October, we thought we would return back to some Autumnal reds ..and welcome any suggestions.

December - as we will be in the festive season, we would look to visit Bruce’s wine bar !…We would probably need to book that ‘early doors’ . The Wine bar has progressed with heating and bar snacks.

Keep enjoying your favourite wine ……and always ready to listen to people passionate about wine.

please E-mail me directly if any questions?

Previous events

August

A big thank you to Val and Glenn for hosting the last ‘Chardonnay Summer’ event . Clearly the reputation of the ‘hosts’ boosted the numbers and we had a very good turn out .

Val delivered an excellent session on the diversity and range of the ‘chardonnay ‘ grape . She took us on a world tour of where Chardonnay grape is used to make some very fine wines , and such a difference in texture, nose , taste and colour . 

A true ‘game changer’ in the appreciation of the Chardonnay grape. We already knew that Chardonnay is the base for Chablis and Champagne ., and that knowledge  in itself , puts the Chardonnay grape near the top of the tree ( or should o say vine!) . However what we did not know as well , are the lovely wines coming out of NZ and South Africa !…..and perhaps most striking of all ..the new Oz chardonnay’s as they overcome their reputation for the big oakes buttery Chardonnay’s of the past ….Although i still quite like the odd glass of a big yellow buttery Chardonnay from Australia .

The next meeting , is back at the Elephant on the Green on Thurs 24th Oct,  where the theme is ‘Autmnal Reds’ where are own expert Colin will lead us in another excellent tasting and insights  of some very nice reds ! 

Always welcome feedback ……as it is your group , so please keep putting in ideas 

A reminder that the Xmas event , involves food and we have provisionally thought of attending Bruce’s wine bar ……. I know  Christmas talk already !….. but if you can think about whether you want to attend , so we can get an idea of numbers and confirm a date , that would be Bril.

April

For our April meeting, 15 of us were at the Elephant on the Green enjoying Italian reds and of course each others company .

We also indulged in having some Pizza with our wine. The feedback on the mobile Exe Valley Pizza van was universally positive , and I for one would recommend them…..if they arrive in your area.

Back to the wines ! …..we had a very good array of Italian wines , ranging from Barola , Binafini and Chianti wines. There was not one ‘poor’ wine among the lot , which is not that surprising , as members brought one of their favourite Italian wines

The atmosphere was very convivial with a lot of chatting and laughter . So much so, that no actual ‘notes’ were taken…….although, there was a good deal of ‘reading the label’ on the bottle

The comment was made at the beginning of the evening …..’we’ll never drink all that!’ ……but everybody stood stoically to the task in hand ……ensuring every bottle was sampled and enjoyed, for the taste and pleasure wine can bring.

A very enjoyable evening was had by all.

The next event is going to be quite different , as we are going to visit ‘Rull Orchard’ for a cider experience, on the summer solstice , as the sun goes down.

We will have to think of booking some transport out to Bickleigh 🤔👍

The other bit of news, is we are looking to put in some additional dates , due to demand , so are likely to have 3 meetings over the summer.

Feb

For our first meeting of 2024 we returned back to the ‘Elephant on the Green’ . Which is even better now, a lovely comfortable space , with everything we need. Paul the custodian, is always very obliging and helpful.

The evening was a great success , with our very own Colin, doing the ‘honours’ , at late notice I might add , in introducing us to some of his favourite Whites and Reds 🍷

Thank you again to everybody who chipped in on the night…and we all look forward to the next event.