Wine Tasting Evenings

Margaret River is one of the youngest and most geographically isolated Australian Wine Regions.  It is a grape growing paradise with minimal intervention farming and a dynamic winemaking community.  Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the most prolific grape varieties planted here.  Join us to learn more about this unique wine region.

Presenter:  Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks

Availability:  Good

Wine Suggestions:

From Waitrose Cellar (www.waitrosecellar.com – no minimum order and delivery to your door for a small fee) – ‘Botham 76 Series’ Chardonnay, 2019 (£10.99) and/or Semillon, Moss Wood,2018 (£16.99), ‘Filius’ Cabernet/Merlot, Vasse Felix, 2018 (£12.99) and/or ‘Amy’s Blend’ Cabernet/Merlot, 2018 (£16.99)

From Majestic Wine (Mix Six prices) – Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, Cape Mentelle, 2018 (££14.99) and/or ‘Miamup’ Chardonnay, Howard Park. 2019 (£14.99), ‘Filius’ Cabernet/Merlot, Vasse Felix, 2018 (£12.99) and/or ‘Folklore’ Cabernet/Merlot, Larry Cherobino, 2018 (£12.99)

At the end of January every year, Scots the world over gather to celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns, the national bard of Scotland.  Born in Ayrshire on 25th January 1759, the son of a farmer, he was educated at the local village school until old enough to work as a labourer on the family farm.  Somehow, he found time to write poems and ballads about everyday life in the lowlands of Scotand.  It was the publication of a collection of these in 1786 that first brought Burns to the attention of the public and set him on the road to becoming a national hero.

The traditional celebration involves a ‘supper’, the key course of which is haggis served with champit tatties and bashed neeps.  Speeches are made, poems read, songs sung, toasts proposed. A dram or two helps the evening go with a swing.

It was memories of Burns Nights past that encouraged us to add this tasting to our programme for the first quarter of the New Year.

We will start the evening by telling you a bit about how Single Malt Scotch Whisky is made.  We will then devote the rest of the time to the story of Robert Burns and the Burns Night suppers that are organised to this day.

Presenter: Sandy Leckie.

Availability: Good.

Recommended Whiskies:   The presentation will feature single malt whisky distilleries from 4 regions of Scotland.  We recommend you buy a 5 cl. miniature of whisky from each distillery by mail order from the London-based specialist, the Whisky Exchange (www.thewhiskyexchange.com), as follows:-

Edradour 10-Year Old, Glenlivet 18-Year Old, Talisker ‘Skye’ and Laphroaig 10-Year Old.  The total cost, including delivery and VAT will be around £25.  Delivery can take up to 7 working days so order in good time to avoid disappointment.

Austria produces a wonderful range of wines.  There are whites, crisp and dry from Gruner Veltliner – popular in the heurige (wine hostelries) in the villages around Vienna – Riesling and Welschriesling, creamy and dry from Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Chardonay and aromatic, dry and off-dry from Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains).   As for the reds, Zweigelt and Blaufrankish dominate but Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) is on the increase.  There are traditional method sparklers, of course and from the slopes around the Neusiedlersee, the great lake that lies between Austria and Hungary, some of the World’s finest dessert wines.

Presenter:  Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks

Availability:  Good

Wine Suggestions:

From Waitrose Cellar (www.waitrosecellar.com – no minimum order and delivery to your door for a small fee) –Grüner Veltliner Domaena Gobelsburg, 2019 (£9.99), Zweigelt, Raol Titan, 2018 (£14.99) and Saint Laurent, Heinrich Harti, 2018 (£13.99)

From The Wine Society – Grüner Veltliner, Rainer Wess, 2019 (£9.95), Zweigelt, Familie Mantler, 2018 (£8.95) and The Society’s Blaufränkisch, 2018 (£9.95)

Not surprisingly, given the Catalan character, this region is one of the most adventurous and dynamic regions of Spain.  In this webinar, we will take you on a virtual tour of the 10 wine producing districts of the region – Emporda, Alella, Plas de Bages, Penedès, Conca de Barbera, Tarragona, Montsant, Terra Alta, Prorat and Costers del Segre.

