The October meeting was a little earlier than usual due to the Brownies extravaganza. This meeting was on unusual, none classic grape varieties, to find some uncommon wines for us to try.

We began with a very nice Vega de la Verdejo 2008 from Spain. The grape variety the Verdejo, from the Rueda region of Spain, this was a popular wine with a light green citrus flavour, very good in the summer months with out door eating, from Majestic £5.99 for 2 bottles or more. The second white was a Marsanne from the Paul Mas Estate 2009, this retails again, from Majestic for around £7.99 for 2 bottles or more. A very floral intense flavour, almost waxy at times, the Marsanne grape is normally used as a blend in Cote du Rhone, and is unusual to find on its own, but very nice.

The reds were as interesting a straight Grenache from Naked wines Domaine Crista Vin de Payes Grenache Organic 2009. I personally love this grape and enjoyed this wine – a long finish and a bit liquorish in flavour, but good. The next wine to mention was the Araldica Albera 2007 Barbera d’Asti Piedmont, the grape variety Barbera an Italian grape, I used to drink this in my youth in Manchester, in a very nice little Italian Bistro. This was a bargain at £4.99 from Waitrose, very popular on the evening. Fiona who has an excellent palate recommended that it may well benefit from another year in the bottle and if sampling now to open quite a while before serving to let in breath. However if I know Uptonites, it won’t last the week never mind a year!

The November meeting offers us a new perspective; a French grower is coming to talk to us about his wines from the Carcassonne, Languedoc Roussillon region if he lands in time hope to see you all then.

Chris Traynor

Welcome back to everyone, I hope you all had a good summer break and now back to the hard part of life in Upton – drinking wine. Mike Collins hosted the first meeting with a cheap and cheerful look at wine for under £6, quite a challenge with the strength of the pound. The first wine was a tickle your taste buds number, to aide us through the annual general meeting. A sparkling wine from Hungary, not know for its frivolity! But this wine hit the mark Chapel Hill Sparkling Chardonnay-Pinot Noir Brut 12%, light and enjoyable, (Waitrose) and has good credits as it won a Silver Wine Medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

This was followed by a very good Riesling from the banks of Bio Bio river in Chile 13.5% high alcoholic content for a Riesling, I really enjoyed this, available from the wine society.

The reds were as interesting as ever, starting with a French full red from the wine society, very robust at 13.5%, a good little all rounder, swiftly followed by the wine society’s Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 13% was also interesting from a vineyard on the Italian Adriatic, half way down the boot bit of Italy, and then the Daddy of them all Icarus Gravity Shiraz, Maclaren Vale at 14.5% you need to be grateful for the earths gravity pull to keep you near the ground and too much of this and you may float off and come down with a bump, again from the wine society.

Next month is a little different as Kevin and myself, (must have been a little light headed when I volunteered for this) are looking at lesser known grape variety’s hope to see you, book early as it is on the 13^th of October.

Chris Traynor

This was another entertaining and interesting evening from Ian Hewson, of The WINEMAN on the wines from Italy. We have visited this country’s vines several times before but as they appear to have an incredible number of grape varieties it is no hardship to visit again, and he always brings good food. Ian was concentrating on modern Italian wines.

We started with a lovely light Prosecco, Durello Prosecco Colli Vicentini Vento. This was from a very small co- operative that has tried to improve the quality of the wine by paying the small land owners to tend for their hectares, rather than the quantity of grapes, thus producing less grapes but a far greater quality grape, hence better wine. This wine went down well, light and would be lovely on a summer evening.

The next wine was a Fiano/ Grecco 2009 by A Mano from Puglia, that little bit of Italy on the heel; I believe exceptionally pleasant to visit. This was a very nice wine at a very agreeable price £7.99, well recommended. The next wine was even better, from the lake Garda region a Lugana 2009 Ca dei Frati Vento, £13.99.  I thought this was an exceptional wine from a very well established vineyard that apparently has hordes of Europeans queuing at the gates to purchase the wines. The next wine, a Merlot, was disappointing light not very appetising.  We then went on to a Montepuciano d’Abruzzo DOCG Treamane 2008 Gran Sasso, and then its older brother a Montepuciano d’Abruzzo DOCG 2005. The first was good the second even better, due to the being left in oak barrels for longer. The next meeting is the Call My Bluff evening, see you all there.

