Mayo's Ashford Castle launches Meet the Winemakers 2024

MEET the Winemakers, a weekend featuring some of the world’s most distinguished wines and winemakers together with sensational food, returns for its third season at Ashford Castle in Cong.

Taking place over the February bank holiday weekend (February 2-4), Meet the Winemakers offers guests the opportunity to enjoy fine wines and wonderful Irish produce in the company of renowned winemakers, which, this year are Alex Van Beek, general manager of Chateau Giscours, and Lorenzo Pasquini, estate manager of the vineyard at Chateau d’Yquem.

Starting from €1,625 per person sharing, the two-night experience, which is suitable for both aspiring as well as experienced connoisseurs, includes dinner on each evening with wines, a wine masterclass, lunch on Saturday and breakfast each morning.

On February 2, dinner with Alex Van Beek in Cullen’s at the Cottage on the Ashford Castle estate will feature Chateau Giscours (Bordeaux region) alongside Caiarossa from its sister vineyard in Tuscany, which is a rich aromatic wine that takes its name from the red Tuscan hills where it is produced. The evening will continue in the Billiards Room with Alex accompanying guests as they enjoy their final course of cheese and wine.

Ashford Castle’s award-winning breakfast on Saturday will be followed by a masterclass and tasting in the Ardilaun Suite with Chateau Giscours, wines renowned for their robust personality and the complexity of their aromas, achieved through months of aging in oak barrels. General manager for more than 25 years, Alex Van Beek will join guests and share his wine-making philosophy, vision and stories from Chateau Giscours, a Grand Cru Classé. This is a chance to learn from a master in the art of winemaking and to sample some incredible wines from one of the finest estates in Europe.

A light lunch with more wonderful wines will be followed by an afternoon of leisure before Saturday evening’s showstopper, which commences with a drinks reception in the ambient setting of the castle’s wine cellars, secret passageways that were unearthed during the castle’s renovations in 2015.

The opulent Connaught Room is the setting for a six-course tasting menu, featuring some of the best signature dishes from executive head chef Liam Finnegan and his team such as Rosaveal lobster and Wagu beef striploin. Produce from the estate’s kitchen gardens will take a starring role alongside produce from the castle’s local suppliers and executive chef Liam has devised a menu to pair perfectly with Chateau d’Yquem.

From the Sauternes region, of Bordeaux, Chateau d’Yquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur and is widely acclaimed as one of the most reputable sweet wines in the world. It is said of Chateau d’Yquem that its most distinctive feature is how it lingers on the palette for a remarkably long time, providing a prolonged pleasure. A fitting conclusion to a memorable weekend of exceptional wines.

Meet the Winemakers has been created by Ashford Castle in partnership with James Miley of The Vineyard, distributors of artisan and fine wines.

Reservations: www.ashfordcastle.com. Email Reservations@ashfordcastle.com or call (094) 954 6003. Price quoted is per person sharing a Corrib Room. Subject to availability and T&Cs apply.