – a complete cellar door big enough to drive a truck through.

It’s all to coincide with the 20th anniversary of McGuigan Wines’ iconic Black Label range, with their Dublin City Vineyard being open to the public from September 4th to 9th.

Neil McGuigan says his “real life” vineyard will provide an in-depth insight into the Australian wine industry, give Irish wine lovers the chance to rub shoulders with the highly awarded McGuigan winemaking team – lead by Neil himself – in a unique setting, and of course to taste the excellent McGuigan Hunter Valley product that’s helped earn it the title of International Winemaker of the Year twice in the past three years.

Australian wines are currently #1 sellers in Ireland, and McGuigan Wines amongst the Top Ten global wine brands selling in the UK. For more information visit www.mcguiganwines.com.au