Let’s Have A Wine-Tasting!

A Wine-Tasting Event, London – Thursday February 12th

Any Chain Gangers in London? Pay attention!

I was delighted to learn that the eldest son of one of my closest friends has started a ‘side-hustle’ right out of The Chain Gang’s playbook.

Calum is 32, and I’ve known him for 32 years. Through his Dad, an old friend, Calum long ago developed an interest in wine, and has taken it rather further than I ever did – working at a vineyard in the Catalan region of the Languedoc, and recently earning a Distinction at Level 3 in the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WTES). He recently set up the ‘Fellowship of the Vine’ (a London-based Wine Club). They host ‘…relaxed, thoughtfully curated tastings that bring people together to explore interesting wines in good company.’ The aim is to be welcoming, social, and unpretentious!

Their first tasting was held shortly before Christmas: Clos Encounters (Lesser known regions of France). This is what piqued my interest – there was such an interesting range of wines.

(Click here for the wine list from their first event)

A dry white wine from Bonnezeaux in the Loire Valley; a white wine from 650 metres above sea-level in the Cotes Catalanes in Languedoc; ‘blouge’ wines from Brouilly in Beaujolais – the vinification of a blend of Chardonnay and Gamay grapes, white & red, blanc et rouge = blouge.

I love this kind of thing – when we visit vineyards in Bordeaux, or Burgundy, Chianti, Motalcino, the growers are obliged to follow appellation rules, because ‘declassifying’ means losing all the marketing heft of their prestigious etiquettes (wine labels), so nobody dares. In Languedoc, you can afford to experiment. And they have – good on them!

Stranger Vines

Their 2nd wine tasting event is, I think, another banger. ‘Stranger Vines’ – Wines from surprising countries around the world. It’s being held in London on Thursday February 12th. It was no surprise to see a wine from Lebanon’s Bekka valley included, The Lebanon has a long reputation for producing fine wines, from a combination of French, Mediterranean and indiginous grape varieties. But they’ll also be tasting wines from Poland, Brazil, Morocco, and ‘a mystery country you would never expect’.

If you can, go. If I can, I’ll be going. £39.50 per person, it’ll be fun, interesting, and you’re pretty much bound to taste a wine you’ve never heard of. I think I know the mystery country, and I certainly didn’t expect it!

You have to be able to get to London NW10, about 1 mile North of Notting Hill.

Click this link for details, and tickets.

Most of us don’t live in London – the best I can do is to ask Calum to report back.

Cheers!