The evening will be hosted by WineOnline.ie and will feature 4 guests, who will each introduce themselves whilst presenting one of their flagship wines. You will, of course, get a tasting case of each of the 4 wines ahead of the event, so that you can enjoy the wines, learn from each of the winemakers & pair foods with friends from the comfort of your own home! 

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate International Women’s Day! Gather some friends around, for what is sure to be a great evening, lasting between 75 – 90 minutes, where you’ll discuss wine, women in wine, winemaking styles and stories, all whilst enjoying wines from 4 very different regions from around the world, in the company of the women who made them. 

There is no cost for the Zoom tasting and once you have purchased the tasting case of 4 x 75cl bottles (1 x rosé, 1 x white, 2 x red), we will send you a Zoom link for the event (2 days prior to the event).

The evening will be hosted by WineOnline.ie and will feature:

South Africa’s ‘Young Winemaker Of The Year’ Marelise Niemann; Irish expat & wine geese Emer Kirwan-Buckley, a trained concert pianist turned winemaker; An award-winning winemaker from the Rhone Valley in France making perfumed and powerful red wines, Melina Monteillet and lastly but by no means least, Alessia Sciotti, a second-generation winemaker who oversees the production of over 24 million bottles of fine wine per annum from her family’s estate in Ortona in Italy. 

Let’s look at the winemakers & the wines you will taste: 

Marelise Niemann
Momento Wines, Bot Rover, Walker Bay, South Africa
1 x 75cl Grenache Noir 
(1 x 75cl €35)
Marelise was recently named ‘Young Winemaker of the Year’ by Wine Critic and Master of Wine Tim Atkin, who said that South Africa is producing the best wines in all it’s history today. Marelise has made wine all her professional life in Bot Rover & in 2013 she founded her own label. She has spent over 10 years working with varieties that are resistant to climate change and she specialises in Grenache. We will taste her flagship Grenache Noir with her on the night as she talks us through the wine and her story. 

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Emer Kirwan-Buckley 
Chateau Sirio, Graves, Bordeaux
1 x 75cl Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Bordeaux Blanc 

(1 x 75cl €24)
Emer is part of the modern wine geese, an endearing term referring to the Irish who emigrated and eventually became winemakers abroad. She is from Monkstown in Co Dublin and she is a professional musician and trained harpsichordist. In 2015 she bought a 12-hectare vineyard in Bordeaux with her husband Fabrice and we were delighted to have met her in 2023 and eventually bring her wines home to Ireland. 

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Melina Monteillet 
Domaine de Montine, Grignan des Adhemar, Rhone Valley, France 
1 x 75cl La Muse Rosé, Grignan des Adhemar 

(1 x 75cl €15)
Melina is a real force to be reckoned with. She has dedicated herself to leaving the family winery in a better place than she found it. Domaine de Montine was founded in Grignan des Adhemar in 1933 by her great-grandfather Albert. She is the 4th generation and she oversees the winemaking at the family estate as well as wine tourism which includes outhouses, lodgings, meeting rooms & wine tours. We have been importing her wines into Ireland since 2022 and they have a great following here. She will tell us her story whilst presenting her famous blush rosé called ‘La Muse’. Melina will subsequently travel to Dublin for a consumer winemaker dinner on Thursday, April 18th where she will present all of her wines on the night over a three-course dinner. 

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Alessia Sciotti
Vini Fantini
1 x Farnese Organic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 

(1 x 75cl €18)
Alessia is the second generation at the Farnese group, of which of her father Valentino Sciotti is president. Together with her sister, they oversee winemaking, exports and hospitality at the family winery. They are based in the Abruzzo region of Italy in Ortona. Founded in 1996, they have expanded the company out of Ortona and into other regions, producing 24 million bottles of wine today. We’ll hear from Alessia about the challenges she faces in a family business, but also the opportunities she has for worldwide travel and multi-regional winemaking as well. She will also present what we think is their greatest wine, their organic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. It is silky, perfumed and aromatic, with soft tannins and a luscious mouth-filling finish.

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The combined cost of the 4 bottles is €92.50 and you’ll pay no more for the virtual tasting. If you can’t make the tasting, no problem! We will send a recording of the tasting to everyone who has purchased the tasting case after the event, so you can watch back and taste the wines at your leisure.