Presenter:  Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

Availability:  Good.

Wine Suggestions:

From Waitrose Cellar (www.waitrosecellar.com – no minimum order and delivery to your door for a small fee) – Cava, ‘L’Atzar’ Reserva Brut, NV (£11.99) and/or DO Penedès, ‘Viña Sol’, Familia Torres, 2019 (£8.99), DO Terra Alta, ‘Roqueta Lafou’, El Sender, 2018 (£11.99) and DOCa Priorat, ‘Coma Vella’, Mas d’en Gil, 2011 (£23.49)

From the Wine Society – Cava, The Society’s Reserva Brut, NV (£8.95) and/or DO Costers del Segre, ‘Azells’, Tomas Cusiné, 2019 (£11.50), DO Montsant, ‘Blau’, Bodegas Juan Gil, 2019 (£9.95) and DOCa Priorat, ‘Classic’, Lectores Vini, Fredi Torres, 2018 (£22.00).

In this webinar, we visit four of the Roussillon Appellations in the foothills of the Pyrenees above Perpignan

Presenter:   Pippa Hayward.with Sandy Leckie.

Availability:  Good.

Wine Suggestions:

From Waitrose Cellar (www.waitrosecellar.com – no minimum order and delivery to your door for a small fee) – ‘On the QT Bin 25’ Carignan Gris, Domaine Jones, 2018 (£17.99), AOP Fitou, Domaine Parmentier, (£8.49) and AOP Corbières, Château de Caraguiles, (£10.99)

From The Wine Society – ‘A Different Direction’, Domaine Jones, 2018 (£13.50), Côtes de Roussillon. ‘Cuvée Coume Marie, La Préceptorie, 2016 (13.95) and AOP Corbières, Les Gourgoules’, Château de Caraguiles, (£12.50)

Presenter:  Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks.

Availability: Good

Wine Suggestions:  To follow.

Fine white and red wines from Greece

Although Alto Adige is Italy’s most northerly wine producing region, its mountainous terrain ensures good exposure to the sun’s rays and heat retention.  Light, tangy reds and clean, crisp whites and sparkling wines are made.  The indigenous varieties Schiava and Lagrein are responsible for most of the reds, but plantings of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are on the increase.  The whites are produced from Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

Presenter:  Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks

Availability:  Good

Wie Suggestions:  To follow.

It’s Saint Patrick’s Day on 17th March, a date celebrated by the Irish with even more enthusiasm than the Scots do the birthday of Robert Burns.  A good justification for a tasting with an Irish connection, we thought.

For a variety of reasons – rebellion, religious persecution, violated treaties and prohibitive commercial legislation – the flower of Irish youth and nobility emigrated to France in the 17th and 18th centuries.  They became known as the flying geese.  Many of these young military men and merchants gravitated to Bordeaux, which had a long-established trading connection with Ireland.  They were dubbed the wine geese.

In Bordeaux today, there are a dozen or more Châteaux that have been owned, at some stage in their history, by Irish families, notably, Clarke, de Fieuzal, Dillon, Kirwan, Lascombes, Langoa-Barton, Léoville-Barton, Lynch-Bages, Pape Clément, Phélan-Ségur, Siran and Yquem.  In Bordeaux City, there are ten streets named after Irish people and its most famous secular monument, La Grosse Cloche, commemorates Patrice MacMahon, Marshal of France, President of the Republic (1873-1879).

Presenter:  Pippa Hayward

Availability:  Good

Wine Suggestion:  A bottle of good ‘Irish’ Claret.

From Waitrose Cellar (www.waitrosecellar.com – no minimum order and delivery to your door for a small fee) – Château Clarke, 2015 (£35.00)

From Majestic Wine (Mix Six price) – La Réserve de Léoville-Barton, 2017 (£32.99)

From Jeraboams (www.jeroboams.co.uk) – La Réserve de Léoville-Barton, 2013 (£34.95)

From Lea & Sandeman (www.leaandsandeman.co.uk) – Château Fieuzal, 2012 (£41.95)

Presenter:  Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks.

Availability:  Good.

Wine Suggestions:  To follow.