The start of a new year is always an exciting time for me as it gives me the opportunity to look back on the highlights of last year’s Wine Club – the tastings, dinners and meeting with our Masters of Wine to choose the perfect wines for the Wine Club cases! It also gives me a chance to think about all the exciting events and new wines we can look forward to this year.

The Wine Club Walkaround tasting is the first event on the Wine Club calendar every year, and I always look forward to seeing our regular attendees and meeting new members for the first time. Last year’s Walkaround theme was a preview of the May cases, which gave members a chance to try the wines from every Wine Club case. It also gave them the opportunity to meet the buying team who love getting direct feedback from the people who drink the wines they choose.

At the annual Wine Club Dinner in July we enjoyed a delicious five-course menu designed by Head Chef Stewart Turner, featuring seasonal summer dishes including a tasting of veal with asparagus and strawberry Pavlova with a wild strawberry sorbet, black pepper and basil. Each course was accompanied by wines chosen by our host, Alun Griffiths MW, who introduced each wine with some background information. It was a great chance to meet some new faces and catch up with members I’d met before at previous dinners and tastings.

As the Wine Club’s main focus is to teach members more about the wines they’re drinking, these events are invaluable in increasing wine knowledge through comparing wines and also food and wine matching. Tasting the wines for each Wine Club case every other month means my wine knowledge is always improving, and with the help of our talented buyers I’ve discovered some fantastic and unusual wines that I might not have chosen off the shelf.

The buying team and I are putting a lot of work into making 2012 the best year yet for Wine Club. As well as our annual events, we are going to treat members to new wines in the Berrys’ range ahead of other customers, as well as use feedback from members to improve Club benefits like the discount scheme and the tasting notes that accompany each and every case.

Make learning about wine new your New Year’s resolution and join Wine Club.