Paddy's Backyard

Over three weeks ago, world news was focused on the frosty situation in the vineyards of France especially around Bordeaux. The world press has moved on, but the French winegrowers are still very much counting the cost of the freezing temperatures that hit for just a few nights. During the noctural freezing temperatures, those vineyards that could afford a possible solution used various techniques, oil cannisters were lit between every second row of vines, bales of hay set alight at strategic points around the vineyards, and turbines, and in some cases helicopters used to force warmer air down on the vines. Frost affected some vineyards particularly hard, with the buddings on the vines destroyed, so now growers are waiting p..

On our early morning drives into the shop in St Emilion or to the market in Libourne you glimpse eerie silhouettes through the mist in the vineyards, bent over and moving slowly through the vines. Pruning has begun in earnest in the last week in the vineyards around the house. During the winter months the sap from the vines descends into the root system and the vine becomes inactive, making this a perfect time to prune back the excess branches. Pruning takes place between the months of November and March. Late pruning is preferable as pruning pauses the growing cycle and the vine is thereby less exposed to the late spring frosts experienced in Bordeaux. For the smaller vineyards late pruning is possible, for the bigger vineyards this is ..

We are delighted to announce that The Wine Buff St Emilion has been voted one of the Top 10 wine retailers in France by The Beverage Trade Network.     Since our launch in this stunningly beautiful UNESCO village of St Emilion, The Wine Buff has endeavoured to make you, our customer, feel very much at home. At The Wine Buff, we truly believe that your purchase of wine should be a memorable experience, and even more so when you have taken the time to visit the epicentre of the wine world.  We are also rated No 1 on Tripadvisor and Google for wine shopping in St Emilion. Not bad for a Irish wine shop competing in a village containing 90 + wine shops and only 200 inhabitants! A h..

At this time of year there is a flurry of activity throughout the vineyards of France, with harvesting starting, just finishing or about to begin, dependent on the wine growing region you are based in. The 2018 vintage followed the pattern of the world cup football matches, it was a game of two halves. The winter was wet with a damp spring and the second half that followed was dry and warm, in fact July has been the hottest in France since 1947. Jean Claude Paret from Chateau La Fauconnerie on the outskirts of St Emilion reported back “We escaped the hailstorms that decimated vineyards in Medoc, Cotes de Bourg and Blaye. Mildew was an issue earlier in the year, but the dry July reversed this, we experienced a few small black rot patch..

Allez Munster!!! Heading to Bordeaux for the Munster match? The Wine Buff St Emilion is open for pre-match tastings and post match celebrations. Paddy would be delighted for all Munster supporters to visit the shop and taste our local range of wines. The Wine Buff St Emilion is located in the centre of St Emillion, on Rue du Marche,  just off the main square. Tel : +33 6 28 80 21. So if your're about, you're more than welcome to call in.       ..