First of the Summer Wine, Wine Tasting at Whitmore and White* #Review

Victoria Hayes
13th May 2019

Entering Whitmore and White’s Frodsham store, the first thing that strikes me is just how friendly and welcoming it is. The charming greeting from the delightful, cheerful staff perfectly offset the grey and gloomy evening, setting the perfect tone for a friendly, fun event.

And it wasn’t just me; all the customers were hailed as old friends. The atmosphere in the room immediately warm and helped along by the rapid pouring of our first wine, and a fizz no less.

The idea of a wine tasting can be intimidating however, it quickly became clear that the room was filled with a mix of wine tasting regulars and complete beginners and whatever your level, there was something for you.

As you are seated, you are presented with a pen and a tasting sheet, ready for your own notes to be added, but there’s no pressure to write anything at all. I scribbled a million things, as a total wine nerd, but my neighbour (a tasting event regular) drew smiley faces, sad faces or crowns, a clear notation of her feelings for each wine.

And so, to the vino.

WINE ONE – NYETIMBER CLASSIC CUVEE £40.65

We began with a little lesson on Champagne, as our host Tom appealed to our sense of patriotism, he debunked the myth that Champagne is inherently French and Is, in reality a great British invention. It’s all to do with the marvellous strength of English glass apparently, and nothing to do with famous French monks tasting the stars.

This wine could certainly convert me into a believer. With grapes grown in the lovely Chalky soil of the South Downs, this English Fizz has been aged in the bottle for 36 months.

The flavours of green apple, honey, almond and slight floral note conjured up a vision of English summertime and the room agreed, they would be happy to trade in their Champagne for this delicious English fizz.

WINE TWO – GREYWACKE SAUVIGNON BLANC – £19.95

This New Zealand Sauvignon is the brainchild of the creator of the world-famous Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. The name comes from the rocks in the subsoil where the vines are grown.

The wine has lovely acidity, it’s mouth watering grapefruit and passion fruit notes give it a natural expressive freshness.

Unfortunately, it did get a frowny face from my neighbour who wasn’t a Sauvignon fan in general, but her opinion was welcomed by the staff and it continued the feeling that whilst not all wines will be to everyone’s taste, each were served with passionate engagement and interesting knowledge.

WINE THREE – AI GALERA MISTICO – £8.95

Hopping back to the old-world wine wise, this delicious Portuguese offering came with a short lesson in the unique and fascinating indigenous grapes of Portugal. We heard how poor the soil is in the region and that the vines like it that way.

The glamorous local lawyer, Mags Mckenna Evans, seated along from me remarked that “Vines like to be stressed, to make the best wine to help us de-stress”. I am inclined to completely agree.

This wine is Peachy, with both citrus and floral notes. The Fernão Pires grape bringing notes of honeysuckle, balanced with a touch of acidity from the addition of a little Verdelho.

At this point, we break for a little spoiling in the form of a delightful cheese board, featuring a beautiful range of Cheeses, a bowl of massive and deliciously moreish green olives, and a pot of nuts.

Everyone went to town on this absolute treat, and at the end of the night there was a veritable scrum at the fridges to nab these cheeses for take home treats. – I should add, a magnificent discount was also added to those who chose to buy on the night.

WINE FOUR – O D’YEUSES ROSE – £17.55

This rose tastes of Mediterranean sunshine, crushed strawberries, red currants and red apple.

Created just west of Montpelier, this wine was hit with everyone and we were delighted to receive an extra top up tipple!

WINE FIVE – DOMAINE BERROD FLEURIE

This was my favourite and I was delighted to snag a bottle at a lovely discount to take home. Fleurie is known as the Queen of Beaujolais and this is a great example of why. Tasting of summer fruits, raspberry, strawberry, zero tannin and a light floral note, it was quite simply delicious.

WINE SIX – TORRE DEL FALASCO CORVINA

From Verona, Italy, a lovely way to end the evening. This is the generous mouth filler, or smooth operator of wine you would expect. This wine is given an extra little something by the drying of the grapes after picking for a few months, giving you a juicy, deep, fruity taste.

Thus proving “you can be dried up and still produce amazing things” – Mags Mckenna Evans.

 

Thanks to Whitmore and White, Tom, “The Wine Geek” and Jacques “The Wine Ninja” for a gently educational and incredibly delicious evening. Thoroughly recommend.

You can find all of the dates for Whitemore and White’s future wine tastings here

* Today’s lovely experience was gifted by the amazing team at Whitmore and White and we stand by all comments in the article, don’t believe us? Go give it a try for yourself, you wont regret it.