Events

Wines of North America Tasting – March 2023

Thank you to everybody who came along to the tasting of Wines of North America – the wines we tasted were as follows: Peller Estates, Signature Series Ice Cuvée Classic NV (Courtesy of Barry Gibbon) Region: Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, CanadaGrapes: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir12% ABVThis wine is made in the Traditional Method from hand-picked Chardonnay…

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Next Treasure Hunt – 1st October 2022

THE KEMP TOWN BEER MILE TREASURE HUNT ________________________________________________________ SEEK OUT THE CLUES AS YOU CROSS BRIGHTON KEMP TOWN AT YOUR OWN PACE AND ENJOY A FEW DRINKS ON THE WAY – FREE TO ENTER ________________________________________________________ SATURDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2022 START  Brighton Bierhaus, 161 Edward Street, Brighton BN2 0JB  BETWEEN 1 PM AND 2.30 PM ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­________________________________________________________…

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Is it worth paying more? Tasting September 2022

We served two wines each of four different styles, one at around £10-12 and one at over £30. The wines were served blind and attendees asked which they preferred. Group A – Chenin Blanc Ken Forrester Reserve Collection Chenin Blanc 2020 An elegant, zesty, oaked white wine with flavours of tropical fruit, caramel and honeycomb.Ken…

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Wines of the Eastern Mediterranean

We organised this tasting recently and it proved very popular. The wines provided were Chateau Musar Jeune White – Lebanon Musar Jeune White is an unoaked blend of Viognier, Vermentino, Chardonnay from youthful Bekaa Valley vines. Crisp and aromatic, this eclectic blend of French and Italian varieties has its own distinct personality – passionfruit, apples,…

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London Wine Fair 2022

I was fortunate enough to attend LWF in June this year – it was great to see it back as a live event. Unfortunately there seemed to be fewer country stands than in previous years; however there were plenty of interesting people to speak to, and a lot of great presentations including Valpolicella, vermouth, Central…

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Harper’s Top 50 Independent Wine Merchants

Congratulations to the following Sussex wine merchants who appeared in the Harper’s Top 50 Indies, together with the judges’ comments: THE BUTLERS WINE CELLAR This two-store merchant is as independently minded as they come. The Butlers team buy what they like, when they like, currently with a strong focus on Portugal and California, and sell…

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Wines from Spain Annual Tasting 2021

This was the first in-person tasting I attended after lockdown restrictions were eased and Wines of Spain did a great job. The format was very different from previous years with no walk round, so unfortunately there was no opportunity to chat with growers and importers. We sat at a table with four tasting glasses and…

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Winery Visit – Chapel Down

Had the pleasure of a small group visit to Chapel Down across the border in Kent who were joint winners of the best winery in the South East at the recent WineGB awards. Tom gave us an excellent tour of the winery followed by a tasting of some of their excellent wines: Bacchus 2018 (still…

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Vineyard Visit – Ashling Park

Had the pleasure of a small group visit to Ashling Park in Sussex who were joint winners of the best winery in the South East at the recent WineGB awards (which they also hosted). We saw the Chardonnay, Meunier and Pinot Noir grapes which will be harvested in the next few weeks and tasted the…

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WineGB Awards 2020

Congratulations to our super Sussex wineries which achieved more trophy, gold and silver prizes than any other county. The full list of our winners is: Medal Producer & Wine Trophy Ashling Park Estate – Ashling Park Cuvée NV Trophy Ashling Park Estate – Ashling Park Sparking Rose NV Trophy Breaky Bottom Vineyard – Breaky Bottom…

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