Tastings and Wine Courses

The best way to find out about our wines is to taste them! We're proud of our carefully chosen list.

Join us for a tasting!
From time to time we hold public tastings in Cork, to introduce new wines or to show off a particular section of our established list.

These usually take place at our Marina showroom on Cork's Centre Park Road. From time to time we are the guests of the city's AGA shop on Lapp's Quay.

Alternatively, you may be interested in our wine club, which meets ten times a year at Blackrock Castle, home of the famous observatory.


What about private tastings?
We're also very happy to arrange informal tastings for groups of friends or work colleagues.

Sharing a few glasses of wine and some of the stories that go with them is a very enjoyable way, for instance, to get friends together, or a relaxing way to finish off a conference, or a terrific birthday or anniversary present.

If you're within striking distance of Cork, we'd love to arrange a tasting for you.

A great night out - or in!
We'll ask you to arrange the location for the tasting. A small function room in an hotel is often the most convenient choice of venue, but if your group is small enough - or your house big enough! - there's no reason why we shouldn't introduce some exciting wines to you at home.

It's a date!
If you'd like a tasting on a particular date, for example the day of a birthday or conference, we are naturally grateful for as much advance notice as you can give us in order to oblige.

We'll always do our best to fit in with your schedule, but if you can have one or two alternative dates in mind, so much the better. Keeping all those delicious wines coming in to Ireland is a full-time job!

The more the merrier!
Well, up to a point... We generally deal with groups of a dozen or twenty, perhaps thirty, people in size. Larger groups need a little more planning, and often more staff, in order to make sure that everyone can hear and see what's going on, and that glasses are filled with the right wine at the appropriate time.

How much will the tasting cost?
The usual minimum fee, which pays for one of us, all the wines tasted on the night, glass hire and handouts, is one hundred euro in addition to the cost of the wines you select. The proposed duration of the event does not normally influence what we charge. Once we have all the details, we can provide a specific quotation.

Who chooses the wines to be tasted?
You and us, together, though we're happy to suggest a theme: wines from a certain country or region; the same grape from around the world; wines on a budget, &c. We wouldn't be Bubble Brothers if we couldn't offer a deluxe champagne-only tasting to show the diversity of the wines of that region.

How long does a tasting last?
It does depend on how much time you have available, and consequently how many wines we taste, but two to three hours is about right for, say, eight wines without rushing.

Six wines in an hour and a half would be the shortest really enjoyable and informative tasting.

Is this only for wine buffs?
Not at all - good wine is for everyone. We aim to share our enthusiasm as well as our wines, but different groups have different expectations, and we've plenty of experience in getting the tone right. If you've enjoyed our friendly advice and recommendations in the English Market or at the Marina in Cork, you'll have some idea of how we do things.


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How do I get in touch?
Send us an e-mail or give us a call. Our details are here.

Do you run wine courses?
We're simply too busy finding, importing, distributing and selling all our delicious wines to offer a full educational programme, but our wine club is a sociable way to absorb some useful information!

The Wine Board of Ireland has ceased to provide wine education in Ireland, but their website is worth keeping an eye on for further details

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust currently list a number of their courses offered in Ireland - though the degree-equivalent Diploma is unavailable at the moment.