Costs going up

The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted the cost of membership and meetings has gone up.

Sadly, the world has changed since the society started and the days of Free wine, free speakers etc. are well and truly gone. And prices have gone UP.

A simple example: We used to get quite a few speakers, often wine shop owners or big suppliers who'd come along for free, as publicity, the only cost being the wine. So (at todays prices) you'd have say 24 bottles @£10 = £240 spread over 40 members - £6 per head. Happy days. Even some evenings where the wine was supplied FOC as part of their marketting budget.

Now, they charge. Money is tight. People have to make a living.

Now, it is much more like: Speaker charges £200 to come + wine, so £440 - £11 per head. And if you work out the time involved in putting together a tasting + travel time + fuel, £200 is quite modest, and is often more. 

And of course, £10 for wine is an OK price point, but fairly run of the mill. If you want something a little more upmarket - £15. So its easy to see how that £240 has become £440 and can easily be £600. 40 x £15 = £600 so £15 per head, not £6!

So the committee have taken the tough decision to up the meeting charge the £15, the membership fee likewise. 

It's tough out there.

New years Party Jan 2023

December 2022, Desert Island Wines

 

So, a presentation from society members of their own “desert island” wines – i.e. the one and only wine that they would be happy to have on their desert island. Rather bizarrely several presenters claimed that the wine they were proposing wasn’t actually their favourite. Make of that what you will!

As these are all wines chosen individually, it would be churlish to criticise any of them. After all – the best wine is the wine you like the best.

The Wines

1) Verdejo. - Rueda, Beronia, Spain

13.5%, £9, Waitrose

A very straightforward spanish white.

2) Arinto – Vinho Verde. Casal de Ventozela, Portugal

12%, £8, Majestic

A vinho verde with a little extra something. Good value- Note, the Arinto, not the Alvarinho

3) Gruner Veltliner – Winzer Krems, Austria

13%, £9, Majestic

A very good example of a Gruner Veltliner. Excellent as white wine spritzer in the sunshine

4) Gewurztraminer – M&S Cave de Turkheim.

13%, £10, M&S

A lighter example of a Gewurz.

5) Madiran – Domaine Laougue Camy, France

14%, £11.50, Wine Society

Classic beefy red

6) Zinfandel. Apothic Red. Gallo. California.

13.5%, £9, Waitrose or Sainsburys

The jammy end of the scale – quite a lot of residual sugar.

7) Nero d’Avola, Nero Oro Reserva, Sicily, Italy

13.5%, £11.99, Majestic

Classic beefy red

8) Mavrodaphne of Patras, Greece

15%, £6.95, Waitrose

An excellent sweet red, a steal.

November 2022. Wines of Portugal, Peter Freeman

 

An excellent presentation by Peter with a selection of easily available and affordable wines.

Most of these wines are widely available, and so there are a range of prices,

1 Vinho Verde “Por do Sol” NV 9%, £5.95, Tesco

Loureira, Pecorello, Arinto, Treixadura, Azal

Light, fresh, very pale and with some fizz to it. Great fun.

2 Lisboa “Porta 6” Branco 2021 12.5%. £6.50 - £9.00. Everywhere

25% Arinto, 25% Viosinho, 25% Viognier, 25% Chardonnay

Widely available, but perhaps a bit too similar to so many generic whites in this price bracket. Perfectly fine though.

3 Peninsula de Setubal Pegoes 2021. 13% £10.00. Majestic, Wine Soc

Arinto, Verdelho, Chardonnay, Antão Vaz, Fernão

Quite Oaky, but not overwhelmingly so. I have some of this in my wine rack right now – it is a good wine.

4 Lisboa “Porta 6 Tinto” 2021. 13.5%. £6.50 - £9.00. Everywhere

50% Tinta Roriz, 40% Castelão, 10% Touriga Nacional

Probably the most sold Portuguese wine in the UK.

5 Douro Tinto “Altano” 2020 14%. £10

Touriga Franca,Tinta Roriz,Tinta Barroca

Very smooth. Deep red/beetroot colour.

6 Barraida Tinto Quinta do Encontro 2015 13.5%. £11. Delicias UK

80% Baga, 20% Merlot

Various opinions in the room. A very mature wine – I found it quite earthy, others really liked it.

7 Moscatel de Setubal Casa Ermelinda NV 17% £13. Delicias UK

Moscatel Roxo

Well liked. Try it.

8 Late Bottle Port Symington Estates 2016. 20%, £12. Tesco

Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Francesa

A bargain. Great quality for the price, if you are a Port lover.

My 2 top selections would be the 1^st and 7^th Wines. The Por do Sol would make an excellent party wine, fun, light & fresh. Distinctly not serious, but who cares? And the Moscatel de Setubal Dessert wine is seriously different, something unusual and very very good.

October 2022. Wines of Hungary, Audrey Zarach

 This month we had Wines of Hungary, presented by Audrey Zarach from Malux Hungarian Wines.

Hungary has a long history of wine making, and a large range of unique indigenous grape varieties, some of which are included here. All the prices are a discounted rate for us, one night only.

