Well, I think I can safely say the WINEntwine Christmas Party went very well with all in attendance enjoying the evening’s activities and learning a bit about the method behind wine tasting. The Aroma Wheel was a valuable tool helping to work out what the senses were reminiscing. It was also great for the second month running to see new faces at the event. Long may this continue…
We began the evening with the excellent Chenin Blanc from South Africa, and I am very pleased to say that this was your favourite white of the three you tasted. It made a respectable 27.5 out of 50.
The other two scores were; for the Bolfan Reisling 24.5 and the Esk Valley Verdelho 11.5. (Something has definitely gone wrong somewhere along the line with regards to the Esk Valley as after discussing the results with James our contact at the supplier, we have been advised that this wine is highly respected around the world and is regarded as one of the best examples of this area of New Zealand. This can be backed up by the Silver medal they hold from the Hawkes Bay A&P Mercedes Benz Wine Awards 2010 (NZ).) This only highlights how wine can one day be a star and on another be a failure…
Moving on to the reds we started with the Merlot from the Strawberry Hill Winery in Gloucestershire and on the result of your scores find that it is the lowest scored red with 23.5 out of 50.
The next we tasted was the highest scoring red. It was the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and on this result shows the valley lives up to its name ‘the land of plenty’ and why Cab is the most famous and widely grown red varietal in the world. Its score was a respectable 33 out of 50.
The final wine we tasted was the Polo Amateur Bonarda from the ever influential Argentina and the second favourite red of the night. It scored 26 out of 50.
The two winning wines and links to our suppliers page for them will be posted on our twitter feeds. But not only that they will be entered into our Wine League which already has two entrants from November’s event. You will be kept informed as the league grows and we will advise you when the Final to find the best of the White and the best of the Red will be held later next year.
After checking through the tasting note sheets and matching your answers to the wine makers tasting notes, it was a bit hit and miss, but that is to be expected as it takes a long time for anyone to be able to pinpoint exactly what a wine is expressing in both the nose and on the palate. This is why we should all give ourselves the best chance to experience the journey by tasting correctly and more enthusiastically instead of just chucking it down our necks. However there is one person who did stand out and was able to use the aroma wheel to good effect as well as read what their taste buds were telling them, and that was Denise Willman.
The final tasting game of the evening was a blind tasting and well done to four of you who guessed correctly that the ‘Wine or not a wine, that is the “?”’ was Port! They were Justine Lawson, Karen Riddle, Max Burgess (who were near each other so great ‘teamwork’ ladies and gent) and our much loved regulars, Chris Da Silva and his lovely wife Mary.
The 2nd blind tasting proved to be more difficult, the only person to guess correctly the nationality of the “French, Spanish, Italian or English? sparkling was Mark Curtis with a correct guess of ‘Italian’ (all those trips to Italy have paid off Mark!)
There are no prizes for these tasting games, however you can now sleep tonight rest assured that you have a little more knowledge than the others.
The competition winner of The Louis Roederer Champagne and two glass gift set was;
Carol Munro, Director of Argentum Financial Planning Ltd.
And here she is looking very pleased with her winnings alongside our very own Julia Searle of WINEntwine looking more pleased than usual to be relinquishing a bottle of Champagne.
And finally here is the latest news on the Event Entrance Points System League Table
The latest points are in and have been added to the leader board
The top five are as follows:
|
Networker |
No of Events |
Points |
Avg. Per Event |
| Max Burgess |
2 |
10 |
5 |
| Chris Da Silva |
2 |
6 |
3 |
| Mark Curtis |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| Karl Ayling |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| Justine Lawson |
1 |
3 |
3 |
As you can see the early leader after two events is Max Burgess and no, it is not fixed. It is early days though so everyone has a chance to catch him up over the next 10 events.
Here is a little reminder on what this is about, how it works and what the final table leader will be eligible for.
It is part of the Non Membership Package we have introduced as part of the new opportunities with WINEntwine going in to 2012.
This is how it is set up:
- Event Entrance Points System
- A discounted purchase price of wines from our events presented throughout the year(delivery not included)
- Newsletter and special offers
Event Entrance Points System: 1 point for attending, 2 bonus points for each of your guests who purchases a tasting card, 3 bonus points if one of your guests is the designated driver, *4 bonus points if you use the train to and from the venue, **5 bonus points if you use our preferred taxi firm to and from the venue.
*Please show your ticket on entering, **Please leave a business card with the driver so we may check on this
At end of 12 months the Point System league winner will earn for the next year a free Exclusive Membership to the WINEntwine Business Networking Events in a Social Atmosphere with a hint of Wine Education but above all FUN!
More information on this and our other exciting Membership, Sponsorship and Advertising opportunities will be available to you soon.
If you do have any feedback on the events you have attended recently or would like to find out where to purchase any of the wines you have tasted or would just like to talk with us please contact the team on the number below or contact Daniel via email on sales@winentwine.co.uk.
Until the next time, Sniff, Swill, Sniff and Taste!
Team WINEntwine 0808 1988331

