"Home Entertainment"

A winy Nursery Rhyme...

Sing to the tune of 'Sur le Pont D'Avignon'...

 

Cabernet, Sauvignon,                                                        (Cabernet  Sauvignon)

dans ma verre, dans ma Verre,                                      (in my glass)

Cabernet, Sauvignon - le raisin que nous aimons  (The grape that we love!)

                                                                  (It sort of rhymes...)

PGH, Nov '22

 

SUMMER PICNIC QUIZ, July 2021

At the Summer Picnic (Pamphill Village Hall, Wed. 18th August) there was a quiz sheet - here it is online, for those who might like to peruse it at their leisure!

 

Click below to follow the link ...

Summer Picnic Quiz 2021

 

And if you'd like the answers, click below to follow the link ...

Summer Picnic Quiz ANSWERS

 

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NOTE -  As Covid-19 restrictions on physical meetings continue, we are undertaking a series of 'Zoom' presentations on the general theme of  'As You Like It' - encouraging members to participate, tasting either according to the theme of the presenter, or alternatively, tasting any wine they fancy - and tell other attendees about it!

Themes so far are:   Merlot ... Chardonnay ... Port.

Until physical meetings can be resumed (in 2021!) this is likely to continue.

Further to our request for interesting nuggets of wine-related activity from members, we got the following report from Committee Member Georgi Gillett about a wine she tried (and it certainly sounds as if she liked it...!)

 

"Brazin Old Vine Zinfandel 2017 Lodi

I am never going to be a wine expert but confess to the love of reading about wine and frequently succumb to purchasing if I find a review of interest. Thus I forked out £14.99 at Waitrose as the report said:
On the nose there are hints of violet and jammy fruits, and in with every kind of fruit you can imagine there's a seam of vanilla that gives a subtle creaminess with notes of liquorice. A stocking wine.
Once purchased, upon reading the label and the fact the alcohol content is 14.5, I was apprehensive and considered this wine a bit too powerful for me, so it was with trepidation that I uncorked and decanted. The cork came out very easily and I loved the promised very fruity nose. The cork was completely wine free, would that be the fact that the cork was 100 per cent renewable plant based material?
I sampled my first glass whilst preparing dinner and everything promised was evident being very fruity. I decided to dish up dinner before sampling more!
I was very happy with my choice even though perhaps a bit too robust for my delicate palate?
Written whilst under the influence?
Georgi ?
Sent from my iPad"


Let's have more entertainment like this from members!

Stuart's "Champagne Table Top"

“Lockdown Projects”

 

Well, well. You know how they say “great minds think alike”?

 

WWS members may be interested to know that, independently and without consultation, two of the WWS committee had very similar ideas about an activity to undertake whilst under lockdown.

 

You know those metal caps which you get on the top of champagne corks, under the wire?

Well, quite independently, both Stuart Warnock and I have been saving these (over the course of several years!), with a vague idea of doing something with them at some point…

 

Peter's Champagne Cap Display

The photos here show how Stuart has mounted his champagne caps under a glass top with a view to topping an occasional table, while I mounted mine on a thick plaster backing under a deep frame ready for hanging on a wall.  Stuart’s incorporates a lot of Veuve Clicquot caps - look at the lines at each end!  I included only one of everything I had (so I have quite a few duplicates spare if anyone wants any…!)

 

What we might do in due course is take more detailed photographs and see if members can identify them all!

 

Has anyone else any interesting wine-related photos from the last few months we all might be interested in?

 

Please let me know and I can put them up on the website!

 

 

Peter Hampton,  9th September 2020

Our intrepid chairman, Geoff Jones, has found an old wine quiz in club archives.

Follow these lnks if you'd like to have a go!

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE WINE QUIZ FROM THE DISTANT PAST

 

(and HERE for the answer sheet)

 

WINE STORY COMPETITION - THE WINNERS

 

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Wine Story Competition, organised by our Secretary Chris Holding.

They are:

Men's Winner - MIKE WEBBER.     Click here to read Mike's entry.

Men's Runner Up - Not awarded

Women's Winner - JUNE WEBBER.   Click here to read June's entry.

Women's Runner-Up - CLAIRE HILLYARD.   Click here to read Claire's entry.

'Corker' Prize - ANNE PETERSON.  Click here to read Anne's entry.

 

Thank you to all who entered, and to Chris for his organising and judging skill!

3rd August 2020

 

As at Fri.3rd July, judging is now taking place for Chris's 'Wine Story' Competition!

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WAITROSE are hosting online tastings via ZOOM.

See news report here

 

International Chardonnay Day, Thursday 21st May.

