Shane Golden - View from the vineyard: September

Into the Labyrinth

Shane Golden, Manager of Whelehans Wines

The Apocalypse, the Rapture, End Times and Armageddon. Call it what you will but the end of the world is surely nigh to the doomsayers amongst us, whose numbers appear legion. Would a cataclysm by any other name smell as sweet? Y2K came not with a bang but a whimper and the cynic in me would suggest that those that profited most were those who shouted the loudest. Nothing much happened but It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.

As the luddite in me creeps slowly into the 21st Century, I have of late started listening to my very first podcast. (Yes, you read that correctly). From the Romans to the Assyrians and the Pharaohs to the Aztecs, I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the fall of ancient civilisations. All at their peak were the uncontested Superpowers of their time and all failed spectacularly.

Now, I will forgive you at this stage for thinking that I am about to fashion some over-archiving grand narrative on how we are all ecologically marked for death in our gadarene rush to consume the planet. Not so. I don’t mean to suggest that everything will come up smelling of roses, but nor are we in a state of non-return.

Many of the doomed civilisations had one thing in common, single points of failure. The Pharaohs’ divinity was related to the seasonal waxing and waning of the Nile. A few dry seasons in a row and they were drawing up plans for their tombs. The walls of Byzantium protected the Eastern Roman empire for a 1000 years until the invention of a single cannon, the Basilic. And the 20th Century is littered with societies fashioned around cults of personality that barely lasted a wet week after the death of their leader. A fish rots from the head down

The 21st Century appears to be cut from a different cloth. The wealth of information at our fingertips, accelerated technology and the creation of an interlocking “Global Village” means the wisdom of Solomon is now required to work your TV remote let alone craft an existence. Linear explanations such as A causing B no longer apply. The world has gone quantum and with this added complexity comes added security, even if it sometimes doesn’t feel like it.

Now for the wine bit (finally, says you).

The list of those who were involved in getting that bottle onto your table from the vineyard would run longer than the end credits to The Godfather. I find myself in the exalted position of being towards the end of this chain. I get to discuss, sample and critique wines, vintages and producers from a distance. All without ever having worked a harvest. One of the main pillars of this column has been to highlight all the challenges facing the wine industry as well as the fightback. At some point I have to turn the view inwards and say what we are doing in the shop lest we be accused of being hurlers on the ditch.

For some time we have been on a drive to go carbon neutral as a pillar of our Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. The challenges are manifold and fractal. To give some idea of the level of detail required, bottle-weights are now a consideration for us. (Some estimates say that ⅔ of the carbon footprint of a wine comes from the bottle alone).

There is no practical reason to store wine in bottles weighing the better part of 1kg other than to create the false impression that they are superior.

In the wider sphere we are now in a golden age of winemaking. Organic and sustainable farming practices driven by ESG philosophy is creating more quality wine than ever before.

Critics complain that ESG is too complex. I see this as a positive, why should it be easy? More considered complexity brings more redundancy and in turn, less likely are single points of failure. The 13th Century Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe may in large part have been prevented by an atypically warm spring. Relying solely on horse-mounted archers, of which they had no peers, the ground simply became too soft to be effective, delaying the Mongols advance. The ensuing chain-reaction from this single event meant that one of the largest empires ever known was ultimately consigned to history by a spell of some lovely weather.

So no, the End times or the Rapture is not upon us. The complexity arising from millions of informed people working in unison towards a more sustainable future means that we should remain optimistic. The sun will eventually fizzle out in a few billion years time so the stopped clocks will eventually be proved right. Until then, carry on.

(Warning – self promotion alert)

As an addendum, I am delighted to say that one of your favourite neighborhood wine shops has recently been nominated for Sustainability Retailer of the year by Retail Excellence Ireland.

For more information: 

• https://whelehanswines.ie/blogs/news/wine-shop-dublin-carbon-footprint-reduction
• https://www.retailexcellence.ie/awards/

Next up, we embark on B Corp certification. Watch this space.

Wine of the month

Produttori Vini Manduria Electric Bee 2023

Tasting Notes: Primitivo, also known as Zinfandel in the US, is synonymous with the Puglia region though its original home is Croatia where it’s known as Tribidrag. Invariable rich, bold and smooth it is a classic winter wine. With soft and deep plum and blackberry flavours, low tannins and a hint of spice it has a soft and luscious mouthfeel. Pairs perfectly with rich, hearty fare

Grape: Primitivo

Region: Manduria, Puglia, Italy

ABV: 13%

Ageing: None