St Patrick’s Day is coming up and I always look forward to celebrating with a nice glass of wine. Wine? Yes, I know that this is traditionally a beer drinking holiday and this may seem odd, but I have some thoughts about celebrating in the Irish spirit of the holiday and enjoying my wine at the same time.

If you are looking to keep things Irish on St. Patty’s Day, look no further than wineries that began with vintners of Irish heritage, like Murphy-Goode, which was founded by Tim Murphy, Dale Goode and Dave Ready, DuMOL Winery, owned by Kerry Murphy, who traces his Irish roots back to County Cork and County Limerick, or Owen Roe Winery in Oregon, named after the seventeenth century Irish Patriot of the same name and owned by Jerry Owen and Irish-born winemaker David O’Reilly. Or perhaps you would like to try the wine from Limerick Lane Cellars, who has also sold fruit to another winery of Irish heritage, Gary Farrell.

So, you could reach for that green beer at your local Irish pub, or you could visit one of Tampa’s many wonderful wine shops and search for a wine that sounds Irish or is made by someone of Irish heritage and have your wine and spirit, too.

JFQuinn (aka "Joann Farrell Quinn") is an independent journalist and publisher, the owner of "Due Cani Cellars", and a blog contributor to VinVillage.com