A good crowd met to experience the talk and wine tasting given by Francis Dickinson. He had brought along 3 bottles in each of 3 categories of wine; sparkling whites including Champagne, rosés and reds and, having covered up each bottle, asked us to guess which were the Basic, Better and Best (like Antiques Roadshow) in each category. Unfortunately 2 of the wines in the first category, whites with bubbles, were slightly corked which gave us a bit of a challenge! After some swilling, chatter, and “blind” tasting, the results were that Jacobs Creek Brut (Australia) was voted basic, Valdo Prosecco extra dry (Italy) was better and the Piper-Heidseck Pinot based French champagne was best. At £29 a bottle from Laithwaites or Majestic Wines, this might be expected! Of all the wines tasted throughout the evening, I heard a few people vote this the best in terms of taste, with which I personally agreed.
Turning to the rosés, Tempranillo Grenache (Spain) was voted the basic (£7 from Tesco), Massamier La Mignarde to be purchased direct from the French Minervois vineyard at 12 Euros was better, and Albury Organic Silent Pool 2023 (England) at around £20 from various wine merchants was best.
The reds were all from Italy in the same Veneto area, and produced using variations on the air-dried method (Appassamento) and from different years. This method arguably intensifies the flavour. Amarone Della Valpolicella 2014 (costing around £25) was voted the best, the Negrar Appassamento 2022 was better, and Ripasso 2018 (£10) basic. One member noted that he had a slight preference for the Amarone, but not £15 better. He knew which wine he would be buying in future.
As usual Mary and Derek produced some lovely raffle prizes and all in all it was a great evening. A few people helped to wash up the many glasses afterwards!
Our next meeting will be on 3rd June and will be our Tipplers’ Stroll, where we start at one house and stroll or stagger to another, having refreshments at both, but always drinking responsibly!
The club was founded in 1977 and meets once a month (except August), usually with a guest speaker or wine expert. Please use the following pages, to enjoy this great club, including many special events and tasting. Everyone is welcome, so just check out the Events page for the next meeting and venue.
