Buckingham Wine Circle

 

24 January - Wine social and quiz 

The year started with a social and quiz night (with some wine of course), to which several new members were welcomed. Our quiz master (? mistress) set a “quirky” quiz. The initial letters of the answers spelt out a well-known phrase. In this case it was “The Buckingham Wine Circle”. Once that was realised the clues became a lot simpler to answer. Unfortunately, the final set of questions had no helpful hints and caught many of us out.

 

21 February -Gin Sampling with Foxdenton with Nick Radclyffe

 Nick Radclyffe, from Foxdenton Gin gave an interesting and informative talk about gin covering its development and history, not to mention its part in the social culture. Nick illustrated the latter by showing us the 1751 print by Hogarth entitled Gin Lane.

 Though alcoholic drinks date as far back to the rice wine of 8000BC, gin did not appear until the 16^th century. Then the Dutch added juniper to make a medicinal drink. Gin really came to England when William III (William of Orange) became King in 1689. [He sent British troops to support the Dutch in the 30 Years War. They got into the habit of having a gin before battle – hence ‘Dutch Courage’.] William introduced the Corn Laws which had tax exemptions for spirit production. The grain harvest 1700/1720 was exceptionally good where the excess grain was used to produce gin. The result was that gin was cheaper than beer. The result was the Gin Act where a license was required to distil the liquor and the gin was taxed. 

Gin starts with Neutral Grain Spirit or Vodka. This is normally made from Grain but can indeed be made from almost anything including Molasses or even Cows’ milk. All gins are made with flavoured with juniper berries. In all types of gin, the predominant flavour of must be juniper, and they must have a minimum retail strength of 37.5% abv. There are three definitions of gin: gin, distilled gin and London Gin. 

During the presentation nine Foxdenton gins were tasted – 48 London Dry Gin, Sloe Gin, Damson, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Winslow Plum, Golden Apricot, Christmas Liqueur, and Lemon & Cucumber.

Members congratulated Ron Gleason whose 80^th birthday was that day and Muriel whose birthday was the next day. A slice of cake was enjoyed by all.

 

 

 

21 March -M&S Wine Tasting 

Our March event was Marks & Spencer, Spring Wine Tasting, Milton Keynes, to which 25+ members of the Wine Circle attended. 

 Our host George Atkinson-Clarke gave a comprehensive explanation for each wine of the six wines, which were accompanied with a bite size appropriate food. 

1.   Rocco Di Lago Garda Spumante.  11.5%. Fruity sparkling wine from vineyards around Lake Garda.  Accompanied with Mozzarella.

2.   Champagne Delcourt Medium Dry Rose.  12.5%.  Made using a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunière.  Accompanied with mild smoked salmon. 

3.   Macon Villages.  12.5%. An unoaked Chardonnay from South Bergundy.  Accompanied with Ossau Iraty.

 4.   Grillo.  13%.  A native Italian grape, grown in Sicily.  Accompanied with falafel.

 5.   Burra Brook Cabernet Sauvignon. 14%.  An Australian wine.  Accompanied with Cornish Cruncher 7 extra mature.

 6.   Craft 3 Zinfandel.  14%.  A blend of 92% Zinfandel and 8% Petite Syrah.  A Californian wine.  Accompanied with Serrano Ham.

 Another very pleasant evening enjoyed by all.

Julie

 25 April -Call My Bluff wine challenge 

Now a regular and popular (nearly a full membership turnout) annual feature is the wine version of that old panel game "Call My Bluff".  The event was organised by Keith and Valerie Dedman and Keith was joined on the panel by Nick and Sandra Aldren. 

 Six wines, all purchased locally for under £10, were the subject of the bluff. They were all tasted ‘blind’. Once samples of the wine were dispensed to everyone, one panellist described the wine correctly while the other two described (accurately) a completely different wine. It was then for each team of around 5 members to decide on which was the accurate description. 

 Congratulations to the winning team of David Viney, Ruth Newell, Robert Munday, Sue Watkins and Janet May....a splendid, albeit narrow victory with a total of 5 correct guesses.  They were presented with the cup. [To be returned next year in shining condition!]  