 Michael Brajkovich MW of New Zealand's legendary Kumeu River, a presentation  on The Wine Society website.  Register interest for live feed or look at The Wine Society's YouTube channel later.

 

COMPETITION

 

Wine Story Competition  (NOTE, deadline extended to 30th June)

 

We all seem to have a lot of time on our hands at the moment. What better way to while away a few hours than to reminisce about our favourite tipple!

 

As in:

What is the story behind your favourite wine? 

When and where did you discover it?

Why do you like it? 

 

And optionally:

Which foods / nibbles do you most like with it, if applicable?

A photo of you enjoying the wine, if available.

How could people buy it (presently this is restricted to online / telephone order but the ‘normal’ routes could be mentioned)?

 

Entry Instructions

The requested story length is up to 4-500 words, no longer please.

 

Entries with your name(s) on Word doc (photo as jpeg) to be e-mailed to: chriskholding@gmail.com and headed ‘WWS COMPETITION ENTRY’ please. You must indicate if you wish your entry to be acknowledged as received.

 

The entry deadline is Tuesday 30th June (we aim to provide a brief summary of entry numbers and variety on Wed 3rd June, either by e-mail or on the WWS website).

 

N.B Anyone with IT queries please consult Peter Hampton (pg.hampton@btinternet.com). If you are still struggling after that, please let me know directly so arrangements can be made to acquire your entry in time.

 

Prize Categories

Men (2 prizes)

Women (2 prizes)

Humour (1 prize)

 

There will be a Winner and a Runner Up prize awarded in both a Men’s category and a Women’s category for the best overall stories in terms of quality (think Booker Prize!). 

 

A fifth additional Corker! prize will be awarded for the funniest backstory you can present (Clue: How would we know if it happened or not!) 

 

Notes:

1 .You can submit your entries either singly or jointly (whereby the first named person will determine the appropriate category in each case).

2. You can enter more than one category.

 

Acceptance

Please note that by entering the Wine Story Competition you agree to all five winning entries being uploaded to the WWS website for open access around the first week of July, or sooner if that is decided upon by the Organiser. Secondly, depending on the number of entries, all of them could subsequently be collated into a printable pdf booklet which may also be uploaded to the WWS website for open access. Further, the Society reserves the right to use winning entries for publicity purposes (which are primarily to attract new Members). Lastly, if you do not want your name to be publicised with your story after the competition prizegiving, please indicate this at time of Entry.

 

Any queries arising should be e-mailed to me directly please.

 

 

SO FINALLY, ALL THAT REMAINS TO SAY IS:

 

“Good luck and get writing!”

 

 

Best regards

 

Chris Holding

Competition Organiser

WWS Secretary

 

Spring 2020.

Taking note of self-isolation and social distancing procedures, the WWS committee thought it might be appropriate to offer some wine-related entertainment to those who find themselves confined to their homes.

Accordingly, in the first instance, we have made available some of our past quizzes (and answer sheets), which you can access by clicking on the links below.  The files are stored in our Google drive area and are mostly Word docs or JPEG files. You can download and print them if you find that more convenient.

We will endeavour to find and make available further wine-related activities and put links on this page for those interested. (For example, The Wine Society is running some online tastings, seminars, etc.).

We will also work on further wine quizzes of our own and upload these when we can.

 

In the meantime, stay safe, keep tasting, and we hope to see you soon - whenever the next meeting may be.

 

WWS QUIZZES PAST & PRESENT

 

2012, Grape search.

Quiz Sheet.        Quiz answers.             Solution sheet.

 

2016, Christmas Quiz.

Grapefinder wordsearch.

 

2017, Summer Quiz

"9 by 9 by wine"

 

2017, Christmas Quiz.

Odd one out quiz.         Odd one out answers.

 

2018, Summer quiz.

Picture quiz.           Picture quiz answer sheet.

 

2019, Summer quiz.

Cryptic questions.           Cryptic Answer sheet.

 

2019, Christmas quiz.

Hidden words quiz.        Hidden words answer sheet.

 

 

DECANTER MAGAZINE

 

Wine quizzes - a good selection!

 

 

THE WINE SOCIETY

Some helpful online videos

 

Guide to wine tasting - video

 

Tastings at home

 

Guide to home wine tasting under lockdown

 

This week Marcel compares and contrasts two distinctly different styles of grenache from the southern Rhône and the Roussillon. If you happen to have any such bottles at home and any left over after your meal, you may just find this grape is not a bad match for chocolate!

Watch the video

 

Let the Easter indulgence continue by joining this Thursday's virtual tasting - we're trying sweet and fortified wines and matching them with cheese!

 

 

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© Peter Hampton • • • • • • • • • 'In Vino Veritas'