About 40 members and guests enjoyed our Zoom based Quiz Night in March. It was great to see so many familiar faces on screen and it’s clear that we can’t wait to be able to get back to tasting wine again. So by popular demand, we’ll be running another Quiz Night in May. This time I promise not to include any questions on the history of the Whitewater Valley Wine Society!

We held our AGM on 11th February with over 30 members present. It was great to see so many familiar faces once again and it’s clear that we can’t wait to get to tasting wines together again.

The following Officers and Committee were elected:

Keith Cooper as Chair

Barbara Jones as Secretary

Richard Ford as Treasurer

Nesta Downey, Clive Gibbons and Andy Shadbolt as Committee Members.

We thanked Ian Johnson, who is stepping down from the Committee after 6 years as Treasurer.

The minutes of the AGM will be posted on the Members Page once they have been approved by the Committee.

Our AGM will be held by Zoom on Wednesday 10th February 2021.   The meeting will start at 8.00pm and is expected to last about 30 to 40 minutes.

The AGM papers and Zoom joining instructions will be e-mailed to all members about 2 weeks before the meeting date.  If you wish to be nominated for a Committee post, then please follow the instructions on page 7 of the AGM papers.

Click here for the February 2021 AGM Papers

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.

Click here to read more about the tasting and the wines

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.