We’re very sorry that we’ve had to cancel our tastings until at least the end of 2020. We really miss seeing you all of you, not being able to meet at The Raven has left a big gap in our lives! But, rest assured, your Committee is keeping things moving in the background and we’ll let you all know just as soon as we can start meeting again. In the meantime, take care and enjoy your favourite wines at home.

This month we welcomed Stuart Porter from Corney & Barrow. Our tasting took us ‘down under’ to focus on the wines of three specific estates. From Australia, we tasted the wines of The Lane winery in Adelaide Hills. From New Zealand, it was the wines of Elephant Hill in Hawkes Bay and Eradus in the Awatare Valley, near Marlborough. We really enjoyed hearing from Stuart and tasting the wines.

Click here to read about it

As is usual for our February tasting, it was a chance for a few of our members to present their favourite wine gems. We thank Alastair, Jim and Keith, who took centre stage, presenting a selection of wines from Australia, England, France, Italy, Portugal and South Africa. The wines were all well received by our members and there was a good buzz in the room.

Click here to read a report on this tasting

We got 2020 off to a great start with a lively and informative tasting of wines from Ribera and Rueda.  Wine educator and tour guide Tim Syrad presented some great wines from this region of northern Spain, with the tempranillo reds featuring prominently.  We thank Tim for his enthusiastic and entertaining presentation.  It was an excellent evening!

Click here to read a report on this tasting

We’ve got some real wine enthusiasts amongst our members and eight of them stepped up to present their favourite wine at our Christmas tasting. It’s really good to hear what our members like and we thank all the volunteers for their effort and willingness to participate. The evening flowed well, thanks to our Christmas host Nesta. She did a great job in co-ordinating all the presenters and their wines, which were tasted blind as part of a Christmas quiz.

Click here to read a report on this tasting

In November, we were delighted to welcome Janina Doyle, UK Brand Ambassador for Vina Ventisquero, the premium Chilean producer.

It was another full house at The Raven and we weren’t disappointed. Janina presented a great selection of wines from their portfolio. Her enthusiasm shone through, giving us an evening of fun and learning.

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We had an excellent evening at The Falcon in September.  The room was beautifully set up, which helped to provide a welcoming atmosphere.

The food and wines were well received by all.  Ten wines were served, including a 2004 Sauternes and a lovely 1997 Quinta Vale de Maria port.

We were indeed fortunate that winemaker Hugh Liddell was at Cottonworth to host our Society’s visit.  The time in the vineyard was informative, the wines were very good and there was plenty of food for lunch.  Overall, an excellent visit which was much enjoyed by all present.

We had another full house this month as we welcomed Leah Seresin, Brand Ambassador for Seresin Winery in New Zealand.

It was a delightful evening as Leah took us through a tasting of 8 wines from the Seresin portfolio.

Highlight for many was the pinot noir! 

Click here to read the tasting report

Our largest attendance for many years enjoyed a splendid tasting of wines from South Africa.

Master of Wine Jo Locke from The Wine Society showed us a mix of traditional and innovative wines, delivered in an interesting and informal style.

Click here to read the tasting report