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WARE WINE & BEER CIRCLE |
| MEETINGS IN 2021 | |
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2021 November: Wines from Portugal by Mark Duce of Liberty Wines 14 members attended the meeting. Mark brought 7 interesting wines, including 2 ports, for the tasting. The wines were as follows -
The Circle’s president Dave K thanked Mark Duce for a very interesting talk and tasting. October: Home-made vs Commercial 11 members attended the meeting. Kevin had organised a comparative tasting of 3 commercial wines against home-made equivalents. All the commercial wines came from Lidl. A Chardonnay (Western Cape, S. Africa, 13%, £4.49) was compared with a Chardonnay style made by Elaine. Next was a Barolo (Italy, 14%, £11.99) which was compared with a Barolo style made by Chris. Lastly, a Shiraz (SE Australia, 13.5%, £3.99) was compared with a Shiraz style made by Peter R. Peter R then produced 4 bottles of very old home-made wine which he had been given by someone in Hoddesdon. These had been made by the donor's father and he was interested to know what we thought of them. The first was a Rosehip wine, made in 1976 and bottles in 1977; it had a caramel bouquet and was a bit acidic; some alcohol was present. The second wine was made from Sloes; made in 1975 and bottles in 1976; it was slightly sweet, but there little sloe taste or bouquet left. (Note - this one was disposed of the next day!) Finally, two different 'vintages' of 'Barley Mo'; they were both made in 1976 and bottled in 1977; the first bottle had been opened previously so there was some air-space; it was sweet but with a drying finish and a slightly Maderised taste; the second bottle was unopened and was also sweet. The recipe for this wine was unknown and the nearest one that Peter could find was a C J Berry recipe for Barley wine involving potatoes and lots of sugar! Peter plans to slightly fortify one of the wines to see if would then resemble a sherry! Most of the bottles were 2 pint beer bottles(?) with a screw cap, which did not appear to adversely affect the wine to any great degree. October: 33rd Central Counties Amateur Winemakers Federation Annual Show Five members of the Circle attended the CCAWF’s 33rd Annual Show at the Park Inn Hotel, Peterborough. As well as judging or stewarding various classes, the attending members had made numerous entries. Ware Circle members achieved the highest combination of points across all classes (excluding Judge and Circle classes) and the Circle was awarded the Scraptoft Trophy for circle with most points. Further major trophies awarded to Ware members were as follows: Elaine:- S Hobbs Trophy, most points in country wine classes; A Mitchell Trophy, best country wine Peter:- Judges Salver, best wine judges class Kevin:- Nuneaton Trophy, most points red wine classes; JJ Tompkins Trophy, most points social wine classes Chris:- Brian Edwards Memorial Trophy, best beer in show; C Vacuum Trophy, most points purpose wine classes In all a total of 15 first places were awarded to Peter, Elaine, Kevin, Chris & Carol and a combination of 79 other 2nd, 3rd and 4th places together with commended entries. The show and award ceremony were followed by an excellent evening dinner and dance, attended by Peter, Elaine, Chris and Carol. September: Bizarre Wine Labels by Elaine 12 members attended the meeting. Elaine gave a slide-show presentation of 'Bizarre Wine Labels', where the label on the bottle had nothing to do with wine! There was also a tasting of three wines from the presentation - La Vielle Ferme, a pleasant white wine from France; Jam Shed Rose, which rather sweet; and 19 Crimes red wine, reasonably full-bodied and very drinkable. More information about the convicts can be found here. Kevin thanked Elaine for her presentation. August: Annual BBQ 11 members attended the barbeque with thanks to Peter R and Elaine for hosting the event; the weather was dull but dry. Peter R manned the barbeque cooking chicken and sausages. The members all brought their own salads and desserts this year, due to the current restrictions, and also the weather, which has not been good for most of the summer. Therefore members would not get left with lots of salad etc if the event had to be cancelled at short notice. Photo Gallery August: Final of Country Wine Challenge, run by Elaine and Peter R In June a few members had a social chat via Zoom; in July a few members met in Peter and Margaret's garden for a socially-distanced chat. For the August meeting 10 members finally met at the Arts Centre for the long-postponed final of the Country Wine Challenge between Spain and Chile. Peter R had bought the wines on a trip to France in 2019, so the wines had time to mature! The list of the wines and information about them, and the score (how many members preferred each wine) can be found here. The winning country was Spain with 19 votes against Chile's 16. A different result to the online tasting run in April when Chile won. May: Virtual Quiz Nite with Elaine 13 members participated in the Zoom meeting including the quizmasters. Members were asked to be 'mute' while the questions were displayed. There were four rounds. Round 1 - 'Knights and Dames'; 10 photos of celebrities who have the honour of being a knight (sir) of a dame Round 2 - Logos; 14 images of well-known logos; 6 pairs of