Many of us have noticed that the same wine can taste different when we try another bottle on a different day. It’s certainly happened me before. At times I may try a wine and think of it as pretty average, but if I taste another bottle of the same wine on a different day, it could be tickling my taste buds to high heaven.

One could write a book on this (in fact I’m sure it’s already been done). There are plenty of factors that can affect your tasting, and granted, a lot of the time you simply need a few sips to set your palate, but other times it may be to do with the mood that you are in, how well hydrated you are, or simply what you ate for dinner. An even more simple explanation would be that the bottle has been spoiled to a certain degree, perhaps from oxidation.

Watch the attached news report, filmed last year, for a more exotic theory.

According to the above report on Sky News (and another similar report on BBC), wine responds to the movements of the moon. The lunar calender uses the moon and stars to predict four types of days - fruit, flower, leaf and root. Fruit and flower days are said to be good days to enjoy a bottle of wine, whereas on leaf and root days the wine will not be drinking at its best.

A very interesting concept no doubt, and what is also very interesting is the thought that bio-dynamic wines taste better, as suggested in the video. I haven’t been convinced just yet, but expect to see more organic wines become available as winemakers continue to convert to the bio-dynamic method of cultivation.

You may even like to decide for yourself. Our superb lunar organic range from France, Moillard’s Domaine du Chateau d’Eau, will be on sale at €9.99 per bottle until the end of January.

The attached video features wine writer Jamie Goode. His entertaining wine blog can be found here.

On Sunday I said goodbye to Bandon and hello to Ballincollig. Perhaps I still have a bit of the student in me, but to be a stones throw away from the beating heart of Cork City is a great experience.

With living away from my dearest brother (and, might I add, I’m deeply saddened by the fact that I will no longer be awoken by three screaming children at 6 in the morning), I’ve had to think about starting a wine collection for myself, instead of raiding his.

So here’s the collection of my personal everyday favourites that are helping to make the wine rack look a bit more healthy… for now anyway.

The three whites:

Palazzi Chardonnay: Pure and simple, this white from the Piemonte region of Italy is all about the varietal. There’s been no contact with oak and fermentation was carried out in stainless steel tanks. The kind of Chardonnay that would convert any non-Chardonnay drinker.

Sierra Grande Sauvignon Blanc: It’s organic, but that’s not the reason I’ve picked it. I love New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but I can’t afford to drink it everyday, so in this case Chile fills the role for a racy Sauvi to keep the NZ temptation at bay.

Domaine du Chateau d’Eau Viognier: Another organic white (honestly, I’m not usually this health conscious). Viognier just does it for me, and it’s a great alternative to any of the noble grape varieties. Elegant aromas of peach, apricot and flowers - although a natural match to pork, it’s stunning next to my once-a-week fish dish (there’s a great fishmonger in Bandon who I’ll keep going to).

The three reds:

Cuvee Jean Paul Rouge: The first I opened upon my arrival, and it coped well with a Guinness stew and my new house mates. I don’t think they were just being polite saying that they loved it as well. Simply good grape selection and great wine making.

Santa Alicia Reserve Malbec: This knocks the socks off any other Malbec at this price. Although I’m mad for the other reds in this range, the Malbec has something a little different. Naturally a little more vegetal (in a nice way) than the noble grape varieties, it’s had the treatment in the winery that you would expect of a €15 bottle.

Stickleback Red: Had to have the big Aussie in there somewhere. I love the almost milkshake-like consistency of warm climate Shiraz, which in this wine, is blended with Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. Ben Glaetzer is one of the world’s top winemakers and Stickleback is his entry level range. Worth decanting.

So if you have a perfect six, feel free to tweet me or leave a comment. Bet they’re not as nice as mine.

To describe Viognier as the bridesmaid of the great whites doesn’t just hold a bitter truth, but a serious lesson in the dangers of the global fashioning and commoditisation of wine. As Chardonnay and then Sauvignon Blanc became international flavours of the times during the 1980s and 1990s, with every wine-producing country in the world jumping on board to produce their own versions or imitations of the great French wines, Viognier was on the verge of extinction.

Save for as little as eight hectares of the grape in the tiny Rhône appellation of Condrieu, there was no other Viognier in the world in the mid-1960s. It was the vitis vinifera victim of Darwin’s survival of the fittest - low and unpredictable yields, and an art in terms of picking at the right time, in a global market that was demanding consistent quality, reliable and quickly increasable quantities, and low prices, it just didn’t stand a chance.

Thankfully, as the world became more adventurous and inquisitive, Viognier found it’s gap in the market; somewhere between the universally appealing Chardonnay and Sauvignon, and the spicy, eccentric qualities of more acquired tastes such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Some credit California with spotting Viognier’s distinctive appeal and importing vines by the boat-load, but wine-makers in regional France were also planting with fervour throughout the 1980s.

Now Viognier is being grown in all corners of the wine-making world and that’s to our eternal benefit and good fortune, for there’s now fabulous value to be found in this gem of wine. On it’s own the wines are typically full-bodied, at times creamy depending on the level of oak treatment, with heady perfumes and distinctive aromas of dried apricot, honeysuckle, musk and spice. So, despite relatively low natural acidity, Viognier actually makes a great food partner, particularly for mildly spiced dishes, and especially for creamy spiced dishes such as korma or tikka masala.

And to think 20 years ago that this fashion queen was no more famous than vitis vinidodo.

Today, Moillard wines of France are showing us what we could have been missing. Their Lunar Organic Viognier from their Chateau d’Eau range is, as we found out quite recently, fantastic with any fish dish. We currently have €4 off this range when you buy two or more. So is Lunar Organic the next craze? Find out here.