Chris Traynor                                                                                                               24th May 2010

We had excellent turnout for the April wine meeting, with almost 50 villagers and guest attending. We where expecting our Gaelic neighbours to attend but due to an unforeseen eruption in Iceland, we got Kevin who gamely stepped into the breech, to host the evening. The wines for the evening came from the vineyard of Joost de Villebois, very French! Joost has only been making wine since 1996 after finishing his training at the University of Bordeaux. The winery, Villbois is based in the Loire Valley with its wonderful calciferous soil, which gives rise to the crisp brilliant flavours of the wines produced in this region.

We began with a sparkling wine Villebois Cremant, quite sweet but would be nice on a summers evening as an aperitif, £12.49 or £8.30 with cash back. Then we tried a further 4 white wines, a Petit Villebois which quite a few people liked a Sauvignon Blanc, most people found this pleasant and good value at £5.99 with cash back. We then went onto the Villebois Brut which is made from 100% chenin grape, slightly more expensive at £8.33 cash back, then followed a Sancerre which every one thought was good value at£9.30 cash back.

Then a Rose which I thought was very weak, and lacked body. Then a Chinon which was not good, very light no punch at all, then a Malbec which was indeed very pleasant and at £7.66 cash back good value. All of the wines can be bought exclusively at Naked Wines, and the cash back is a good system of value for money wines, if anyone would like more information please ask Kevin or Frankie or even Chris. Next month it is Ian, the Wine man I think wines of Italy, hope to see you.

Chris Traynor

UPTON WINE CLUB MEETING

The February Wine Club meeting was an energetic and very informative evening by Simon on the wines of California.

During the early part of 20^th century America had a very healthy wine industry nearly all concentrated in California, and then prohibition. The wine industry was decimated and there was a 94% reduction in wine production. Moonshine however did very well, as did organised crime. But the story has a happy ending and from the 1930’s through to the 1970’s wine production revived, and in many peoples opinion America has become one of the great producers, and consumers of wine.

Simon devised the evening so the members could taste two wines of the same grape variety and compare. The first was a Carltidge and Brown Chardonnay from the wine society, and a Brown Ranch Chardonnay. The first was very smooth and buttery with a hint of oak, and the second a much fresher and fruity product. Both of these wines where liked by the group. Then we hit the reds, and did they pack a punch. The two Zinfandel’s where both very palatable but the second, a Joseph Swann Stellwagen, was exceptionally powerful and should not be drunk near a naked flame, for fear of combustion – 15.5% proof!

The two Pinot Noir where good and the second of these, a Sainsbury Pinot Noir from Majestic, was favoured. The Cabernets where again considered to be very palatable, and strong on flavour with not too much tannin these were the wine society’s Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon and a Mondavia Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The evening was well received and we would all like to thank Simon for his hard work in producing such an insight into Californian wine. Next month it is Derek and the wines of Portugal.

Chris Traynor

WINE CLUB MEETING JANUARY 2010

Hello and a happy new year to every one at the wine club and thanks again to the tremendous support, nearly 50 of you signed up for this months meeting, nice to see a few guests as well. The wines this month were from South Africa, and presented by Frankie and Kevin with aplomb, and plenty of vigour. We had 9 wines to taste from a Petit Blanc to a wonderful Shiraz. The first Wine of the evening was the Vondeling Petit Blanc, made by Mathew Copeland a very nice pleasant to drink white, unwooded and at £5.99 a bargain, followed by a wonderful Viognier, a good example of this grape but Viognier is not to everyone’s taste, and has a more complex taste, dry and fragrant but with a bitter after taste at times. I love it but not everyone does, but an excellent example of the grape variety.

The reds started off with a good Pinotage, an excellent example of the wine, not a complex wine but a pleasant taste, and I venture to say could even be served slightly chilled, for the summer similar to some Beaujolais’s.

The most expensive wine of the evening was the Sterhuis Astra Red at £21.99 this is a dear wine a blend of Merlot and Cabernet, I did not feel this was worth the price tag, expensive as so little is produced only 125 cases, but the general opinion was not worth the money.

The best wine of the evening by far in my opinion and several other peoples was the Manley Shiraz, produced in the Tulbagh region of the Cape, this is a deep complex wine with good lasting flavours and should be savoured, and at 14.6% a very alcoholic beverage. All the wines where sourced from the Naked Wine company, which is an online organisation, if you need to know more please speak to Kevin and Frankie.

See you all next month when Simon will be running away with the budget with Californian wines, hope to see you all there.

