A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to enjoy a bit of a boozy weekend in Dublin. My husband had been asked over by a supplier of the firm he works for. Everything was going to be paid for and all we had to do was literally get on the plane.
We were met at the airport by our host and he swiftly whisked us off to his house so we could unpack. You should have seen my face when I saw the size of his house - it was massive. The house had everything you have always dreamed of - a tennis court, an indoor swimming pool and sauna a gym and a home cinema.
Waiting for us in his kitchen was some beautiful Australian wine, nicely chilled in a wine cooler and bottle opener all ready to go.
Our host was a real wine buff and has his own wine racks down in his cellar. He imports a lot of wine from Australia and was explaining that the cellar has to be kept at just the right temperature, which is quite difficult at times. He was saying that if the conditions aren’t right, then lots of problems can occur. An example he was telling us was that if the humidity is too high in the cellar then this makes the corks dry out and in turn would allow air to get into the bottle and oxidise the wine, which would be disastrous.
After we had finished our drinks we were off for a night in the Temple Bar area. It was absolutely fantastic and the Irish are so hospitable and friendly. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble and they are really lovely people. My husband was thoroughly enjoying himself knocking back pint after pint of Guinness. Mind you I think the next morning he wished he hadn’t drunk quite so much.
We had a brilliant weekend and it is certainly something I would love to do again. If we go again though, I think perhaps we shouldn’t drink quite so much alcohol!