 There was a prize for the bottom team. A tie break was required as two teams had the honour of having the least correct guesses, so a tie break question was required. This leads to a philosophical question – is the bottom team the one that gets that question wrong (and hence receive the prize) or should the team that correctly answers the question. The 'Lemons' who sadly finished up as the 'worst of the worst' were led by their guest captain Ed Horton and the rest of the team who may wish to remain nameless!

 You might be interested in answering the tie break question which was “How long is the River Rhone?” The answer could be in miles or kilometres.

 

 

[Answer: 813km or 505mile]

  

 

16 May - Matching wine to food with Ron Gleason 

We were treated to a delightful evening of French wine with accompanying tasty morsels, by Ron and Muriel Gleeson and their friend Molly. Ron had been to France a week earlier to purchase most of the food.

  Wine No. 1, 2018 Villemarin Picpoul de Pinet White

                      Salmon/scallops terrine on toast Wine

 No. 2, 2017 Chateau de Marjolet Rhône Rose

                     Cream cheese & smoked mackerel with blinis

 Wine No. 3, 2017 Saint-Amour Vieilles Vignes Red

                      Plateau of cold meats Wine

 No. 4, 2016 Domaine des Trottieres Anjou Villages Red

                      Pate en Croute with tomatoes, gherkins & olives

 Wine No. 5, 2015 Leo de la Gaffeliere Bordeaux Red

                       Cheese with nuts

 Wine No. 6, 2017 Oenoalliance Monbazillac White

                        Assortment of patisserie

  The obvious hard work that had been put into making this evening a success, certainly paid off. I think all will agree it was a most enjoyable evening.

  A big thank you to Ron, Muriel and Molly. 

Julie

 20 June - Mid-Summer Dinner

 

The Wine Circle Annual Dinner was held this year at the Garage Restaurant in Well Street, Buckingham. 

 

28 members of the Wine Circle attended this event. Ron Gleason led the applause for Mary who had done a wonderful job organising this very enjoyable evening, bringing everyone together. The Annual Dinner event is the time in the Wine Circle calendar whereby members get together to just relax over a meal and of course a glass or two of favourite tipples, and just have a general chit, chat.

 

We were all of one voice in applauding Sally and her staff at the Garage for the food and service; and the ambience reflected the general mood of the evening which was very relaxed and social. 

 

 

18 July - Fortified Wines 

 

Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit is added. Probably the best known are sherry and port. John introduced us to six examples, mainly sherry, and Sian complemented each with appropriate tapas.

 

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes [Palomino, Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel] that are grown near the town of Jerez, Spain. All wine labelled as "sherry" must come from the Sherry Triangle. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles, ranging from dry, light versions such as finos to much darker and sometimes sweeter versions known as olorosos. As wines from different years are aged and blended using a solera system before bottling, sherry does not have a vintage year.

 

We tasted six examples. Starting off with a fino sherry matched to tortilla, followed by a manzanilla with a gazpacho, and through to a Tio Nico with tarta de chocolate.

 

Our thanks to John and Sian for presenting these fortified wines with the matching food.

 

 

 

15 August - A presentation from the Red Bottle Company

 

Harry and Monica, treated us to an enjoyable evening sampling the wines Harry and his father had bought over from France. The Red Bottle Company Ltd., is a company founded by Harry and his father, specialising in old world French wines. The wines they specialising in cannot be found on supermarket shelves.

 

The first wine we tasted was a white Cotes-du-Rhône Ad Libitum 2018, 13%, from the Villa Safranier. A pleasant floral wine, which could be drunk at any time, not necessarily with a meal.

 

The second white wine, Domaine Thibert-Miranda, Saint Veran, A La Cote 2015, 13%, could be taken as an aperitif, but it was suggested it would probably be better with a meal. All the villages make their own wine.

 

The third white wine, Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard, Savigny Les Beaune 2017, 13%, from a vineyard in Northern Burgundy, 2017. This wine would complement any meat, fish, or pasta dish.

 

The fourth wine a blended wine, and with no protection the grapes can come from any vineyard.   Villa Safranier Lulle, 2018, rounded rose’. It was suggested this would go well with Xmas party food.

