Our October meeting was presented by the double act David and Ian who gave us a tour of wines from South America as it is believed that the quality of wine from that region is increasing and there is still good value even with the diminishing pound against other currencies after Brexit.

Ian introduced the white and rose wines beginning with the Errazuriz Wild Fermented Chardonnay (Majestic £12.99), Vinalba Torrontes (Majestic £9.99) Hey Malbec Rose (Majestic £9.99) and a Morande Gewurztraminer (Majestic £8.99).

The Torrontes seemed to please most of the members and the label on the rose was a sight to behold! Not sure if it would make you buy the wine or avoid it!

David started the reds with a Beefsteak Malbec (Waitrose £6.59) which did exactly as it said on the bottle. A malbec to go with a good steak. Next was the Norton Reserve Malbec (Waitrose £8.99) which was a step up from the Beefsteak followed by the Ben Marco Malbec (Majestic £14.99) went to the next level and finally the Mendel Mendoza (Majestic £22.99) a Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon blend which was the wine of the evening.

All the reds were from the Mendoza area where they are grown at height (3000 -3500 metres) where they receive plenty of sunshine which aids ripening cool moist air from the Pacific and semi-arid desert condition which are irrigated by melt water from the Andes. I’m sure a well hung Argentinian steak was mention in the description of one of the wines.

We now look forward to November’s meeting, at which our Chairman Will Betts will be showing wines from the Iberian Peninsula. There may be an unusual wine or two!

If you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier.

The club’s regular meetings continue on the third Wednesday of each month with the exception of December which is the second week. Subject to final confirmation, we intend to enjoy:

 16 November: Wines from the Iberian Peninsula. Will Betts

 14 December: Pushing the Boat Out/Special Occasion Wines. Committee Members (Don’t forget this meeting is one week earlier and will be £12.50).

 

Cheers!

Kevin Jacklin, Secretary

As the first event of the new season, September’s Wine Club meeting commenced with the annual AGM. The formalities were kept brief and, in keeping with club tradition, accompanied by a glass of wine – Carlo Zucchetto’s Prosecoo Puro Fol had the honours of being the first wine shown this year

The existing committee was re-elected with one change – while we are sad to lose Ellie Bunstrom from the committee, we hope to see her at as many future events as her new role will allow, and we warmly welcome Susan Ryan.

The tasting of four white and four red wines was well received and lively, and we look forward to putting together a programme of events using ideas suggested by members. We are also very fortunate to have enthusiastic members willing and able to talk knowledgeably wine varieties and regions.

While the programme for this season is being decided, we look to maintain the diversity and interest of last year’s events which included:

– Wines available from local supermarkets

– Brian and Giulia Rippon presenting wines available from their company – Strictly Wine

– Katie Jones presenting her own wines from the Languedoc Roussillon

– Food and wine pairings

– Italian wines presented by Lee Isaacs of Wine Traders

– Wines from Australia, presented by our original chairman, Mike Collins

If you’d like to learn more about the wines and food from this event, or previous wine club events, then you might like to follow us on Twitter @UptonWine. Alternatively, if you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier!

Cheers

William Betts, Chair

Saturday 26^th June saw the last event in this season’s UWC, the Summer BBQ.  It marked the end of another 10 great monthly meetings which produced a fine blend of both member and guest talks on some fine wines from around the world.

Not dampened by the wet weather, 40 or so members and guests enjoyed some fine burgers and bangers cooked to perfection by Matt, accompanied by the plentiful supply of salads, rice dishes and cheeses bought by the members.   Plenty of wine was consumed on the evening but those worthy of a mention were the Porta 6 2013 Lisboa (£7.49 on multi buy from Majestic) and the White Burgundy (£8.99 from Waitrose – often on offer!)  Both good Summer BBQ drinks.  All went well with some great tunes supplied by Pete!

Most people will know that Ellie and Matt who have supported the UWC as committee member and chief cook for a number of years will shortly be moving to Herefordshire.   Whilst I am sure this will not be the last wine club meeting we will see them at on behalf of all our members I would like to say a huge thank you for all your help and support and we all wish you well.

Enjoy your Summer break and we hope you have a happy holiday.  We will be back again in September, so please look out for your renewal forms for next season.  If anyone  has yet to try a visit to one of our wine (social) evenings then please drop Ian Langley a note with your details at Barn Acre, Stream Road and come try an evening as our Guest!

Ian Langley

May’s Wine Club meeting was the final tasting event of this calendar year, before June’s barbeque celebrates another year of events well-received by members and their guests.

