{"id":183426,"date":"2025-11-16T09:34:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/183426\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T09:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:34:10","slug":"its-like-milking-in-roscommon-but-its-18-degrees-today-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/183426\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s like milking in Roscommon, but it\u2019s 18 degrees today\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Gallagher<\/a> has just finished making repairs on his vineyard<\/a> after a torrential rainstorm overnight in the Montsant wine region of southern Catalonia, Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He describes the work at its heart as really \u201cvery basic farming\u201d. Despite a lot of \u201csnobbishness\u201d about wine<\/a>, he says it has many similarities to that of his farmer grandfather milking cows in Co Roscommon. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality of farming wine is early mornings, cold mornings, hard work, and you can\u2019t leave it \u2013 the more you give it the more you get back,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference is today it\u2019s 18 degrees, the sun is hitting my face, I\u2019m breathing in fresh air and nobody is shouting at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallagher spent his early life living in the countryside near Boyle, Co Roscommon. Here his father grew a vegetable garden, his mother made everything from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat philosophy prepares you for a hard day\u2019s work, the appreciation of being outside by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aged 10 his parents moved to Sitges, Catalonia for a new life. It was in school there, understanding little that was said to him in Catalan, that Tom came up with the drawing containing his name that is now his Tomish wine brand.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Four fine wines with strong Irish connectionsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

While farming may have been in his DNA, winemaking wasn\u2019t. Gallagher says it has been a steep learning curve since he began rebuilding an abandoned vineyard in Priorat during the Covid lockdown. <\/p>\n

Up to this Gallagher\u2019s experience with wine was much less hands on. After he \u2018retired early\u2019 from playing rugby at 22, he began a brand, a small part of which was exporting a range of BeTomish wine made by others in this region.<\/p>\n

\"TomTom Gallagher’s vineyard in Priorat, Catalonia <\/p>\n

He was working in New York when the pandemic was declared and he had 24 hours to return to Spain. He moved back in with his parents after 15 years away, to the village of Falset where his mother Joan<\/a> runs Priorat Aparthotel. He expected to be there for a few months \u201cwhile it all blew over\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

As the pandemic dragged-on Gallagher called a family friend who had purchased an 11 acre abandoned vineyard with plans to rebuild. So began the journey of restoring old vines and clearing a forest for some new ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recovered 1,000 abandoned vines where our first Diga 2021 wine came from,\u201d Gallagher says of the organic Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon blend.<\/p>\n

Gallagher cleared out four hectares in 2022 where he planted 10,000 new vines by hand. This is his first year to be able to harvest these new vines for winemaking.<\/p>\n

His father managed the restoration of the house \u201cand I was his helper.. My focus is on the vineyard,\u201d says Gallagher. The plot with a deep well and solar panels is \u201cfully off grid, but in a very comfortable way,\u201d Gallagher says. <\/p>\n

This summer Gallagher returned to his hometown of Boyle to launch the second Tomish wine from the vineyard at the town\u2019s arts festival. <\/p>\n

\"DigaDiga wine by Tomish <\/p>\n

His Irish connection remains deep and has been key to his success, he says. Some 80 per cent of his wine sells to Ireland, where he aims at a higher-end market. <\/p>\n

\u201cIrish people support Irish who go out and do something different\u201d. With thousands of Spanish brands, being Irish sets him apart and \u201cgets him one step in the door and a little leverage\u201d, he says. <\/p>\n

The second wine, called Divine, is a Grenache 2023 vintage from vines which are 50 to 100 years old and aged 12 months in barrel.<\/p>\n

Divine features a painting of his next-door-neighbour Ramon on the label by Irish artists Mark Redden.<\/p>\n

Not having a background in wine, it\u2019s been an \u201cincredible learning curve\u201d for Gallagher and much of that knowledge came from Ramon. \u201cYou\u2019re working in nature, controlling the reality you are living in, controlling disease, humidity, rainfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

So why is Ramon on the label? \u201cI wanted to dedicate the bottle to him. He is dying of cancer and had taken care of his plot for 60 years before selling it to us,\u201d says Gallagher<\/p>\n

Ramon sold Gallagher two hectares of his vineyard. \u201cHe said the only one I\u2019d sell the plot to is you\u201d after seeing me working over the past few years, says Gallagher.<\/p>\n

Ramon had previously only sold his grapes to a co-op rather than making his own wine. \u201cAs his Grenache was such good quality we decided to launch our premium bottle of Divine with 100 per cent of his grapes, with 999 bottles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallagher talks about his work an infectious enthusiasm though the amount of hard graft sounds enormous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do it all \u2013 everything from pruning to fertilising to sales to marketing and brand building,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will only ever produce 10,000 bottles a year … the wine has to be high quality\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

With the plot now fully planted, Gallagher has expanded to making olive oil (with 500 olive trees), honey and in a nod to the rise in a non-alcohol culture, Tombuxa<\/a> kombucha (one for morning and one for night time).<\/p>\n

One unexpected result for Gallagher has been the \u201ccrazy free workout\u201d. Gallagher played rugby at a high level in his youth, including in New Zealand. But thanks to the vineyard work is now \u201ccoming into his prime at 34\u2033 but with \u201chands full of cuts\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Abroad:Abroad: Tom Gallagher’s farm <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day and every year is different,\u201d he says. His knowledge of what to expect improves every year \u201cdown to every month of the year: the rainfall, the sunlight, the diseases, how many times you plough, what you fertilise with,\u201d he says listing it almost breathlessly. <\/p>\n

Some locals at first weren\u2019t keen about taking directions from an Irish guy, says Gallagher. \u201cThey have all come around, there is an amazing community around here,\u201d he says. He says that speaking Catalan and knowing the culture was a huge help. \u201cHere they respect hard work and dedication\u201d<\/p>\n

Find more on Tom Gallagher\u2019s wine TomishWine.com<\/a> and at Instagram @Tomishwine<\/a> <\/p>\n