March 2018 meeting

On Tuesday 6th March we saw 27 members and 2 guests gather at the Royal British Legion, Limpsfield for our Skittles Evening.

Names were picked randomly and 5 teams were quickly organised namely Awesome, Brilliant, Cracking, Distinguished and Excellent (thank you Graham and Caroline for the names). So battle commenced. 

We just had time for two rounds of skittles before our food was served and we resumed, duly refreshed, ready to continue the battle. After many ‘highs’ and ‘lows’, the final result was a win by the Awesome Team (Graham B, Caroline, Derek, Debbie and Barry) with the top score of 145. Graham B. made a good start by scoring 10 points with 3 bowls, but the player with the highest individual cumulative score was Kent with 31. 

The general consensus was that it had been an extremely entertaining evening and many thanks to Graham B. for providing the transport.

Our next meeting on the 10th April is a Quiz Night.

February 2018 meeting

Eighteen members gathered (including 2 new members, Margaret and Jeff, and a warm welcome to them), for our wine tasting evening on the 6th February. 

Barry, Chris and Janet introduced their favourite red, white and rosé wines from Argentina, Chile and Italy. After much sipping (and a bit of slurping), the members were asked to vote on each wine on a scale of one to ten. 

Their’ favourite wine was a white wine from Chile (Valdivieso, a Sauvignon Blanc, £8.00 from Sainsburys), second was a red wine from Chile too (Bodega Volcanes, a Carménère, £8.00 from Majestic and apparently an ideal wine to accompany ‘Toad in the Hole’) and thirdly a white wine from Italy (Gavi, a Cortese, £9.50 from Morrisons).

Our next meeting on Tuesday, 6th March will be a skittles evening at the Royal British Legion in Limpsfield with food included.

January 2018 New Years Dinner

On the 9th January, 24 members of the wine club enjoyed a New Year’s dinner together.

The venue was the Farmhouse Pub, situated on the edge of Langshott Wood, just outside Horley town. This early 17th century farmhouse, originally known as Hewitt’s Farm, has 400 years history, and is a very interesting building. 

Tracy and her team were very welcoming, and did a great job considering the size of our group. Many thanks to Heather, Pete and Maureen for organising the dinner, and to Graham and Janet for the transport.

Next month, we will be meeting on Tuesday 6th February where members Barry, Chris and Janet will be introducing their favourite wines. Village residents are encouraged to call me if they are interested in sampling a club event, or would like to learn more about the club.

December 2017 meeting

What are the ingredients for an excellent Christmas Party?

 How about: tasty food, wine, quizzes, live music, and good company. The Wine Club had all of these in abundance for its Christmas Party on December 5th. We kicked off with mulled wine (many thanks to Keith), and members brought food to share. Suze and Pete organised Christmas-themed quizzes, as well as the usual raffle. 

 The Vintage Band (Janet, Graham, and Francis) provided some live music, in what may have been a first for the club. Music included covers of Dream a Little Dream of Me, What a Wonderful World, Blue Moon (thanks to Pam for leading), Big Yellow Taxi, Walking in a Winter Wonderland (including an alternative risqué version), and Kiwi Jingle Bells.

Next month, we will be meeting on Tuesday 9th January for the Club’s New Year dinner at The Farmhouse Pub, Horley. Village residents are encouraged to call me Francis 822495 if they are interested in sampling a club event, or would like to learn more about the club.

November 2017 Meeting

On November 7th, the Wine Club welcomed local resident and wine afficianado Max Conrad. Max had previously led a Pinot Noir wine tasting for the club in 2016. 23 members enjoyed 6 very different wines. Max’s theme was “Wines that you might serve on Christmas Day”, and he expertly combined them with tasty nibbles.

We tasted:

• Chapel Down Non-Vintage Reserve Brut Sparkling Wine (an English sparkling blend of primarily Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc). Could be matched with Canapes.
• Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Gruner Veltliner (Austria). With: Smoked Salmon
• Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Baraberesco Nebbiolo (Italy). With: Turkey/Game
• Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile). With eg Roast Beef.
• Sainsbury's Special Reserve Port (Portugal). Match: Cheese (Strong Cheddar, Stilton)
• Sainsbury's 12 Year Old Sweet Pedro Ximenez (Spain). Match : Mince Pies, Christmas Pudding

Tasting notes: Nutfield Wine Tasting 071117.docx

The members very much appreciated the efforts Max had gone to in selecting these wines, and preparing the nibbles.

The wine-tasting was combined with the club’s AGM. For the next year, the club’s committee will include Val Large (Chair), Francis Dickinson (Secretary) and Maureen Hoskins (Treasurer).

Next month, we will be meeting on Tuesday 5th December for the Club’s Christmas Party. Village residents are encouraged to call me if they are interested in sampling a club event, or would like to learn more about the club.

October 2017 Meeting

In October, the Wine Club welcomed cheese judge Jenny Deeprose, Redhill-based, and member of the Guilde des Fromagers (since 1993). Jenny had previously led a cheese tasting for the club in 2014. 18 members enjoyed a selection of named cheeses, accompanied by BYO wines.

Jenny provided a very interesting history of cheese, and threw in a little chemistry. The three ingredients are milk, rennet (from calves' stomach) and salt. We also discussed the benefits of eating cheese (in moderation), eg calcium.

Jenny emphasised the benefits of buying “named” cheeses, where you know who made the cheese and where it's from. The cheese will be of a higher, reliable quality, and provides recognition to the maker for a hand-crafted product. We went on to taste:

• Lincolnshire Poacher (hard cheese from raw cow's milk) 
• Camembert from Isigny St Mère (full fat soft cheese, with micro-filtered milk) 
• Cornish Yarg from Lynher Dairies (from cow's milk, covered with nettles by hand) 
• A cave aged goat's cheese, Wookey Hole from Ford Farm – Dorset 
• Double Goucester from Belton Farm * 
• Rosary soft Goats’ cheese from Salisbury * 
• Chaource by the Lincet family from Champagne/Ardenne region (soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk) 
• Cropwell Bishop Blue Stilton (Duchy organic)* 
• Montagnolo Affine (soft blue cow’s milk cheese from Germany)* 

(* indicates gold medal winner)

Next month, we will be meeting on 7th November for a wine-tasting led by Max Conrad, plus the AGM.

September 2017 Meeting

September we enjoyed our meeting in a very busy Station Pub for their monthly Quiz Night. 

Up against fierce competition and some searching questions, our two teams of seven each did their best. "Bottoms up" scored 23 points, for which they were awarded the bag of crisps, being 17th out of 17 teams. 

"The Leith Police dismisseth us" (a name proposed by Graham H. who likes to present the MC with a reading problem) managed 28 points, putting them in 15th position. 

The winning score was 41.

Our next meeting on Tuesday 3rd October is a 'Cheese Tasting' with cheese expert Jenny Deeprose, at the Christchurch Centre, 8.00pm.