| Status: | Active, full but can join waiting list |
| When: | Monthly |
| Venue: | Member's home |
Some of our groups allow visitors to have one taster session. If you wish to know more, contact our Groups Coordinator using the “groups” link on the contact us page. Please do not attend a group meeting without prior permission from the group leader. Group leaders are not required to justify their decision.
Forthcoming events
Thu Nov 6th
7:00 pm
Meeting
Penny with be the hostess and Keith will be providing the wines.
Venue: Member's home
Thu Dec 4th
7:00 pm
Meeting
Pauline will be the hostess. This will be our Christmas meeting, so we will decide on food and wine at the November meeting.
Venue: Member's home
October
Our October meeting was held at Marilyn's house with Sarah providing the wines.
Our first wine was First Cape Special Cuvee Chenin Blanc from South Africa. The aromas were supposed to be fresh citrus and white peach although most of us could only detect a light citrus aroma. The flavours were much stronger of pear and tropical fruits. It would be a perfect wine as an aperitif or served with white meats and salads. It is also recommended to go with fruit desserts, but we all felt it was too dry for that. Its ABV was 12 1/2 % and cost £7.00 from Tesco.
The second wine was Alta Veduta Chianti from Italy. Chianti is a well-known medium-bodied wine from the Tuscany region of Italy. It had fresh cherry and blueberry flavours with a long, juicy finish. It would be perfect with those Italian classics spaghetti bolognese or lasagne. Its ABV was 12 1/2 % and cost £6.25 from Tesco.
Our final wine was Millefiori Appasimento Veneto from Italy. This wine is a blend of Corvina and Merlot grapes. The Corvina grape is grown almost exclusively in the Veneto region of NE Italy. Appasimento means that the grapes were partly dried before being used to make the wine. This has the effect of intensifying the flavours. The wine aromas were of cherries, raspberries, prunes and redcurrants. The palate was full, soft and round with awesome spiciness and lingering finish. This wine pairs well with hard cheese, game meat or just on its own. The ABV was 13 1/2 % and cost £9.25 from Tesco.
August
Our August meeting was held at Hugh's house with Penny providing the wines.
Our first wine was Wairau Cove Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2024 from New Zealand. This wine had strong aromas of tropical fruits and lemongrass. Its flavours were of pink grapefruit and nectarine. It would pair well with fried chicken or herby salad. Its ABV was 13%. Penny had purchased it from Tesco and it would normally retail for £10 but she managed to get a special clubcard deal and it only cost her £6.00. A good start to the evening.
The second wine was Six Poets Cabernet Sauvignon from California. The name is a homage to the beatnik generation of the 1950s, reflecting the wine's youthful, bold and carefree character, much like the rebellious spirit of the influential Beat poets of that era. The aromas and flavours were of Blackberries and forest fruits. Its ABV was 12.5% and it was another reduced price wine from Tesco. It cost £5.63 marked down from £9.00.
Our final wine was one of my favourites, Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2021 from Italy. Its aromas were very mild and none of us could name them. The flavours in contrast were full of plums and savory spices with chocolate finish. Its ABV was 13% and it would pair well with sirloin steak, pepperoni pizza or roasted vegetables. Yet another clubcard deal, it cost £6.37 marked down from £8.50.
An excellent evening was had by all and we managed to get home before the torrential rain that arrived that night causing extensive flooding in Plymouth.
July
Our meeting this month was held at Sarah's house and we decided to make it a wine and cheese evening. Kate provided crackers & olives, Keith provided the wines and Sarah provided crisps and other snacks.
I purchased 6 cheeses from Country Cheeses in Tavistock. The staff were very helpful in making the selection. The cheese were
Beau Vale, a soft, creamy blue,
Sharpham Brie, soft and gooey. The challenge of the evening was getting it from the cheese board to the crackers,
Cornish Yarg,
Devon smoked,
Cornish Gouder Fenigreek (the spelling on the label), and
North Devon Extra Mature Cheddar.
The wines were all from Waitrose and from the same range of Waitrose wines as can be in the photo.
The first wine was Muscadet from France and made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape. It was dry, light bodied and elegant with citrus, white peach and mineral notes. It's perfect on its own or paired with shellfish or Caesar salad. I felt it went well with the 2 soft cheeses. Its ABV was 11% and cost £7.
