It is with enormous pleasure that we welcome back Alun Griffiths to present our October tasting. Alun is a great friend of our Society and needs no introduction to many of our members. We know that his evenings with us are always informative, interesting and fun. For the benefit of our newer members who may not know Alun, he has been a Master of Wine since 1991. For many years, he was Wine Director at Berry Bros & Rudd, following which he was based in Hong Kong for several years.  Back in the UK,  Alun lectures on wine and has been a panel judge at the International Wine Challenge and the Decanter Wine Awards Competition. He’s a regular member of the Decanter Magazine tasting panel. 

This month we welcome James Booth, Director of New Generation Wines. His company imports and distributes wines to independent merchants across the UK and the London-focused on-trade, as well as supplying selected lines to multiple retailers. The focus of our evening will be New Zealand pinot noirs.  James will also include one or two whites, wines which he regards as rather special and which he wants to show us.

Tonight we'll be celebrating Christmas!  And back by popular demand, we're going to do that in style by raiding the Chair's Cellar! Yes, as he did last year, Keith will be digging deep into his cellar to bring you some superb wines, which will hopefully get us in the mood for the upcoming Christmas celebrations.

Tonight we welcome Claudia Hussain, who is presenting to us for the first time. Claudia is an enthusiastic and lively ambassador for Noble Green Wines, who are an independent wine, craft beer and spirits merchant located in the Twickenham area. 
Claudia will present her pick of volcanic wines.

We have many wine enthusiasts within our Society and it’s always good to taste wines which are recommended by them. That's why this month we will open the floor to eight of our members, who will each introduce a wine of their choice. These evenings are hugely popular with our members, so you won't want to miss it.

This month we welcome Svitlana Tsybak and you are all in for a real treat as you taste some fantastic wines. from small and medium sized wineries across Ukraine.   This is a tasting I think we will be talking about for a long time.   You will also be supporting the winemakers of Ukraine at what is a difficult time for their country.

Last time Tony presented to us, we had a fantastic evening tasting Spy Valley Wines, from New Zealand.  It was one of the best tastings that year.   So we have no hesitation in welcoming him back to taste a new selection from this prestigious winery.

It's been four years since we last welcomed Robert Boutflower to present to us. We had a great time on that occasion, so we have no hesitation in giving him the opportunity to talk to us again. Robert is a Director at Tanners Wine Merchants, a long established retailer, well known to many of our members. This time, Robert will present his selection of wines from Rioja. 

Tonight we will welcome Andrew Walker, Director of Solaris Wines, who is presenting to us for the first time. Solaris is an independent wine retailer and they are proud of that!  Andrew's aim is to seek out fascinating wines and passionate producers.  He has visited every vineyard on their list and knows each winemaker personally.  So we are sure to hear plenty about the personalities involved.  Andrew will present his choice of wines from Slovenia and Romania. 

This month we are delighted to welcome Aoife Curtin, who is presenting to us for the first time. Aoife is UK Brand Development Manager for South Africa's Journey's End winery.  She is a young and hugely enthusiastic ambassador for their winery. And she is excited about showing our members wines from across the winery's portfolio.   Regular members will know that I am always keen to offer our members an evening tasting wines from a single winery, as it gives the opportunity to explore the wines in more depth.