2025 past events

Meeting 478 Friday 16th May 2025

Kevin Hart (79North)  Wines of Portugal

This month we welcomed new presenters, Kevin Hart of 79 North, which is based in
Reading and imports wine from Portugal, and Jill Carver from Added Ingredients, a wine store in Abingdon
that regularly organises tastings of Portuguese wines.  79 North’s commitment to sustainability is evident
in careful choice of small to medium sized family-owned wineries, combining traditional craftsmanship
and innovative winemaking techniques. These wineries are not only prioritising organic practices; they
are also very aware of their environmental and social responsibilities.

There was a selection of tapas of goats cheese, lupins and olives, and salt cod croquettes with garlic aioli,
followed by a main of pork fillet marinated in white wine, garlic and piri piri pepper sauce, served with
parmentier potatoes and pickled vegetables. Also petits fours: ginjinha liqueur in chocolate cups and
pastel de nata.

Meeting 477 Friday 21st March 2025

Paul Fritz-Johnson (Welch and Co)  Wines of the Southern Rhône

We were pleased to welcome back Paul Fritz-Johnson, who is a partner at Welch & Co Wine Merchants and
Pierre le Vin, an independent wine supplier to restaurants and bars. The two linked companies are based in
the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford and are entering their 38th year of business. Their aim is to provide
'Good Wine at the Right Price'
Paul showed a range of wines from the Southern Rhône to highlight the principal villages/sites of the area.
Mark provided a starter of tartiflette with green salad, and a main of smoked bacon and duck leg with lentils
and red wine.

Meeting 476 Friday 21 February 2025
AGM followed by Richard and Eka Cox: Wines of Georgia

This was a fascinating and unusual event, because it introduced our members to wines that none had previously tasted, and to a region none had visited.  Richard and Eka Cox’s company, Taste of Georgia, is a small independent husband and wife operation; now in its eighth year, it was set up to improve awareness of Georgia, its culture and customs, and its wonderful wines, the product of 8000 years of unbroken wine-making heritage.

Eka is Georgian, and their presentation gave us an insight into some of the culture of the country.  It was interesting to see photographs illustrating the fact that many Georgians grow their own vines, even within towns, and make their own wines.  More recently professional winemakers have developed, using some autochthonous grapes, and we were introduced to wines from two white grape varieties, Mtsvane and Rkatsiteli, and the red variety Saperavi.  Many of these wines are made in the traditional manner, in which clay egg-shaped pots called qvevri are used to mature the wine.  The qvevri are buried underground or set into the floor of a cellar.  Photographs of the production of the qvevri showed that it is entirely by hand, painstakingly  building up the shape.

The white grape varieties are often made with fermenting before removing the skins, resulting in an amber wine.  This practice originated in Georgia, and has become popular in several other countries, where the wine is often called orange wine.  Most of these orange wines are made a deeper colour than Georgian amber wines, by leaving the wine longer in contact with the skins, and using some grape varieties with deeper colour in their skins.  The amber wines we tasted were dry and quite a light colour.

Mark gave us a starter of Khachapuri (cheese filled bread with egg), served with the Khikhvi amber wine, and a main of goulash served with the Mukuzani red wine.  This red wine was very much enjoyed, and we decided to invest in some for the Branch cellar, so that in a few year’s time we will be able to see how it has matured. 

Richard and Eka’s presentation was excellent, entertaining and very interesting, and the wines showed well, especially the red wines.

Meeting 475 Sunday 19th January

Neville Hall Lunch by Mark Robertson, wines from the Branch cellar

Last year’s January Sunday lunch was so successful that all who were there insisted that it become an annual event. This year it was better than ever. Mark produced an outstanding menu, greatly enjoyed by all.
We started with fig stuffed with goat’s cheese and wrapped in Parma ham, with walnuts, lamb’s lettuce and sprinkles of honey and balsamic vinegar. The main course was venison suet pudding, with parsnip purée, tenderstem broccoli and braised red cabbage. Dessert was lemon curd & passion fruit meringue roulade. After this a variety of cheeses were available, and tea or coffee.There were 32 diners, and all agreed that it had been a very special occasion, with perhaps Mark’s best food yet.

The food was matched with wines of the highest quality. Holding our lunch at Neville Hall enabled us to bring out wines from the Branch cellar, and those we drank are listed below. We did not have a sparkling wine in the cellar, so the aperitif was purchased  from The Wine Society.All the wines were well liked, but most agreed that the Wilson Gunn was an absolute star, with great depth of fruit, lovely balance and great length. I had decanted the 2005 wines the day before, and there had been a lot of tannic sediment. Ageing had certainly removed any hint of bitterness in the remaining tannins.