The second wine was Old Vine Granacha from Spain. This wine is made from the grapes of old vines which give it a lovely fruity intensity, luscious red berry flavours and a hint of spiced plums. It is great with red meats and hearty stews. Its ABV was 13.5% and it cost £7.25. This is a wine I'm familiar with and enjoyed.
the third wine was handed out with the instructions to sip it slowly. One taste and I knew why. Keith had taken the wine and cheese idea to it's natural conclusion and given us a ruby port. Port comes from Portugal and is always great with cheese. This one was from the independent producer Symington Family Estates. It was a rich ruby colour with fresh red and black berry fruit flavours. It also pairs well with dark chocolate. Its ABV was 19% and cost £10.25.
The evening was a great success and we hope to repeat the experiment again sometime.
I have recently discovered that my daughter reads my wine reports to see if there are any wines she would like to try. She mentioned that I don't always say if we liked the wines. Well, Helen, we loved them all this month.
June
Our first wine was Kooliburra Sémillon 2024 from the Clare Valley, SE Australia.
It was a crisp & fresh white wine with flavours of nectarine and grapefruit. It would pair well with roast chicken and spaghetti marinara. Its ABV was 12% and cost £6.99 from Aldi. It was very popular with the group
There was very little information online.
Our second wine was Comte de Saint Emmanuel Bordeaux Grande Reserve 2022 from France.
This is a blended wine containing Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Merlot. It has flavours of red currant, blackberry, bramble, vanilla & mocha. It would pair well with red meats, game & mushroom risotto. Its ABV was 13% and cost £7.50 (marked down from £9.00) from Morrisons. This wine was not popular with the group, the politest comment being "bland".
Our final wine was Morrisons "The Best Primitivo" 2023 from Puglia, Italy.
This wine has tastes of blackberries and spicy plums. It pairs well with meaty pasta dishes and BBQs. The Primitivo grape is known by several other names with the best-known being Zinfandel. Its ABV was 13.5% and cost £8.00 (marked down from £9.25) from Morrisons. This was another popular wine.
May
Our May meeting was at Jill's house with Sarah providing the wines.
Our first wine was Sauvignon Blanc Reserva Privada 2023 from Chile's Central valley. It is a vegan wine, crisp and dry with fruity taste of passion fruit and elderflower. It's ABV was 12.5% which was the highest of the evening, a surprise to us as white wines tend to have a lower ABV than red wines. It pairs well with goats cheese salad, feta and asparagus quiche. The wine cost £6.49 from Lidl.
Our second wine was Hardy's Bin 161 Shiraz. The name refers to the 161st anniversary of wine making by Hardy's. A good quality Australian wine with complex flavours of cherry, blackcurrant and spicy oak. It's ABV was 11% and it pairs well with tomato pasta and complex meat dishes. It normally retails for £6.99 from premier Stores, but Sarah got a deal where she bought 2 bottles of wine for £13.00. The other bottle was our third wine of the evening.
I Heart Malbec from Chile was the final wine. There isn't much information about this wine, but it was still very enjoyable. It was a dark purple colour with flavours of juicy fruits and a touch of spice. It's ABV was 11% and would be good with most meats including steaks and burgers. It normally retails for £7.50 from Premier Stores, but was part of the deal with the previous wine.
April
Our wines for this month were selected by Kate.
The first wine was Cono Sur Organic Chardonnay 2023 from Chile. The label has a picture of a bicycle on the front because all the vineyard workers are encouraged to cycle to work. The wine had a lovely soft fruity flavour that everyone liked.It's ABV was a surprisingly high 13.5% and was purchased from Tesco for £8.50 (marked down from£10). It was also a vegan wine.
Our second wine was 19 Crimes Revolutionary Rose from SE Australia. The wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan, although other grapes are also used. the title refers to people deported to Australia as convicted crimes in the 1800s. The wine had a rose petal aroma and flavours of strawberries, raspberries and red cherries. It's ABV was 10.5% and cost £7.50 (down from £9.75) from Tesco.
Our final wine was Errazuriz Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2024 from Chile. This was the only red wine of the evening and had flavours of cranberries, cherries, vanilla, caramel and tobacco. It had been aged in French and American oak casks. It's ABV was 13.5% and cost £7.50 (down from £9.50) from Tesco.