Chris Traynor

November Meeting

The wine club had a change of venue for this event, very different and extremely cosy, we had more people attend than at any other time so thanks for your support. The evening was entertaining and informative as ever. Ian Hewson attended with his annual presentation of wines for Christmas. He began with a Picoul de Pinet 2008, from the Languedoc, this was an extremely pleasant white, refreshing and light, good with seafood especially crustacean. The Champagne that followed was equally well appreciated, although some felt that it did not last long on the palate and the bubbles disappeared rather too quickly to make it a classic. We then compared the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Southern Lights with the Jean Reverdy Sancerre 2008. There was a pretty even split among the members, as to preference if it helps the Sauvignon was £3 dearer. The next revelation was a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon from Castilla Spain, I personally liked this wine, but in a blind tasting I do not think I would have recognised it as a Cabernet, very smooth more like a merlot, but very nice none the less. The piece de resistance was the Ribera del Duero Reserva Bodegas Valduera, in my humble opinion, the best wine of the evening, delicious, but a little pricey at £23!!! – but you get what you pay for as they say. The final wine was a desert wine from Australia very spicy and wintery but very popular, a few of us decided to purchase this Seppeltsfield Rutherglen Muscat Cellar No 9.

Hope to see you all next month on the 9^th for Williams take on Champagne.

Chris Traynor

Well here we go again I hope every one has rested their vital organs over the summer, by that I mean your taste and olfactory senses, for the next wave of aromas and flavours to hit your palates. We would like to welcome all old members who have rejoined and a special welcome to new members. I hope that they will have as much fun as we have had over the past few years. The first meeting was a sampling session to try to tell the difference if any between the same grape varieties, produced in different countries or different areas in the same country/continent this proved as challenging for some of us as ever, but enjoyable. The next meeting will be on the wines of Spain, as we have not visited them for several years. I do hope people will come as from personal experience the Spanish wines have improved over recent years. And I hope people will be pleasantly surprised.

Chris Traynor

The wine club had a wonderful evening tasting some very interesting Chilean wines, discovered by Derek. As you are all aware Chile is that wonderful South American country with two great growing elements the sea and the mountains. Running between the two are plenty of valleys that have wonderful micro climates. These help make Chilean wines some of the tastiest and reasonably prices wines around. Derek had managed to acquire three whites and five reds, all of which went down well, what a surprise; we managed as ever to get through the lot without much effort. We are slaves to our taste buds at the wine club! I have added the list of wines below. Hopefully see you all at the next meeting which is the Call My Bluff evening, which is always great fun with prizes!!!

Chris

Upton May 2009 – wines from Chile and Argentina
Grape	Region	Name	Price £	Notes
Sauvignon Blanc	Casablanca	Terrunyo 2008	8.95	One of Chile’s greatest Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Gris	Leyda	Vina Leyda Kadun 2008	8.95	Pink skinned variant is fresh and crisp with a subtle peachy nuance. Delicious
Chardonnay	Casablanca	Soc Exhibition 2007	8.95	Sophisticated and alluring, barrel fermented balances ripeness with freshness
Pinot Noir	Leyda Valley	The Wine Society	5.95	Bright, black-cherry-scented, with a fine silky palate
Carmen ere	Rapel Valley	El Polilla 2008	5.75	Big and powerful, organic
Cabernet Sauvignon	Upper Maipo	Terrunyo 2006	11.95	One of the best communes, top quality cedary, now to 2014
Syrah	Limari	Tabali Reserve Especial	10.95	Outstanding syrah, now to 2013
Merlot	Rapel Valley	Concha y Toro lot 198T	7.25	Ripe and velvety from exceptional lot, special bottling
Malbec	Argentina	Faldeos Nevados	6.95	Rich and luscious, by Susan Balbo

It was a very welcome return for Sarah Eccles, the first time she has visited us this year. The subject wines of Italy, which as you will be aware, has more grape varieties, than most of us could possibly remember, or need to know. The most important issue being that this was a Credit Crunch tour around Italy, so most of the wines where quite affordable, ranging from £5.99 to £9.99.

The wines came from across Italy from Piemonte in the North to Puglia, Calabria and Sicily in the South. The vineyard in Campania, near Naples takes its production so seriously that they have their own weather station in the grounds, which is solar powered.

The reds where generally preferred to the whites which at times tasted a little thin. The preferred wine on our table was the Marco Porello, Barbera D’Alba DOC Mommiano 2007, from Majestic, £7.99.which all agreed was the most rounded in flavour.

All the wines where from Majestic and Sarah thought that their selection from Italy was good. The best value wine of the evening was Monaci, Copertino , DOC 2004 £5.99, which was very good value.

So hope to see you at the next meeting in March which is earlier than normal on the 11^th of March, Simon will be talking about Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

Chris Traynor