We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE COUNTDOWN TO Christmas has well and truly begun (26 days!) and no doubt you’re already getting into the spirit of the season.
Christmas brings with its own set of considerations though – one of which is how to have a Christmas that’s as good for the environment as it is for you and yours. We’ve rounded up seven tips to help you have a greener Christmas – let us know yours in the comments below.
Everyone loves a tree with a pile of presents under it, but one way to be greener at Christmas is to cut down on the amount of presents you give. This doesn’t mean not giving presents at all, it just means being more considerate in what you’re buying, and where you’re buying it from.
Buying local supports small businesses in your area and also means that your gifts don’t have a big carbon footprint from being shipped from China or the US or wherever they originate.
At this time of the year there will be loads of Christmas markets around for you to grab some beautiful hand-crafted local gifts.
The best part about giving is it doesn’t have to be stuff. It can be experiences such as a massage or tickets to an event or a charity donation in the recipient’s name. You could have a star named after them, or give them lessons in a hobby they’re passionate about such as cooking, art or music.
Believe it or not, those pencils are made from recycled CD cases. Buying gifts made from materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill like tyres, vinyl or clothes is another great way to give something great, and help the earth at the same time.
On average, 250kg of food waste is created by every household annually, and Christmas waste can form a large part of that.
The best way to prevent food waste is not to cook or buy too much food, but of course it can be hard to manage around Christmas time when you could have guests dropping in at any moment. The next best thing is to have a plan to use up leftovers. You can make soups from leftover Christmas vegetables, and sandwiches and curries from turkey.
Did you know that you can recycle your Christmas tree and stop it going into a landfill? Well, you can. Many councils have centres where Christmas trees can be brought to for recycling, and all the information will be on their websites.
Businesses produce a lot of waste so choosing a business that has made a commitment to recycling its packaging and other waste can make a big difference not just at Christmas but during the whole year. So you can shop to your heart’s content, knowing you’re doing your bit for the environment.
Repak members don’t only recycle their packaging – they also help to pay for your household recycling and local bottle banks. There’s another reason to spend Christmas with a Repak member. Head over to Repak to find out more.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Thought you were gonna start chatting bout a new Irish wine from Wexford or something going by the headline.
Me too!
Strawberry wine!!!
I’d say this has more to do with exchange rates than wine quality.
Chile is cheap, as is South Africa.
Australia is very expensive and the USA is going that way.
the cheapest wine will always sell the best in Ireland, sad but true
I get asked every day at work
” a glass of red please …… what ever is cheapest “
That’s because establishments charge absolutely ridiculous prices for an average wine. Sort out your price list & maybe people will be a bit more fussy.
never hear it in a bar, give us cocktail what ever is cheapest !!
taxes and profit from the bar make wine very expensive in Ireland. that’s a fact. But if you look at a wine at 5.99. Tax is around 3eur per bottle + Vat, shipping cost, price of the actuall bottle (.90cents ) etc…. it’s a bargain. Unfortunately it’s crap.
South African wines are amazing and great value at the moment with the rand
do lidl except rand?
…..don’t drink too much of it though, randy!!
Surprised New Zealand is so low. Best wine I’ve had in a while was Croatian.
Croatian wine are really good quality, but expensive even in Croatia. there are a lot of grape varieties there that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. There’re planting a lot of new vineyards recently, with grants from the EU. To encourage variety in European wines. Isn’t that nice.
sauvignon Dutch Gold. The finest.
if you exclude wine sold in pubs Chile would not be at the top. publicans choose the cheapest wine they can get away with and charge €;24 a bottle. its the publicans choice not the consumers.
We’d be partial to a nice chilled Chilean sauvignon blanc on occasions alright.
First got into wine on a trip to Macedonia, they make some fine wines which I must say seem to be underrated here in the EU due to trade restrictions.
With a hint of immigrants… lol.
Czech Republic also has a booming wine industry. Very little is exported, however there are lots of top quality wines here available, particularly Riesling types, and some lighter reds. Really affordable too with a good bottle costing max 10EUR, but average about 7 to 8.
French unsympathetic …. as one French woman remarked “If the Irish have difficulty with water, let them drink wine”
Very hard to get a non-Chilean wine in a pub. Am allergic to Chilean wines (something to do with the casks they use) and find the lack of other wines at times quite frustrating. Have come across places with 6 wines (3 red and 3 white) 5 of them being Chilean and the other one just about suitable for cooking …
Greek wine is actually very good though quite expensive. Most of the countries listed here can produce decent stuff though I don’t think I’ve ever had a nice Australian or Californian wine – very overpriced too. You can’t beat old world wines really.
Australian wines are lovely, maybe Ireland is importing the not so good ones.
Had a lovely Portuguese red the other day
Hmmmmm wine.
This doesn’t really stack up – the trend on more Chilean wines being bought here does not mean it is the most popular – it’s the wine that most importers are buying in and selling at low cost to pubs etc. If you look at the price index above ppl here are getting more educated on wines – the best value you will get on wine in Ireland is in the €15 to €18 range (taking into account production costs and the various taxes). So people are more discerning with their euros – Not much Chilean wine falls into the €15-€18 bracket so I am confused.
Put more tax on Swiss chocolate and French red wine. With double tax if you have them together in the shopping trolley.
Chilian and Australian wines are just good enough for calimocho, sangria or hot wines…
‘See ya’ – standards have slipped to an appalling degree.
Best wine I ever got was fortified wine use for communion, second was an organic Tesco wine…
A wine from France but I do like Monastier…
Italian, Portuguese and German for preference. Chilean for price but some of their Merlot is pretty good.
It’s me, only joking… Home brewing lol.
If you can’t take a joke then Blossom Hill to you all lol.
have your say