WINE APPRECIATION - WA1 & 2

Derek
                      Harwood Chris
                      BulfordThe groups will meet in an informal friendly environment to discuss and enjoy wine together. Better than drinking alone!

Group Coordinators:
Derek Harwood (click to contact) for WA1 and
Chris Bulford (click to contact) for WA2
When

WA1: the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
WA2: the 4th week of each month (varying day of the week).
Where

In a members houses in Islington.

Background
We have now started up a second WA group. Both will broadly follow the following.
Our general operating methods are:

  • Each (WA1 & WA2) will meet once a month (so two sessions per month).
  • Each will meet in members’ house.
  • For WA1 there may be a theme selected by the group members (in advance), eg Loire wines.
  • There will be a sign-up for each session with the limit set (exc the host) at the first nine. A minimum of eight members will be necessary for each session to meet.
  • The sign-up (ie registration) for each session will open generally just after the last session (ie about three weeks' advance notice). No email notice of sign-up opening will be given — you need to keep an eye on this page if you are keen.
  • In the week before each event there will be an email notice if spaces remain available.
  • Five bottles of wine will be sampled per session
  • A guideline price of up to £10.00 per bottle will be followed.
  • For WA1: the person bringing the bottle will be expected to have researched the provenance and present the details to the Group.
  • If meeting in a member's house snacks will be provided by hosts.
  • If meeting in a member's house each person attending, including the host, (and not bringing wine) will pay £10 a session to cover all costs. Hosts will get food costs reimbursed. Any underspend of the £10 per bottle of wine limit or surplus per session will be added to group funds and carried forward towards a special evening open to all group members.
  • If a member 'no-shows' for a signed up session, they may be asked to still pay (as food and drink will have been pre-purchased).
  • Outings for meals or to vineyards could be considered by the Group.

You don't need any prior expertise in wine tasting but it is expected that you will have to do some pre-work for each session to support group discussion on the chosen wine topic.

If you are interested in joining this group, please sign into the Beacon members' system here, then under Groups, find and click on Wine Appreciation. There you will see the option of joining online. Please provide your details there. Once you've registered for the group you will receive further information through emails. Or you can send me an email — to the email account link at the top of this page.

WA2: these will all be in the fourth week of each month (with a varying day of the week). Same arrangements as WA1: £10 a head for nine other people. The format will be tasting wines under £10 from major supermarkets all of which have been recommended by a newspaper “expert” relatively recently. 

Currently you can sign up for both sessions in each month. If we start to get overbooked then we might have to restrict attendance to one session per month per member.

Future Sessions

WA1, Tuesday 11 February, 6.30pm (sign up open): for this session our theme will be South African wines. We'll move the target price/ limit for a bottle up to £15.00 for all.

WA2, Tuesday 18 February, 6.30pm (sign up open): Coordinator will pick the theme and the wines (dates for 2025: 18 March, 29 April, 27 May, 17 June. All at the same time 6.30).


Other Information
If you ever wondered what the most popular grape varieties are (out of the 10,000 grape varieties in total) then these are listed here.

What makes wines different? What is 'Terroir'? There are a few key factors that influence each wine and terrior is the main one. Terroir is influenced by:
  • Weather (climate, location)
  • Exposure to sun (direction the vines are facing)
  • Soil (where it is grown)
  • Altitude
Other factors affecting the balance of a wine are: Grape variety, Method, Age. Each of these can be broken down further but start by trying to use these parameters to tell different wines apart.

Wine Colouring: from our December tutored tasting we were reminded of the different grading in wine colours. These are described slightly differently by different authorities but as a rough guide:
WHITES
WINE TYPE
REDS
WINE TYPE
Straw, Pale Yellow
Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, 
Light Ruby, Ruby
Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Carigan, Cabernet Franc
Yellow, Lemon
Sauvignon Blanc, Vinho Verde, Trebbiano
Garnet
Zinfandel/Primitivo, Tempranillo
Pale Gold
Cheni Blanc, Marsanne
Purple/Dark Purple
Bordeaux blend, Malbec
Deep Gold, Amber
Chardonnay, Sauternes
Dark Red
Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah

If you want to look up details of a grape variety or type this is a good site: Wine Folly

 

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