 

The Wines were:

White.

1. Toth Ferenc, Egri Csillag 2021, Eger. 12.5% £13.50

A blend of Leanyka/Welch Riesling/Harslevelu/Muscat Ottonel

2. Frittmann, Ezerjo FPV 2016, The Great Plains. 12% £13.50

FPV - Frittmann Private Vintage 

3. Chateu Megyer, Harslevelu 2014, Tokaj. 12.5% £12.75

4. Korona, Crown Winery, Egri Leanyka 2018, Eger. 13.5% £13

Red.

5. Frittmann, Kekfrankos 2019, The Great Plains. 13% £12.50

6. Korona, Crown Winery, Egri Harmonia 2020, Eger. 13% £12.75

A blend of Cab Sauv, Blauburger, Menoire, Pinot Noir

7. Etyeki Kuria, Kuria Red 2018, Etyek Buda.

A blend of Merlot/Kekfrankos/Pinot Noir

8. Archabbey Pannonhalma, Tricollis red 2019, Pannonhalma. 14% £15

A blend of Pinot Noir/Merlot/Cabernet Franc

September 2022. WInes of Uruguay, Carla Bertellotti

 

September 2022. Carla Bertellotti, Wines of Uruguay

First, the bad news – This is the 3^rd or 4^th time Carla has presented to us, but as her business as expanded, she’s got less and less time to do these presentations. This will be one the very last ones. As part of that expansion, she has become vinoslatinos.co.uk to cover all of Latin America, no longer just Uruguay. We’ll miss her.

All the wines are available from www.winesofuruguay.co.uk, and in the future from www.vinoslatinos.co.uk

The good news: The Wines:

Whites:

1. Bodega Pablo Fallabrino Estival 2020

Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Moscato Bianco; Atlantida, Uruguay

13.5%, £13.50

2. Bodegones del Sur, Viognier Vineyard Select 2021

Canelones, Uruguay

12.5%, £14

3. Bodegones del Sur Sauvignon Blanc Limited Edition 2020 - Barrel fermented, and partially oak aged

Canelones, Uruguay

12.5%, £18.50

4. Viñedo de los Vientos Soul Surfer 2020 (rose)

Traminer, Barbera, Chardonnay; Atlantida, Uruguay

13.5%, £13.50

Reds

5. Bodega Pablo Fallabrino Catarsis 2008

50% Ruby Cabernet, 40 % Barbera, 10% Tannat; Canelones, Uruguay

13.5%, £14

6. Bodegones del Sur Cabernet Franc Vineyard Select 2020

Sierra de Mahoma, Uruguay

13%, £14

7. Deicas Tannat Valle de Los Manantiales 2016

Maldonado, Uruguay

£19

8. Familia Deicas Extreme Vineyards Suelo Invertido 2018

100% Tannat; Canelones, Uruguay

£26

All the wine prices are a bit variable, as they are exported in dollars, and the £/$ exchange is being quite unpredictable right now. Its quite likely that they will go up somewhat.

August 2022. Wines of South Africa by Phil Miles

 

South African wines by the Chairman, Phil Miles

Phil has travelled extensively in SA for his work in the Tourism industry and together with his love of wine has seen a lot of the SA wine industry. Here are 8 wines presented by Phil

One comment he made was that quite often Red wines are less difficult to make – White need a lot more care, so are often that bit more expensive. I think that showed in this tasting with the reds being better VFM. 

 

Whites:

Ernie Els Big Easy Chenin Blanc 2021. Penderberg, Paarl. 13.5% £13.50.

7.5/10. Straightforward white, clean fresh, but cant be said to be VFM

Steenburg Farm Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2021. Constantia Valley Cape Town. 13.5% £15.50

7/10

As above

Glenkelly Glass Collection Unoaked Chardonnay 2020. Idas Valley, Stellenbosch 12.5% £14

5/10

This had a quite off smell and not a great taste. Apparently has been made with a novel and special technique. It appears to have not worked.- Post meeting note. On discussing with other members, there were 3 bottles, and only this one bottle showed this flaw. It does very much appear that it was a duff bottle. We should have sorted this out at the meeting, but somehow failed to do so. 😢

Catherine Marshall Red Slate Riesling 2021. Elgin Valley 11% £12

8/10

A decent level of acidity with a hint of lemon. Pretty good. 

 

Reds

Rustenberg Stellenbosch Merlot 2020. Idas Valley, Stellenbosch. 14% £13

7.5/10

Oaked? Cedar & Cigars. Smooth & well balanced.

Darling Cellar Reserve black granite Shiraz 2020. Darling west coast. 14% £10

9/10

A very smooth Shiraz from Old Vines. Well balanced. Good VFM

Guardian Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Stellenbosch. 14.0% £12

9/10

As above

Kaapzicht Rooiland Pinotage 2020. Bottelary Hills Stellenbosch. 14.5% £18.50

8.5/10

Pinotage can be hit & miss. This one’s a hit, if pricey.