Condor is a UK-based independent specialist importer of Argentine, Chilean and Uruguayan wines. and was awarded ‘Specialist Merchant of the Year (South America)’ by the International Wine Challenge in 2019. Tonight we welcome Condor's Regional Manager, Aaron Irons. He's worked in the wine trade since 2007 and at Condor since 2019. Aaron also holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits.
Some of you will remember Nik Darlington, who presented to us a few years ago when he was at Red Squirrel Wine. Nik has now created Pip, an independent wine merchant based just down the down from us in Seale near Farnham. It's a local wine shop, run by locals, for locals - with around 200 wines on the shelves. Tonight Nik will present his pick of Pip's best selling wines, so there will be something for everyone.
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. We expect the sun to be shining in June, so we've chosen a summer theme of sparkling wines for our evening. Robert has selected 8 of Tanner's top sparkling wines, all of which demonstrate their own individual style and character and all of which are excellent value for money.
This month we welcome Dan Farrell-Wright, who is presenting to us for the first time. Dan is a Director of Wickhams, an online wine merchant. They're a relatively new company, having been started during the first Covid lockdown. Since then they have been shortlisted for two Decanter Retail Awards and they've won a Gold Trusted Service Award from Feefo. Dan will be presenting a selection of wines from Italy, so this should be popular with most of our members!
It's been four years since Simon Taylor last presented to us, so we are delighted to be able to welcome him back this month. Simon is owner of merchant Stone Vine & Sun, near Winchester, and one of our most popular speakers. Stone Vine & Sun specialises in the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon and they have been shortlisted for the award of Specialist Merchant for Languedoc-Roussillon 2022 by the International Wine Challenge. So we thought it would make a great evening if Simon presented wines exclusively from this region of France.
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Edgmond Wines has been operating for over 7 years now and in that time they have been privileged to work with a number of boutique winemakers who they now consider close friends. Their owner Preet Sahota is young and very enthusiastic and usually visits South Africa every year to discover what's new. He has enormous passion for the wines of South Africa and he believes their winemakers produce some of the most exciting wines on the planet. Tonight, Preet will present a selection of fine wines from boutique winemakers. These are typically wines which are produced on a small scale, limited-production, hand-crafted and artisanal.
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This month we will be tasting wines from Cambridge Wine Merchants, a merchant we've not previously featured at the Society. Cambridge Wine Merchants started with one shop in Cambridge and have grown to become one of the biggest independent wine merchants in the UK. Our presenter is Robbie Rugman, who some may recall presented Gallo wines to us a few years back. Robbie has been with Cambridge Wine Merchants since the end of 2021. This time Robbie will compare wines from Australia and the Old World.
We've been alerted by The Raven that our regular second Wednesday slot coincides with the semi-final of the upcoming football World Cup. The Raven expect the whole premises to be flooded with footie fans, so it's just not going to be practical for us to try to hold a tasting at the same time. So there will be no tasting in December. The Members' Choices evening originally planned for December will now take place in February.
Washington is the second largest wine producing state in the USA. So it's perhaps surprising that our Society has not had a tasting of Washington State wines in the past. We'll put that right this month as we welcome Craig Mitchell, who is European Ambassador for Chateau Ste. Michelle winery. The winery is the oldest in Washington State, initially named Ste. Michelle Vintners, but changed its name to Chateau Ste. Michelle in 1976 following the building of a French style chateau in Woodinville, just outside Seattle. The winery aims to build on old world winemaking traditions with new world innovation.
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. I'm confident that we can expect to taste some great wines! The evening will start with a brief Annual General Meeting.