Already winner of the 'Best new hotel' award from Hospitality Ireland, and the 2008 winner of the ‘Best gastro-pub’ for The Pins bar, The Twelve’s West restaurant has just scooped one of only four prestigious wine spectator awards of excellence in the country.
West restaurant at The Twelve hotel, Bearna won this award along with only three other Irish restaurants, Ashford Castle, Ballymaloe House, and the Michelin star winning Mint restaurant. These prestigious awards of excellence recognise restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine, and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.
One of the world’s foremost and best-respected authorities on wine, Wine Spectator magazine, has been testing and rating wines and wine lists for over 30 years.
The wine list at West, under the knowledgeable and enthusiastic supervision of The Twelve’s general manager Fergus O’ Halloran, is unique in Ireland.
Most wine lists are put together by country, but West’s wine list is designed under wine style headings, with detailed tasting notes, and amusing quotations, encouraging people to try new grape varieties, and actively educate themselves about wine. The list includes many wines from small boutique producers, as well as top wineries, and well-known names.
Passionate about both food and wine, Fergus O’Halloran graduated as Canada’s top Sommelier in 1997 from The International Sommelier Guild of Canada, and is noted for his exceptional food and wine pairings. While in Canada, he garnered seven Wine Spectator Awards for ‘The most outstanding wine lists in the world’, and at West he has chosen one of the most exciting wine collections in Ireland, where he and his staff are happy to lend their expertise.
“Wine is a pleasure, wonderfully rewarding to drink, but occasionally intimidating, or overly serious. Here at The Twelve we like to think we do things differently, so our list in West is structured in a way that gives people confidence in selecting a wine they will enjoy, as well as learning a little about new grapes and varieties, all in the most enjoyable way
