Julian @Bubblebrothers your time starts now …

Continuing with the recent interview with Wine Retailers I put my questions to Julian from Bubblebrothers – here is what he had to say

1.        How did you get into wine ?I just fell in.  I have a little French, and working for a wine merchant sounded interesting at a time when I needed a job.  It is interesting. Before that, though I drank wine, I hadn’t paid it any special attention.

 2.        What are your favourite styles of wine/wine regions ?Enthusiasms come and go, but when wine is your job it can be hard to separate wines you appreciate intellectually from wines you enjoy drinking just for themselves.  I try to keep an open mind and palate, but the people and places accompanying your drinking can make a good wine bad or a modest wine great.

 3.        What up and coming varietals or regions are you most excited about ?Argentina has been in the shadow of Chile for a very long time, in spite of the critics’ good opinions – it deserves a share of the limelight. The changes in climate are helping viticulture in some marginal regions; so Loire Valley reds, for instance, are more and more reliable.Australia is probably big and bold enough to succeed in its present mission of convincing us, contrary to common perception, that it can offer serious, regionally characteristic wines.

 4.        What have been the major changes in the Irish Wine Industry over the last 10 years approx ?

Apart from my joining it, you mean? I haven’t enough experience to comment, though I think anyone now in the industry without an eye on the world of wine online is very brave or very foolish.

5.        What do you look to achieve with your own exclusive range?

Some exciting alternatives to the brands for the customer, no duds, and accountability: if something’s not right, we answer ourselves or can ask the producer direct.

6.        Are critics scores or mass popularity more important in a wine that you selected for your exclusivity range ?Neither, I’m afraid, really.  We become conscious of gaps in the range in a number of different ways, and then base any purchasing decision on our own assessment of samples from as many suppliers as the circumstances demand.  I suppose we respond more to our customers’ requests than to reviews, so mass popularity is the closer answer.

 7.        The Closure debate – Screwcap or Cork – whats your opinion?It’s an interesting and illuminating debate, but I suspect that the majority of wine drinkers don’t mind how their bottles are stoppered, so long as the contents are in good condition. I think that the different closures will all be around for a while yet, so there’s plenty of choice for people with a strong view.  I’m with the majority and don’t really mind, as a consumer.  As a wine merchant, I follow the discussions pro and con, and their ramifications, with interest.

 8.        Who is a wine hero of yours?Once again, I don’t feel that I have the experience to say anything constructive about this.  I do admire what Gary Vaynerchuk has done in making the appreciation of wine acceptable to and enjoyable by a very diverse audience.