Amateur winemakers do battle in Clontarf for the title of best home winemaker of the year.
Over 120,000 people in the Republic of Ireland make their own wines and beers and numbers are growing by about 10% each year.
With more people doing it there are more people good at it,
Standards in wine making competitions are increasing, particularly at national level.
The National Winemaking Championships are taking place at Saint Gabriel's Community Centre in Clontarf, Dublin. Sponsored by the Irish Sugar Company, the competition has attracted a record number of entries in nine classes. These range from beer and wine to sherry and sparkling wines. Approximately 50 entrants have entered some 274 bottles.
Terry Murphy of the Home Wine Association notes the standard wine in competition is exceptionally high.
Winemaker John Hill agrees,
They're all good, nobody puts in rubbish.
John Hill first started making wine as a way to use up surplus fruit. The process of winemaking is simple,
You just have to be able to read.
There is a sense of satisfaction in creating something similar to a commercial product, but at a fraction of the cost. Winemaker Pat Smith finds there are big savings to be make when a homemade bottle of wine costs about 65 pence.
Competition judge Pauline Keneghan explains what she is looking for in the wines and beers in competition. Most points are awarded for taste.
The best home winemaker of the year is award goes to John Bibby from Belfast. Pat Smith wins first, second and third prize in the sweet red category. His recipe for success lies in the blending and tasting.
Rather than drinking more Pat Smith finds he gives away a lot of his wine to friends so does not drink that much himself. There may be greater temptation to drink too much wine if you make your own. The reality shows wine makers are reasonably responsible people and it is rare to find anyone intoxicated at club meetings.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 May 1984. The reporter is Alasdair Jackson.