In a departure from the norm of a single speaker presenting wines chosen according to a particular theme, members of the committee were asked to chose and present some of their favourite pairings of wine and food. Thus we were treated to combinations including Manzanilla to accompany tapas; Premier Cru Champagne with crab amuse-bouches; Roussanne with pork rillettes;  Porta 6 with barbequed sausages; Primitivo with meatballs and two sweet wines (2001 Chateau de Madere and H&H Malvasia Madeira) with salty blue stilton. Yes, several members were heard to lament their decision to eat beforehand!

If you’ld like to learn more about the wines and food from this event, or previous wine club events, then you might like to follow us on Twitter @UptonWine. Alternatively, if you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier!

Cheers

William Betts, Chair

March saw the return of a perennial favourite, Lee Isaacs  of Wine Matters, who presented wines from Italy.

As an experienced and highly qualified wine educator, Lee explained Italy’s importance as a wine producer; Italy regularly ranks first or second (to France) in lists of the world’s largest producers of wine. In context, this means that Italy’s million vineyards are responsible for about one third of global wine production. Always engaging and amusing, Lee then led us through an overview of the history of wine production in Italy and a tour of the modern appellation system, shedding welcome light on terms including IGP, DOC, DOCG and Classico with the aid of some wonderful slides displayed (with thanks to Brian R.) by means of UVHAT’s projector

In terms of value, given a £7.50 ticket price, the club was very pleased that Lee could act as guide to some of the idiosyncrasies of Italian wines explaining, for example, the link between the fine minerality of Lugana Ghiraldi and the Trebbiano di Lugana grape, which is really Verdicchio! We tasted a genuine Lambrusco – not to everybody’s taste, but a rare beast redolent of cola and a perfect foil for the meats of Modena. Very generously, and to unanimous approval, Lee then went on to treat us to fine Chianti, a Taurasi DOCG (a world-class red from Campania) and a Cannubi Barolo retailing at over £50 a bottle.

We now look forward to April’s meeting, at which we will welcome Katie Jones, an experienced winemaker from the Languedoc in France. If you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier.

As we near the end of our season, the club’s regular meetings continue on the third Wednesday of each month. Subject to final confirmation, we intend to enjoy:

 20 April: A flying visit from winemaker, Katie Jones, from the Languedoc in France.

 18 May: Your committee presenting some of their favourite food and wine matches.

25 June: The annual club BBQ

 

Cheers!

William Betts, Chair

February saw one of our favourite speakers, Mike Collins (village resident and founding Chair of Upton’s Wine Appreciation Club), return to present wines from Australia.

Mike explained that Australia is a significant exporter of wine worldwide, both in bulk and bottle, with the UK representing Australia’s second most important market by value after the US. Having reassured us that Australia is experiencing strongest growth in the export of premium and ultra-premium bottled wines, Mike then settled to the arduous task of leading us in tasting a carefully conceived selection of whites and reds. With wine produced in every state, from an impressive selection of grape varieties, grown on different soil types and benefitting from a range of topographies, we were introduced to Eden Valley Riesling (a personal favourite for its vitality, extract and punchy lime notes) and Barossa Semillon (still too often underrated and overlooked as a pure varietal). Cool climate Tasmanian Chardonnay was well received, before we moved on to taste four reds including an exceptional Victoria Shiraz from the Wine Society and a massive Shiraz / Mourvedre blend produced by the ever-reliable Penfolds wine company.

If you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier.

Looking ahead, our meetings continue on the third Wednesday of each month. Subject to final confirmation, we intend to enjoy:

 16 March: Popular visiting wine professional, Lee Isaacs, introducing wines from Italy.

 20 April: A flying visit from winemaker, Katie Jones, from the Languedoc in France.

 18 May: Your committee presenting some of their favourite food and wine matches.

Cheers!

William Betts, Chair

 

Many of us are familiar with that last minute dash to the shops, to buy a bottle or two of wine to accompany a special meal or to take out to supper with friends. So how far do you have to go, and how much do you have to spend, in order to get a decent bottle of wine?  The new year saw Upton’s Wine Appreciation Club meet to investigate this important question. The challenge – to find the best wines available within a few miles of the village within a budget of £10 a bottle. With each member of the committee finding one or two wines, all headed to Didcot and to Aldi, Sainsbury and Tesco. Wines selected ranged from a very on-trend Aperol Spritz aperitif and Champagne (with change from £10) to whites from South Africa and New Zealand. Reds were from the old world, a Madiran and Rioja Reserva both from Tesco. I had thought that sweet wines would pose a real challenge, being hard to find within budget, but I needn’t have worried – Sicilian Marsala provided an interesting counterpoint to a sweet red wine, Mavrodaphne of Patras, which is made in a manner reminiscent of Port and offers some of the more famous wine’s character albeit with less alcohol. Our members enjoyed the evening, and discussion during and after the event seemed to suggest that we could run a repeat imposing a more restrictive budget.

