islington
WINE APPRECIATION -
WA1 & 2
  The groups will meet in
an informal friendly environment to discuss and
enjoy wine together. Better than drinking alone! |
| When WA1: generally, 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 & 2, Friday 10 October (sign-up closed): having had a tour at Denbies last year, this year we are visiting Renegade Wines in Walthamstow! The tour will start by telling us a bit about Renegade as a venture, take you on a short tour of the winery and its equipment, and talk you through how the wines are made from grape to bottle. The session typically includes 4 pours of Renegade wine, a guided tasting and, of course, the inside scoop on the winemaking process! They have just received their first delivery of imported grapes to allow the start of this year's vintage. £35 per person. Food is available there (but not included in the tastings price). We'll meet outside H&I at 5.00pm (or let me know if you want to meet at Blackhorse Road). It's about a 10min walk from Blackhorse Rd station or a short bus journey.
WA2, Monday 27 October, 6.30pm (sign-up open): Coordinator will pick the theme and the wines. Next session will be Wednesday 26 November.
WA1, November: no meeting Coordinator away. Sorry. In December we will taste 'Greek and Lebanese' wines.
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:
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:
If you want to look up details of a grape variety or type this is a good site: Wine Folly
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 & 2, Friday 10 October (sign-up closed): having had a tour at Denbies last year, this year we are visiting Renegade Wines in Walthamstow! The tour will start by telling us a bit about Renegade as a venture, take you on a short tour of the winery and its equipment, and talk you through how the wines are made from grape to bottle. The session typically includes 4 pours of Renegade wine, a guided tasting and, of course, the inside scoop on the winemaking process! They have just received their first delivery of imported grapes to allow the start of this year's vintage. £35 per person. Food is available there (but not included in the tastings price). We'll meet outside H&I at 5.00pm (or let me know if you want to meet at Blackhorse Road). It's about a 10min walk from Blackhorse Rd station or a short bus journey.
WA2, Monday 27 October, 6.30pm (sign-up open): Coordinator will pick the theme and the wines. Next session will be Wednesday 26 November.
WA1, November: no meeting Coordinator away. Sorry. In December we will taste 'Greek and Lebanese' wines.
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
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