Our January meeting, entitled ‘New Year Cheer’, was presented by Brian Brough and James Simon. Brian presented us with three Rioja wine to cheer any bleak months. James selected wines from Chile, Tuscany, and California.
We began with a great value crisp and fruity Chilean Chardonnay which was contrasted with a more subtle white Rioja. A full bodied Rosso di Montepulciano was presented with a description of the town and local vineyards. We made a direct comparison between two different red Rioja Reservas leading to much discussion of quality and subtleties. Our final wine was a sweet and fruity organic Muscat desert wine from Lake County, California.
Our meeting in February ( our AGM ) was very well attended with some 50 + members and guests tasting a selection of wines from Argentina and Chile.
Our Speakers were two of our members, Colin Barrow and Peter Doyle, who found us some very palatable wines to enjoy. Their introduction of the wines was both informative and fun, with appeal to all palates and wallets with prices ranging from £5 to £8 per bottle
Our March meeting was a presentation by Paul Green and Paul Sinclair, the Off Licence Managers at Sainsbury’s Hazel Grove and Wilmslow stores.
We tasted three French white wines and three South American red wines. The first two white wines were both made from the Savignon Blanc grape. The remarkable contrast being that one came from the South of France and was made using “New World” techniques the other being traditionally made, from the upper Loire. A Gewürztraminer from Alsace was our final white. The reds were a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Carmenère from Chile, and a Malbec from Argentina. Cultivation of the last two grapes is confined to South America.
the wines we drank were: -
Our April meeting was a blind tasting quiz, presented by Jannet Bridge from Wine Rack in Poynton.
Jannet, assisted by her coleagues Barry and Yevonne, presented conflicting descriptions of a number of wines. Teams were then asked to identify the correct deffinition after tasting each wine blind. The resulting discussions made a delightful and plesant evening. The teams were well matched, and the final result wes extremely close.
The wines were: -
Our May meeting entitled “Where in the World?” was a blind tasting of wines selected by two of our members, Ken and Edna Bentley.
The Bentleys selected three white and three red wines typical of their grape and region. They set us the task of identifying not only these characteristics, but also the year of production and the strength. Discussions were animated though amicable. Announcements of the true identities of the wines were greeted with cheers and groans, as missed clues, and false trails were revealed. There was plenty to please everyone, and Ken and Edna are to be congratulated on a varied and interesting choice of wine.
The wines were: -
Our traditional June barbeque was held jointly with the Carleton Club of Higher Poynton. The weather was fine and we were treated to an excellent selection of food and wines. Entertainment was provided by Arthur Wakefield. Thanks are due to the many helpers who prepared food, and set out seating.
We were delighted to attend a wine tasting hosted by Marks and Spencer’s. The wines were varied in style excellent quality. Each wine was accompanied by a taste of appropriate food.
The guest at our September meeting was Paul Green the Off Licence Manager at Sainsbury’s Hazel Grove store.
Paul chose two white, three red and one rosé wine for us to taste and discuss. The white wines were both from the new world however whilst one was a well balanced dry wine the other was both spicy and fruity and was not to everyone’s taste. The rosé wine from France was interesting in flouting traditional flavour and balance. The red wines were from Portugal Argentina and Spain. The Rioja was an outstanding wine and gained universal approbation
The wines we tasted were: -
Our October meeting, “A Nose for Trouble”, was devised and presented by Gill Hardy and George Simon.
Gill and George presented six wines, all sampled blind. For introduction Gill described how to extract the maximum information from the nose of a wine. For each wine the presenters pointed out the most obvious characteristic and asked each group to identify an additional one. Their guarantee, to identify at least two further flavours, could not to be faulted, although some groups added more than one flavour to the list. During the smelling and tasting, samples of fruit, vegetables and minerals were circulated for comparison.
The wines we tasted were: -
| Year | 2002 |
| Grape | Chardonnay, Viognier |
| Region | California |
| Supplier | Wine Rack |
| Price | £5.99 |
| ABV | 13.5% |
| Year | 2002 |
| Grape | Chardonnay |
| Region | Chablis – Eastern Loire - France |
| Supplier | Tesco |
| Price | £7.49 |
| ABV | 12% |
| Year | 2004 |
| Grape | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Region | Marlborough - New Zealand |
| Supplier | Wine Rack |
| Price | £6.99 |
| ABV | 13% |
| Year | 2003 |
| Grape | Merlot |
| Region | SE Australia |
| Supplier | Tesco |
| Price | £5.99 |
| ABV | 13.5% |
| Year | 2000 |
| Grape | Zinfandel |
| Region | Mendocino - California |
| Supplier | Majestic |
| Price | £8.99 |
| ABV | 14% |
| Year | 1999 |
| Grape | Tempranillo, Granacha |
| Region | Spain |
| Supplier | Tesco |
| Price | £7.99 |
| ABV | 12.5% |
Our November meeting entitled “An Oddbins Odyssey” was presented by Chris Rowland of Oddbins in Stockport.
Chris has a passion for wine; it was his hobby before it became his business. His enthusiasm for wine makes him an engaging and amusing speaker. As a judge for the “International Wine Challenge” Chris spends days tasting the best wines that growers can produce. He failed to elicit much sympathy for this taxing work!
Chris presented six very different wines for our consideration. The strengths, weaknesses and points of interest for each wine were highlighted with background information and anecdotes. All the members found it to be a superb evening.
The wines we tasted were: -
Our December meeting offered a range of alternative drinks for the festive season. The light hearted meeting featured a range of drinks, each accompanied by a taste of appropriate food.
We drank: mulled wine, sherry and orange cocktails, kir royal, strong ale, ginger cordial and desert wine. With these we sampled foods ranging from black pudding to Christmas cake. All the members and guests enjoyed this festive evening. Our thanks are due to everyone who helped with the evening.