Categories: LivingFood & Drink

Expert advice for becoming an at-home wine connoisseur


by Sarah Gill
29th Jan 2025

Brigid O’Hora’s down to earth wine guide—The Home Sommelier—has hit the shelves, and to mark the occasion we’re getting the lowdown on all things vino.

Having spent over twenty years working in the wine industry, Brigid O’Hora’s work as a sommelier has taken her across the world, to locations in Paris, Sydney, Boston and Dublin. Perhaps more commonly known by her Instagram handle—Bridey’s Wine Chats—Brigid has spent the last few years building up quite the online following through sharing her fuss-free, expert tips on tastings and pairings.

Now she’s put pen to paper and has created an essential guide to making good wine choices without breaking the bank. Filled with down-to-earth, entertaining knowledge and advice to help you choose the perfect wine to fit every occasion, The Home Sommelier uncorks the secrets to getting the very best from your wine experience.

We sat down with Brigid to chat about her beginnings in the industry, what you can expect from the title and to garner some expert insights on how we should be tasting our wines when out to dinner in a nice restaurant.

What is your hope for The Home Sommelier? What do you want it to instil in the reader?

My hope for this wine guide is to create a community where people feel free to comment or share whatever they feel about the wine. My main wish is to take away the traditional stuffiness of wine and add everyday warmth and chit-chat to the world of wine. I want people to feel more informed in the wine aisles and to taste and reflect on the wine to help them decide for themselves if the wine is good or bad.

This wine guide is all about arming the reader with helpful tips and guidance on how to navigate the copious array of wines on our shelves today. Finally, I hope people will enjoy the read of the book and feel a sense of accomplishment when finished.

Can you give us some examples of the pairing suggestions we can find in The Home Sommelier?

I have found many other wine guides, or indeed wine websites that offer food and wine pairings, they’re often directed at foods that might be for special occasions. I wanted to use food pairings that we eat on a daily basis. Some of the examples I have used are spaghetti bolognese, grilled cheese on toast, a fry and a bag of Tayto, those foods we have from week to week.

Is there a certain way we should be tasting wine when at a restaurant?

This is a great question. When we are offered a taste of wine at a restaurant, it is only to establish if the wine is good quality or not. It is a transaction of quality guarantee between you and the waiter. You are just checking to see if the wine is corked. A corked wine will have a very strong smell of rotten wood. Very often you see people who will just smell the wine, however, I like to taste it also. This gives you a very clear idea of the quality of the wine.

The Home Sommelier by Brigid O’Hora (€16.99) is published by Hachette Books Ireland.