 

If you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier.

 

Looking ahead, our meetings continue on the third Wednesday of each month. Subject to final confirmation, we intend to enjoy:

 

 17 February: Wines of Australia presented by Mike Collins, the club’s first Chairman.

 16 March: Popular visiting wine professional, Lee Isaacs, introducing wines from Italy.

 20 April: A flying visit from winemaker, Katie Jones, from the Languedoc in France.

 18 May: Your committee presenting some of their favourite food and wine matches.

 

Cheers!

William Betts, Chairman

 

December’s meeting of the Upton Wine Appreciation Club had a (dinner) party atmosphere as members and their guests enjoyed eight fine wines from the Wine Society along with carefully chosen edibles. With each wine selected to accompany a different dinner party course, we started with a delicate (En Rama, Una Palma) Fino Sherry before enjoying a vintage dated English sparkling wine. From these benchmark aperitifs, we progressed to sample an Alsace Riesling and single-vineyard Soave, before pouring a reserva Rioja and ten-year-old Bordeaux Medoc. Wonderful wines all, but many members seemed to think that they were eclipsed by the Sauternes and twenty-year-old Tawny Port that rounded off the evening.

If you’ve wondered about joining us, please do contact an existing member or anyone from the committee – you’re very welcome to try your first meeting as a guest, and the more the merrier.

Looking ahead to 2016, our meetings continue on the third Wednesday of each month. Subject to final confirmation, we intend to enjoy:

– 20 January: Supermarket Sweep, looking for the best value wines available within a few miles of Upton.

– 17 February: Wines of Australia presented by Mike Collins, the club’s first Chairman.

– 16 March: Popular visiting wine professional, Lee Isaacs, introducing wines from Italy.

– 20 April: A flying visit from winemaker, Katie Jones, from the Languedoc in France.

– 18 May: Your committee presenting some of their favourite food and wine matches.

Cheers!

William Betts, Chairman

On Wednesday 21st October the Upton Wine Club held their second monthly wine club evening of the year (post the Summer break), with a theme based on the Rugby World Cup.  The themes are planned well in advance and due to the lack of home nation representation by the time of the evening was more focused on a taste comparison of old world wines (typically from Europe) V’s new world wines (often countries colonized by Western Europe).  The aim was to taste the same grape, but using the old world style of production V’s the more modern new world techniques.

First we sampled a Pouilly-fume “les Griottes” 2013 (by Jean-Pierre Bally) V’s Mud House Woolshed Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Marlborough.  The general consensus was the few extra pounds spent on the French wine really showed.  Both are available from Majestic.

We finished the whites with a Definition Chablis (Majestics own classic from France) V’s Yering Station Elms Chardonnay (Australian), both from Majestic. Recently the sun drenched wines from Australia have taken a bit of a beating, and whilst this went some way to bringing a bit of respectability back the Chablis was more popular amongst our members.

Next we tried F.Stephen Miller – Angel’s Reserve, Zinfandel 2013 (California)   V’s  Dominic Hentall Primitivo 2014.   Both from Naked Wines.  Both good wines, but the fruit from the Californian came through and was most popular.

To finish we tried a Bordeaux called Marquis de Belleville 2012 V’s Parcel Series Cabernet Merlot Reserve 2012 from Western Cape, South Africa. Again both from Majestic. Both these wines were a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend. The Parcel Series is made in a vin yard on the coast, which gave it very similar flavours to the Bordeaux. Both were excellent wines and at under £8 per bottle good value.

We had around 30 members come along for the evening, which lasted until 10pm.   If you would like to come and sample some wines and have a social with other residents of Upton then you can either come as a guest of an existing member or send a mail to Ian, ian.Langley@yahoo.co.uk (committee member). Evenings are priced between £5 and £10 and it’s a great way to try typically 8 different wines you may not normally buy!

