Brazil’s wine regions, particularly Serra Gaúcha, Campanha, and Vale dos Vinhedos, have been
gaining international recognition for their excellent wines. The unique terroir, characterised
by high altitudes, diverse soil types, and a favourable climate, contributes to the distinct
flavours and quality of Brazilian wines.
Winemakers in these regions have embraced modern techniques while respecting traditional
methods, resulting in a variety of wines that are both innovative and rooted in heritage. Whether
you’re a fan of reds, whites, or sparkling wines, Brazilian vineyards offer a delightful and diverse
tasting experience. And this month members of the Upton Wine Club had the opportunity to
sample some of the best with Michael Corfe presenting some of his most popular wines from
his company, Go Brazil!  Michael has been visiting Brazil for over 15 years
and bringing wine back to the UK for us to try. If you are looking for something a little different,
that you will not find in most places you commonly buy wine, then look no further!
We had over 30 members at the Upton Village Hall this month, tasting sparkling wines, whites and
reds. One of the things, members found most interesting was the suggested food pairing of
some of the wines. For example, if you are looking for something to pair with a some spicy Asian
food, then it would be worth trying the Don Guerino “vintage” Torreontes. Light in alcohol, so
the spices don’t burn your mouth but high in floral notes and unoaked, which compliments the
intense food flavours. On another note, if you like wines from northern Italy, then you might want to
try the Don Guerino “Origine 1880” Teroldego, where the grapes originated from NE Italy, giving
some new world influence to an old world grape variety!
The Upton Wine club is all about trying something a little different with friends from the village and
having a nice social evening. There is no need to have any knowledge of wine but the hope is that
after a while, you will become a little more confident when sitting at a restaurant table and
offered the wine list or when you walk into an aisle of wine and are wondering what you should select!
If you’d like to see what wines we tasted this month or are interested in coming along to the
club please take a look at our website. You need no knowledge of wine, just an interest in trying it!!
On Wednesday 20th November we are starting to get into the festive spirit by offering some sparkling
wines, ports and one or two other surprises you might like to try over the next month or two!
Please check out our website for more details

This season marks the 20th Anniversary of our Wine Club in Upton and after the obligatory AGM,
we started the year by looking at some myths and facts about wine that could be of use to us all! Here
are a few things we discussed during the evening.You may have put a silver spoon in an opened
bottle of fizz and put it in the fridge, to drink it a few days later … in reality, it’s probably the cold
that is preserving the bubbles not the spoon! Putting a stopper in the top and keeping it upright
in the fridge (ideally not in the door, which will disturb the wine every time you open it) is likely to
give you a few extra drinking days!Like many things, we are more confident in trying
and recommending something if it has been personalised to us. There are a few wine apps in
the market now that will give you information on your wine just from taking a photo of the label and
if you give some feedback on your preferences, it will make recommendations on similar wines you
might like to try. I like everything about a Chardonnay from Burgundy except the price, so
my app suggested trying South African Chardonnay’s, where there are some exceptional
wines at a very good price!
Do all wines improve with age? Well, in a word no! Broadly, the wine needs to contain a stabilizer to
allow it to last for several years. For red wines, these are tannins and for white wines, a high
degree of acidity, sugar or alcohol to help preserve it over time. Over the years, wine will soften and
change in complexity and colour. Some wines for example need to age by law: for example, a Rioja.
Crianza will have been stored before bottling for a minimum of 24 months, while a Gran Reserva will
need storing for a minimum of 60 months! Both spending some time in oak barrels, which give it
an added layer of flavour and complexity.If you’d like to see what wines we tasted this
month or are interested in coming along to the club please take a look at our website. You need no
knowledge of wine, just an interest in trying it!!
Next month we have Nicholas Corfe from Go Brazil taking us through some exceptional wines from
Brazil. I hope you can join us on Wednesday 16th October at the village hall at 8:00 pm

This season will be the Wine Club’s 20th
anniversary, and it continues to represent a core
part of our village. The season starts at 8pm on 18th
September with the usual formalities of an AGM
but will quickly move on to our first theme,
busting some myths about wine. We are going to
take a light-hearted look at some popular myths
about wine and check them out ourselves. Such as.
.. does wine always taste better with age?… Are
screw caps inferior to cork?… and is red wine
healthier than white?
Membership runs from September to June will be
£15 per person; these fees go towards the hire of
the hall and subsidising the wine and food we have
each month. If you would like to “try before you
buy” and/or know someone who would like to
come along to the Wine Club and try an evening
out before joining, non-members can join us for
up to 2 meetings per year by paying a £5
supplement in addition to that month’s meeting
fees. If you know anyone who might be interested,
please do let them know!

Most monthly meetings, we have some members from our committee
talking about wine, often with a story that in weaved in-between each
wine that cleverly links the theme and the evening together. Several times
each year however, we invite external speakers to come and tell us about
their wine. This month saw the return of Tim and Jill North, from Joie de
Vin, an on-line wine business they set up over 10 years ago. They specialise
in going over to France and finding small producers, who often only supply
their local areas due to the small volume of wine they make and convincing
them to sell a few crates so they can bring them back to the UK for us to
try.
There are many hundreds of grape varieties that are used to produce wine.
We could all probably name a dozen or so of the main varieties however,
just because you know a certain grape, don’t assume that it only has one
flavour! Tim took us through some wines to show just that!
By way of an example, our first two wines were from the Chenin Blanc
grape. One wine was made by fermenting the grapes in a steel tank (very
common method for producing lighter, crisp wines) and the second had
spent some of the fermentation process in oak barrels. The difference
was very noticeable – the same grape, from the same region and made by
the same producer but with the influence of oak on the second wine, came
a stronger flavour, with notes of caramel and vanilla that you would expect
form wine that had spent some time in a barrel. You might hear people
referring to these style of wines as being more complex….because they
have had extra processes in production but also because there is more to
the wine…it seems to last longer “on the nose” and there is typically more
flavours you pick up when tasting.
Another example was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre region in the
north of France. Sancerre has become famous for producing a specific
style of crisp, highly acidic white wine from this grape that reflects the
cooler climates and flint soil where the grapes grow. Just like other
regions you may know such as Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape, the wine
commands a high value because of it’s regional popularity. Tim had found
one producer that wanted to challenge that particular style. Allowing the
grapes to spend more time during fermentation in contact with the natural
yeast, stems, pips etc (this is known as spending more time on the lees),
the wine took on a totally different complexity and when combined with
some Oak, again produced a much softer wine that many would not have
assumed was from Sancerre.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with some excellent wines. So if,
for example you are a person that has said before “I’m an ABC wine
drinker….”Anything But Chardonnay” – I urge you to look again and see if
you can find something a little different (try a Chardonnay from Chablis
for example!) you might just surprise yourself!
Next month we have wines being presented by some of our club members.
It will be a great evening full of why some wines have just become firm
favorites – which rarely has anything to do with how they have been
made! If you would like to come along then all our details can be found
on our website: www.uptonwineclub.co.uk
Ian
UWAC Chairman