 

The fifth wine a Spanish red, produced for several well-known sports personalities, and Shikira. A dry red wine, Casalobos, Cosecha 2008, 14.5%.

 

The sixth a red wine typical of the Gigondas region, Domaine La Fourmone, Gigondas Le Fauquet, 2013, 14.5%, produced in a tiny village that blends into the hill, where there are 500 wine producers.

 

Last but not least, a red wine Guy Cinquin Mercury, Les Chazeaux Vielles Vignes, 2016, 13%. Produced by a vineyard in Southern Burgundy.

 

During the evening, both Harry and Monica came to each of the tables to explain more comprehensively the ethos of their company. They were also very happy to answer members questions.

Julie

 

19 September- Corkscrews and Wine with Richard Stevenson

 

Without being too obvious, as members of the Wine Circle, the one thing we all have in common is, WINE. But, how much thought have we given to the implements by which a cork is extracted from a wine bottle?

At our monthly meeting on the 19th September, we were treated to a very interesting evening of wine tasting and a talk on the history of corkscrews. Who would have thought such an everyday household item could be the topic of such an intriguing talk!

Richard our host for the evening, gave very comprehensive facts with regard to the history of corkscrews, and had brought along for our scrutiny a number of corkscrews, from his collection of some 300. Dating back to the 18th century, it was quite fascinating seeing the different types of corkscrews, and being able to handle them. The artistry displayed, and the multi- functional examples were fascinating.

 Also among the collection there were champagne taps. These were moulded with such finesse. I guess as was befitting an expensive bottle of champers. Although, apparently they have also been used to dispense cider!!!

 At the end of the evening, having also tasted six different wines as listed below, Terry who was also Chairman for the evening, thanked Richard for a very informative evening.

 1. White wine, Picpoul 2018 South of France, 12.5% 2. White wine, Albarino, 2018, Northern Spain, 13% 3. Rose, Montepulciano, 2018, 13.5% 4. Red Wine, Carmenere, 2016, 14%, 5. Red Wine, Primitivo, 2017, Italy, 14% 6. Red Wine, Pinotage, 2018, South African, 13%

Julie

17 October -Wine tasting in the Waddesdon Wine Cellars

 

The Circle visited the Waddesdon Wine Cellars again for what is becoming a regular visit. In total Peter Tompkins (Waddesdon Wine Advisor) offered us ten wines to sample. The price per bottle ranged from £7.95 to £140. In fact, the Cellars offer 137 different wines ranging in price from £6.95 to £11500.

 

The cellars were created in 1994 to celebrate 100 years association with the Rothschild family. They store a collection in excess of 15,000 bottles, the largest collection of Rothschild wine in the world. The winemaking dynasty was founded by Baron Nathaniel Rothschild in 1853 and consists of three flagship estates.

 

The wines sampled were –

 

• ‘R’ de Rieussec 2018 – dry white from Grand Cru estate of Rieussec (this was a dry Sauterne where the grapes were harvested before the noble rot)
• Cavalclade Blanc 2018 – Vermentino, Grenache blanc from Cotes du Rousillon (from one of the most southern vineyards in France)
• Baroness Nadine 2017 – Chardonnay from Elgin Valley, Western Cape, South Africa
• Baron Edmond 2015 – single estate Bordeaux blend from Stellenbosch
• Los Vascos Grande Reserve 2017 – single vineyard wine from Colchagua, Chile (a blend which included Malbec)
• Chateau Clerc Milon 2005, AC Pauillac, a Bordeaux from the left bank
• Blason de L’Evangile 2015 – Pomerol on a great vintage, a Bordeaux from the right bank
• Baron Edmond 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa (a style that the vintner has changed with time, a much shorter maceration time than previously)
• Pocas 1995 – a deliberately oxidised single harvest Port
• Terra Alta is a Catalan Denominación de Origen (DO), Spain
• Lyric fortified merlot wine, made using the Solera system

 

Our thanks to Peter for an enjoyable and instructive evening

 

21 November - Wine tasting, social and AGM

7 December -Christmas Dinner (members only) pre-booking essential, deposit of £5 payable by 31st October