A lost year: How the pandemic affected an Irish winemaker in Burgundy Róisín Curley, a pharmacist from Ballyhaunis, had to pull out of the 2020 vintage Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 06:00
Róisín Curley leads an interesting double life – part pharmacist in Ballyhaunis, part winemaker in Burgundy. “Covid has been challenging, as it has been for everyone. My wine business is dependent on travelling to and from France and my pharmacy job is busy. It has been nice to be a pharmacist and be able to help when needed,” she says. In 2018 she moved to a larger winery in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, but due to the pandemic she was unable to travel to France and so was forced to pull out of the 2020 vintage. “The 2019s were slow with everything and are actually doing really well with the extra time. I have a friend, a retired cellar hand, who does the topping-up and the analysis every month. But for that, I would have been a nervous wreck. He is as fussy as me – a straight, hard-working person. So it has been a long, peaceful élevage for the 2019 vintage, but I really hope to get over there in the next few months.”