Ian

Lee Isaacs from The Oxford Wine Company came and gave us a talk on wines of Argentina. As his wife is Argentinian he has an intimate and in-depth knowledge of the Country and their wines and has visited Argentina many times for work and with family. We had three whites and five reds which are described below:

Tapiz Torrontes – Valle de Uco 13.5% (£11.99) – The Tapiz Wines come from Fincas Patagonicas one of the most technologically advanced wineries in Argentina. Fincas Patagonicas vineyards are located in the Valle de Uco and Agrelo regions, in the province of Mendoza. Mt. Plata (6100 metres) and Tupungato volcano (6800 metres) overlook the state-of-the-art winery. Delicate and intense aromas of tropical flowers and fruits, fresh and well balanced. I have tried many Torrentes wines and this is one of the best I have tasted in this price bracket.

La Linda Viognier – Mendoza 13.5% (£9.99) – Full of peach and apricot fruit with a refreshingly balanced acidity a long aftertaste with piercing acidity. The Finca la Linda wines are where Luigi Bosca’s fruit-driven wines that show impressive quality at this price. The Viognier grapes are grown in vineyards 800 metres above sea level on well-drained calcareous alluvial sandy loam over gravel and boulders. A great match for white meats, soft cheeses and creamy fish dishes. I personally find viogniers a little too fruity but this wine seemed to balance fruit and acidity just right for my palate.

Pulenta Chardonnay – Mendoza 13.5% (£11.99) – Greenish-yellow colour. Citrus and tropical fruit aromas with vanilla. Pulenta Estate is owned and run by brothers, Hugo and Eduardo Pulenta. The estate is situated in Alto Agrelo in Mendoza, Argentina’s main wine producing region. The area enjoys excellent climate conditions and a fantastic panoramic aspect from up to 980 metres above sea level. Irrigation comes from melted water from the Andes Mountains, and the whole process is organic. Quite a nice chardonnay but I think there are better examples from other wine areas and countries.

Familia Zuccardi, Serie A Bonarda, Mendoza (£11.99) – The biggest influence in Argentine wine making is not Spain, but Italy. The Italians influence on Argentinian culture is self-evident in their love of food and life. One of the Italian varieties most widely used is this juicy, succulent variety Bonarda. Packed with savoury cherry and chocolate character and a supple, smooth finish. Hand picked with 30% of the wine aged in new French oak for 10 months, this has bright fruits, refreshing acidity and a subtle creaminess on the palate due to some malolactic fermentation. A nice red wine to start with and some good tannin.

Trapiche Estacion 1883 Cabernet Franc – Mendoza 14.0% (£14.99) A spicy nose with red and green pepper and plenty of black fruit. Made with minimal intervention from 100% Cabernet Franc from the Las Palmas vineyard in Cruz de Piedra, Maipú, Mendoza. This Cabernet Franc shows aromas of dark fruits such as blueberries and blackcurrants. Fruity and smooth with soft tannins and long lingering finish. Excellent to pair with game, veal and grilled pork. One of my favourite grape varietals and this is a good example with fruit vanilla oak and a deep nose.

Humberto Canale Estate Malbec – Rio Negro Patagonia 14% (£12.99) – This wine shows off a very refined style, both in the nose and in the mouth. Its careful oak cask ageing gives the wine an ultimate dimension. A full bodied wine with complex structure and surprising notes of red berries, eucalyptus, spice and black pepper. After a year in the bottle, it becomes more intense and concentrated. A good example of an Argentinian Malbec. Big bold and juicy!

Bodega Raffy Terroir Malbec – Tupungato, Uco Valley 14% (£13.50). Attractive perfume of red berries, violet, liquorice and mild tobacco. Produced in small quantities this is made using vines over 50 years of age. With low yielding vines and manual harvesting this wine has great concentration and the fruit is allowed to shine. A 5 day cold maceration is carried out pre-fermentation, allowing for the development of primary aromas. A long 4 week maceration post fermentation gives soft and silky tannins present on the palate. Another good example of Malbec slightly more refined and more balanced tannins than the previous wine.

Pulenta Gran Corte (Tannat, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon) – Mendoza 14.0% (£26.95). The 135 hectares are planted with Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, The Pulenta family make excellent Malbec, recognised as Argentina’s signature grape variety, enhancing its natural fruitiness with discipline and structure. From the same wine makers of the earlier chardonnay this is one deep smooth and brooding wine and well balanced. A bit pricey but I would have some of this at home for that special celebratory dinner!

There has been a lot of positive feedback from this meeting both on the quality of the wines and the knowledge and passion of Lee on the wines shown. We understand that Lee will be leaving The Oxford Wine Company in the near future but we have enquired and he has confirmed he will still be available to come and talk to us if and when required.

The next meeting is on Wednesday 18^th March in the Village Hall where David and Ian will be doing a World Cup Rugby Wine Taste-Off!

Kevin Jacklin