Wine Appreciation
Meetings - October to July, see below for dates and venues
2.00pm to 4:0pm at The Denvilles Club, Havant unless stated otherwise, see below.
Contact: Geoff Worthington 023 9241 3277, click onto the Bluebird, top RH corner, to send Geoff a message
Steve Cook and Nick Haward will be sharing the leadership of the group with Geoff and David Booth will be our accountant.
The venue for most of our meetings is now a very comfortable room on the ground floor of The Denvilles Club, 33 Emsworth Road, Havant, PO9 2SN. It is on a good bus route and there is ample free car parking. In addition there will two meetings, December and July, at Geoff & Val Worthington's home, Flint Cottage, Rowlands Castle.
Meeting dates are as follows (all Tuesdays):
2019 - October 15th, November 19th, December 10th (Flint Cottage)
2020 - January 21st (with option of a food and wine lunch at Chef Sam's), February 18th, March 17th, April 21st, May 19th, June 16th, July 21st (Flint Cottage).
The group will discuss as many characteristics of wine and wine making as we have interest and time to cover. The intent this year is to include some of the less common grape varieties, possibly ones that you have yet to try at home. Following the discussion several wines will be tasted. Drivers are asked to discard surplus in the bowls provided. Members are asked to bring a minimum of two wine glasses.
Suggested topics:
- Studying the characteristics of grape varieties
- Single grape varieties and blended wines
- Legislation with respect to bottle content and labelling
- Which countries grow grapes on a commercial scale, why and how
- The relevance of terroir (soil, climate, etc)
- Seeking insight into the the complexity of the wine making processes and the effect of the wine makers decisions on the resultant product
- Quantifying what we like and don't like about a specific wine.
- Price, quality and value
- Making new friends
- Responsible drinking!
The success of the meetings and the longevity of the group is dependent upon some Members, other than the convener (currently Geoff Worthington) choosing the wine and leading the discussion. At our first meeting of the new U3A year in October this will be discussed, ideally we need at least three meetings with presentations from group members other than the convener. If funds allow an external wine expert will be asked to one or more meetings.
The group will share the cost of the wine consumed, expected to average £4.50 per member per meeting unless the meeting decides to spend more. Additional costs are room hire and nibbles. The room hire cost will be £224 (7 x £32.00) if the group decides to take lunch in Chef Sam's restaurant (see footnote) in January, £256 (8 x £32.0) if not. The room charge will be collected at the first meeting (or by mail (cheque) or BACS if you cannot attend). Late joiners will be charged for the room cost pro rata with their room contributions added to the wine fund. Nibbles (crackers, cheese, etc will average about 50p per person per meeting.
In summary - about £10.00 up front for the room hire plus £5.00 per meeting for the wine and the nibbles. The meetings in December and July will include lunch and an additional charge will be made for this.
Note: Lunch option - Chef Sam's on January 21st. This is instead of the regular meeting and will approximate to about £20.00 per member for food (actual cost dependant upon menu choice) plus an additional charge made for wine. The intent is to have an external speaker to talk to us about wine and food.