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BARFLY Shamim de Brún Michael McDermott 1. NA ZDR
OWIE! It was only back in 2009 when the first official and legal Polish wine went on sale. There’s now almost 400 vineyards in this fledgling industry occupying over 1500 acres. The second edition of the Polish Wine Fest brings us up to speed on what we need to know about the region and its producers with each winery presenting labels from their portfolio. Maciej Nowicki, a Polish wine expert will be on hand to turbo charge your knowledge with some masterclasses. SDB Fumbally Stables, Sunday March 26 (1pm-4pm & 5pm-8pm) €25 (open tasting), €35 (+ masterclass) polishwinefest.com 2. STRAIGHT FROM THE VINE Combining 27 years of experience in the trade, Antonia Dominguez and Lynda Coogan bring their W-game to their podcast, Wine: The Long & The Short of It. From scandals to sustainability, myths to celebrity endorsements; they navigate the jargon in a fun and conversational way. A recent episode had them bounce back and forth highlighting female trail-blazers in the industry such as Rosa Kruger, founder of the Old Vine Project in South Africa and our own Roisin Curley, a pharmacist turned micro-négociant in Burgundy. Season 2 launched in February and they have five episodes already under their noses. SDB @winethelongandtheshortofit 3. GET ZINGI WITH IT Smithfield based alcoholic ginger beer maker Zingibeer are set to ramp it up after being accepted on to Foodworks, an accelerator programme for food and drinks companies which has benefitted the likes of Wicklow Wolf before. Ireland’s first Ginger Beer was launched by father and daughter team Kevin and Rachel Byrne in 2021, Zingi is now on sale in 300 retailers and on tap in 80 pubs. Kevin has form in the game having previously led the Persistence Brewing Company. We also love their branding twist on the Guinness pelican. MMD zingibeer.ie 4. DIFFORD’S GUIDE It is the mark of achievement of a website when you bookmark it and find yourself returning to it again and again. Difford’s Guide is one such site. With its tagline ‘for discerning drinkers’, it’s a classy affair with endless jump off points of enlightenment. Whether you want to know who the global brand ambassador for the House of Angostura is, how to make a Betsy Ross or Cranstonian cocktail or what Orgeat is, Difford’s will enlighten you. It’s a classy affair and you really should make acquaintance with it, if you haven’t already. MMD diffordsguide.com 5. NOT BERLIN The bar that lost everything to infamous poor choices midPandemic is rebounding with a new name and licensee. The venue has been refurbished from top to bottom, with Órale Street Food coming in to sling some tasty tacos as part of Pawn Shop’s new offering. The team, including co-owner and manager David Grier, got the keys in October 2021, but it has taken 18 months to finally get the licence set in stone after the shenanigans of the last crowd. SDB @pawnshopdublin 40