images, one of which was incorrect Round 3 - Celebrities; 20 images of celebrities; members were asked to name them and something that they were famous for; a bonus point was given for the link between them Round 4 - English Landmarks; 10 images of part of an English landmark for members to identify. The results were fairly close with Peter R and Margaret winning by 3 points, with Dave and Sue in second place and Kevin in third place. It is hoped that the June meeting may be held outside in a members' garden, weather permitting! April: Zoom meeting of the AGM followed by the 'Friendly' Final of the Countries Wine Challenge 15 members attended the meeting. The minutes of the 2019 AGM were accepted. Peter R. presented the Treasurer’s report by displaying the PowerPoint balance sheet and stating that as there had been very little income and expenditure during the past year, the club had a very healthy balance of circa £1146. Peter commented that the club’s annual subscriptions will not be required until meetings are resumed physically. The committee were re-elected en bloc, MC Black was accepted as Auditor, and Dave K will continue for another year as President. The Countries for the Wine Challenge final were Spain and Chile. This was a 'pre-season' friendly with the members attending each purchasing a bottle of wine from each country. Each wine was described by the members and at the end of the tasting they decided which wine they preferred. The wines were as follows: Wines from Chile Dave and Sue - Cono Sur Bicicletta Sauvignon Blanc 2020 12.5% £6 Tesco Eddie - Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2019 12.5% £6.50 Morrisons Peter and Elaine - Cono Sur Bicicletta Reisling 2020 13% £7.50 Tesco Robert and Susan - Casillero de Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2020 13% £6.50 Asda Chris and Carol - Casillero de Diablo Malbec 2020 13% £6 Tesco Kevin - Casillero de Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 13.5% £2.25 (187cl) Sainsbury Peter and Margaret - Central Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 £3.89 Tesco Richard and Emma - Central Valley Estevez Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 13% £5.49 Aldi Wines from Spain - Dave and Sue - Vina Sol blend of Paralada and Grenache Blanc 2019 12% £6 Tesco Eddie - Sauvignon Blanc 2020 12% £5.50 Morrisons Peter and Elaine - Vinas Del Rey Albarino 2020 12.5% £8.50 Tesco Robert and Susan - Sauvignon Blanc 2020 12% £5.50 Morrisons (same as Eddie) Chris and Carol - Campo de Borca Garnacha 2019 14% £5 Tesco Kevin - Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 12.5% £1.50 (187cl) Sainsbury Peter and Margaret - Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 £1.50 (187cl) Tesco (same as Kevin) Richard and Emma - Torro Loco blend of Bobal, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 12.5% £4.99 Aldi The winner was Chile with a resounding score of 11-3. It will be interesting to see what the result is when we are able to have the real final. March: National Show at Coventry The 2021 show has been cancelled due to the current Coronavirus situation. March: Virtual Winetasting via Zoom 14 members attended the meeting. Members purchased, mostly from supermarkets, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of Shiraz/Syrah. The wines were as follows: Peter and Elaine - Sauvignon Blanc, Barefoot from California, 13%; Shiraz, Casillero del Diablo Reserva from Chile 2019 13.5% Kevin - Sauvignon Blanc, Vandra from France in a 250ml can, 12%; Shiraz, McGuigan Estate SE Australia 2019 13% 250ml bottle Peter and Margaret - Sauvignon Blanc, Pedro Ximenez Chile 2020 12%; Shiraz, SE Australia 14% Chris and Carol - Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, SE Australia 2020 12.5%; Shiraz - as Peter and Margaret Eddie - Sauvignon Blanc, Brancottes Estate Marlborough New Zealand 2020 12.5% Richard and Emma - Sauvignon Blanc, GreyWacke Marlborough New Zealand 2020 13.5&; Shiraz, Petit Ours Cote du Rhone 2019 13.5% Dave and Sue - Sauvignon Blanc, Oxford Landing, SE Australia Murray River, 2020 10.5%; Shiraz, Yellow Tail SE Australia, 2020 13.5% Robert and Susan - Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, France 12.5%; Shiraz, First Cape S. Africa 13.5% In general, everyone enjoyed the wines that they had bought, with a slight preference for the Sauvignon Blanc over the Shiraz. February: Virtual meeting Members met for a virtual meeting via Zoom. Carol gave a short talk about some liqueurs that she had been making. Chris was the only member able to taste and provide comments, unfortunately. A liqueur to avoid, apparently, was cucumber! Sue Fergus gave a short talk on some 'gins' she had made from a gin making kit she had been given for Christmas. Discussions followed regarding what we could do for future meetings. March will be a wine tasting whereby members will purchase a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and a bottle of Shiraz/Syrah and we will each describe the wines. In April we will have our AGM and May will possibly be a quiz nite. January: Virtual meeting Members met via Zoom for a virtual meeting and social chat. |
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For further information, contact:
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Last updated:
17/01/23 |
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Copyright: 2001 WWBC |