Irish Whiskey Lacrima Merlot White Rhone Blend Switzerland Graubunden

The Irish are hailed as being the original producers of whiskey in the British Isles, and their innovations and techniques were so successful, that neighbouring Scotland were quickly influenced by them in the 15th century. Centuries later, it was the Irish who brought whiskey to America, and their style of whiskey has since become popular all over the world.

However, it wasn’t always plain sailing for the Irish whiskey industry - from being a dominant force in the 19th century, whose produce was considered far superior to that of Scotland, political upheaval and war saw the Irish whiskey almost disappear forever in the early 20th century. Today, the Irish whiskey manufacturers are back on their feet, and they are once again proving that the original is often the best. With new distilleries opening every year, it is safe to say that Irish whiskey is very much back.

Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky in a number of ways, and not least the spelling - the extra ‘e’ was said to be added in the 19th century as a way of distancing the Irish drink from what they saw as an inferior Scottish product. Irish whiskey was traditionally made in enormous stills, as a way of ensuring consistency from bottle to bottle, and maintaining the quality and complexity their reputation was founded on. The typical tasting notes of fine Irish whiskey include apple and vanilla, alongside spicy and sweet touches of nutmeg and fresh hay, making this a highly pleasant and smooth drink, made for relaxation and stimulating conversation about times past.

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

The Rhone region of France has been producing superb quality white blended wines for centuries, and is a region highly respected and esteemed around the world, with plenty of New World countries keen to emulate the styles and techniques displayed by the historic wineries and skilled vintners of the area. The secret to the Rhone's success when it comes to blended white wines is the careful and expert selection of certain grape varietals, which each lend special features to the blended wine and bring balance and harmony to the bottle. Most commonly, blended white Rhone wines feature no more than two grapes of either the Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne or Grenache Blanc varietals, and are renowned for their exceptional flavors and highly aromatic, floral character.




Switzerland is composed by 26 cantons and 4 linguistic areas: the German one, the French one, the Italian and the Romanche. This creates a richness of various expressions, which are also reflected in traditions, lifestyles, eating and drinking manners. Its wine-producing geography is subdivided into six areas: the cantons of Valais, of Vaud and of Geneva, the three lakes' region (Western Switzerland), the German-speaking area (Eastern Switzerland), and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Moreover, Switzerland's particular geographical situation, in between four wine-producing nations (France, Italy, Germany and Austria), offers an extreme diversity in the characters of its wines.


Swiss vineyards give a large choice of grape varieties, although they are still scarcely known abroad. The most typical white grape variety is Chasselas, whose extreme sensitivity to both soil and situation is reflected in subtle differences in taste. Among the red grape varieties, the most widespread is Pinot Noir which can take very different characters depending on the region from where it comes and the type of vinification it has undergone.

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