“From childhood, David was interested in all things Nature and Science, and decided after secondary school to study horticulture, with a particular emphasis on growing fruit. His fascination with fermentation, and hobby-scale adventures into sourdough bread baking, cider making and other related activities laid a foundation for his future career in winemaking.
While working in Germany, David found himself accidentally thrown into the world of viticulture and oenology, and he became well and truly bitten by the winegrowing bug. One sunny September day in 1986, while standing amongst early ripening Bacchus vines, on a South facing slope overlooking lake Constance, David had a lightbulb moment. For the first time, he wondered whether, with the right varieties and the right location, this could be done in Ireland. On returning to Ireland, he decided to research the possibilities for wine growing in Ireland and started trialling different grape varieties for their suitability to the Irish climate.
In 2002 David acquired a few acres of land for the first time, just outside Lusk. He established an orchard, and also used this opportunity to plant a small vineyard with the specific intention to make wine to sell. The vines were an array of various classic wine grapes and obscure experimental varieties.
As far as grape wine is concerned, Lusca wine has now become Ireland’s first widely available and well-regarded red wine, and more recently also sparkling wine. However, with a total annual production of just 100 to 150 cases, it is still very much niche.
David’s adventure into Irish wine-growing has attracted much attention over the years, with his wine being featured in newspapers and magazines, and on both radio and TV. His wines have received very positive reviews from wine writers, and a particularly enthusiastic fan of David’s efforts was the late, beloved, Tomás Clancy.”