Broadening your vinous horizons isn’t the only part of Wine Club. We firmly believe that talking about (and sharing an opinion over) a glass can enhance your enjoyment and appreciation of wine.

Bringing members together is a great way to get the discussions going so on the evening of Monday 26^th March, 100 Wine Club members and their guests were invited to the Napoleon Cellar for the annual Wine Club Walkaround tasting.

Members of the Wine Club buying team were on hand to pour the wines and talk guests through the range. It’s a great opportunity for members to speak to some of the leading lights of the wine trade (how often can you pick a Master of Wine’s brain?) but equally, it’s interesting for the buyers to hear direct feedback from members about the wines on show.

David Berry Green, one of our buyers now based in Italy seeking out new wines for Berrys, said:

‘I was really encouraged by the response to the range of new Italian wines presented to Wine Clubbers: from the sunny and salty Sardinian Altea Illotto Bianco; the peachy minerally Timorasso from Piedmont’s La Colombera; the refreshing soft berry roll of Laiolo Reginin’s Barbera d’Asti; and Puglia’s juicy fresh 2007 Primitivo Gioia del Colle from Pietraventosa. Perhaps I was dreaming but I’m sure someone said it was the best table!’

We showed 20 wines, across five tables, from the upcoming Club cases to give members a sneak preview of what to expect in this month’s delivery. As usual, the selection on show mirrored the diverse selection in each Club case, with an emphasis on the traditional wine producing regions of France, Italy and Spain.

I hope that those who came enjoyed the evening as much as I did. Chatting to some new faces as well as catching up with long standing members who attend this event faithfully each year made the two hours fly by. I managed to narrow down the 20 wines to my top five favourites on the night:

2007 Condado De Haza, Ribera Del Duero, Spain
2006 Ch. Talbot, St Julien, Bordeaux
2010 Ch. La Garde Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeax
2007 St Joseph, Silice, Domaine Coursodon
2009 Derthona, Colli Tortonesi, La Colombera, Piedmont

Wine Club events are exclusive to Wine Club members and their guests. If you’d like to discover more about Wine Club please visit our website.