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A KINGDOM OF WINE
< The
WineGeese Society
A KINGDOM OF WINE: A Celebration
of Ireland’s Winegeese
by Ted Murphy
A
Kingdom of Wine” has
won the Best in the World Wine
History Book for 2006 from
the Gourmand World Book Awards which took place
in Beijing, China 7 April 2007. more > |
Coffee table presentation hardback book, fully illustrated.
Sponsored by the Patrons of
The WineGeese Society of
The Ireland Funds
- Chapter 1. Wine in Antiquity
- Chapter
2. Wine in Ancient Ireland
- Chapter 3. The Flight of the Winegeese
to Europe
- Chapter 4. America A
Unique Affinity
- Chapter 5. Winegeese in the Southern
Hemisphere
- Chapter 6. Accessories in the Service
of Wine - corkscrews, early Irish wine bottles, Irish
glassware, labels
Introduction by the Marquis
de Goulaine | Published
by On Stream Publications
Ted Murphy’s much anticipated
book on the Winegeese was published in June 2005.
The book
covers the history of Ireland’s connection with wine
from earliest times and the significant contribution of
Irish missionaries in Europe to its viticultural development
in the 6th-10th centuries up to the present day.
Coined by the author, Winegeese is an evocative name,
bringing to mind a unique vinous tradition that reveals
a cultural identity which has long been the hidden jewel
in the glittering crown of the Irish diaspora. A Kingdom
of Wine is their history and tribute.
A portrait gallery of important wine families of Irish
ancestry is created in words and pictures along with a
unique collection of modern Winegeese bottles and wine-related
artifacts such as wine vessels dating from the Bronze Age,
Irish drinking glasses, and decanters dating from 18th
century and an extensive collection of early corkscrews
from around the world.
The Irish went to France in
the 18th century, especially to Bordeaux, where they
played an important role, as well
as in the Loire valley and Cognac. The Winegeese tradition
continues with examples such as Château Lascombe,
Château de Fieuzal and most recently by Terry Cross
at Château de La Ligne. Anthony Barton, one of the
most distinguished wine makers in Bordeaux, was born in
Kildare and continues to make wine at Langoa Barton where
his family established a vineyard in 1725.
The impact the Winegeese families made in the finest winegrowing
regions in the New World is documented, ranging from the
Napa Valley, Clare Valley in Australia to the Hemel an
Aarde valley in South Africa.
A comprehensive survey of the Irish in wine literature
includes “Observations, Historical, Critical, and
Medical, on the Wines of the Ancients, and the Analogy
between them and Modern Wines”. Its author, Corkman
Edward Barry wrote this scholarly tome, published in
1775, which was described by André Simon as “The
earliest work of any importance written in English about
wines.”
The Author:
Ted Murphy has been engaged in the wine trade for all his
working life, he is now formally retired, and for the
last ten years has been researching and compiling information
which has resulted in his book A Kingdom of Wine. Inspiration
for the book came with the realization that Ireland had
contributed significantly to the development of viticulture
and the wine trade of France. It later became apparent
to him that France was not the only beneficiary of Ireland’s
interest in high quality wines and ports, but that the
Irish also had a talent for trade and commerce in wine
that led them further than Europe, becoming pioneers
in viticulture in the remote regions of Australia and
New Zealand. In the USA Ireland’s contribution
has been significant in the development of viticultural
methods since the time of Thomas Jefferson’s tenure
in the White House, itself designed by an Irishman. A
6-part television series on the author’s findings
seen world-wide, resulted in lecture tours, generating
further interest in this fascinating topic.
Ted Murphy is a collector of wine related artifacts; he
has amassed rare Irish glass decanters and wine goblets
as well as one of the earliest Greek drinking vessels of
1500 BC.
He is Chairman and a founding
member of The Ireland Funds WineGeese Society and founder
member of the Order of the
Winegeese. He is also a Commandeur d’Honneur de la
Commanderie du Bontemps de Médoc et des Graves
and a Chevalier de la Confrérie du Bretvin.
From the book:
“
Thomas Jefferson, recognised as America’s first wine
connoisseur and viticulture expert, in the 18th century
while acting as US ambassador to France, recorded during
a visit to the wine regions of Bordeaux that among leading
wine merchants were the Irish names of Gernon, Barton,
Johnston, Foster, Skinner, Coppinger and MacCarthy. He
selected the wines for the first five presidential cellars
of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. In
May 1787, when serving as ambassador in Paris, he toured
the wine regions of southern France and visited the leading
wine broking house Tastet et Lawton founded by Abraham
Lawton who had emigrated from Cork in 1739. They advised
Jefferson on the wines they considered suitable for the
presidential cellars of George Washington.”
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