Invitation to a Mediterranean Wine Tasting Dinner

FLAVOURS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Santorini, Menorca, Sicily

TONGHAM VILLAGE HALL

SATURDAY 3^rd MARCH 2012 7pm

7 COURSE WINE TASTING DINNER TO RAISE FUNDS

FOR MAINTENANCE OF OUR VILLAGE HALL REG CHARITY No. 200365

Suggested Donation £22.50

Ring Jane Etherton 07983 154 295 to book your tickets and participate in the life of your village

INVITE TO OUR NEW ZEALAND WINE TASTING DINNER

SATURDAY 19th NOVEMBER 2011, 7PM

                                              

TONGHAM VILLAGE HALL

£22.50 per head inclusive of all food and wine

8 Courses – 7 Different Wines to Taste

Contact Jane Etherton to book your place and participate in the life of your village. Tel 07983 154295

All profits go towards the upkeep of Tongham Village Hall, 75 The Street

Registered Charity No.200365

Old World versus New World Wines

In the left hand corned we have the Old World.....

Do you prefer the wines of the traditional wines making countries such as France, Italy and Spain, or do you prefer the wines of the new boys such as Australia, Argentina and Chile? Can you even tell the difference? For our next Tongham Taster’s evening on Friday 12th August we will be investigating the differences between old and new world wines. John E will be selecting 3 red grape varieties and providing us with an example of each from the new world and old world. Which will have more power and more fruit? Which will be more food friendly? Come and find out with us from 8pm in Grange Road, Tongham, Surrey.  Six wines will be blind tasted and food will be provided to help us test the wines in real conditions.



As usual we will share the cost, which should be around £10 a head which will include tasting 6 wines and having a simple 3 course supper. This month we will be throwing in a birthday cake and desert wine for free to help Jane celebrate her birthday! Sound like fun? Give John E a ring on 07717 876743 Or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com. We welcome new members, so if you enjoy tasting wine, give us a try!

If the weather is warm we will be tasting outside or if we are having a typical English summer’s evening we will retreat indoors. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 14 but we usually have about eight or nine of us sharing some good wine, food and conversation. John reckons he has selected six stonkingly good red wines, but you can be the judge of that if you join us on August 12th for another Tongham Tasters’ wine evening. Find out more about us by clicking on Wine Circle at the top of this page.

Ceps foraged last week

..and in the right hand corner, The New World!

If you can’t make this event, here are some other dates for your diary. On Thursday September 15th we will be competing in Poyle Road, Tongham to find out who can bring along the best £10 or under bottle of wine. Then in October on Saturday 15th we will be in Farnborough to discover The Joy of Ceps with our resident Ceps maniac, Ian, and seeing what wines go well with mushrooms. If you are into long range planning then another date for your diary is Saturday November 19th when we will be have another Tongham Village Hall Wine Tasting Dinner – New Zealand wines and Pacific Rim cooking.

Untl then...... cheers!

Storming the Bastille

On July 14th Tongham Tasters’ will be celebrating French National Day by trying 6 French wines, each selected by a different member of our tasting group. We would love you to join us, but spaces are strictly limited to 14 and as we have a lot of interest for this one give me a call or send an email early to guarantee your place. Food will be more substantial for this event and we will be having a starter, main course and dessert, all following the French theme. If we are lucky, Jane and Jean-Michel will have taught us how to sing La Marseillaise by the end of the evening! Venue as usual is Tongham, this month in Grange Road.

A reminder of the wines we are having at this event and who is buying them:

Sheila - A bottle of Champagne or other French sparkling wine up to the value of £20.
John S - A bottle of dry white Burgundy or Loire wine up to the value of £18.
Myself - A bottle of red Burgundy up to the value of £20.
Clive - A bottle of red Bordeaux up to the value of £15.
Steve S - A bottle of red Rhone or Languedoc wine up to the value of £12.
Ian - A bottle of sweet white dessert wine from the Loire or Bordeaux up to the value of £15.

In addition, I will put a few bottles in reserve as it looks like we are going to have a good attendance again this time.  Hopefully, Jean-Michel is bringing along one of Dominique's lovely desserts.

If you want to join in the fun just ring John on 07717 876743 or email Tonghamtaster@gmail.com. Remember we equally welcome faces old and new, so give us a try. As usual we will be sharing the cost of the evening which may be slightly more than the normal £10 for this evening.

Future Tongham Tasters wine tastings wil include "Old World versus New World" in August, "Best Wines Under £10" in September and "The Joy of Ceps" in October. Do join us!

BBQ Wines

INVITATION

Summer is approaching and summer, even with our weather, means Barbeques. But what wines to serve with a BBQ? We will be getting some ideas from Hazel this coming Friday, 3rd June, at our next Tongham Tasters’ evening. Expect some rosés! To road test them properly there will be an accompanying BBQ and perhaps some of Steve's homemade bread. All we need now is your company and some good weather.

Format will be as usual, with 6 wines being blind tasted and some accompanying food. We will be sharing the cost (about £10 a head) between all the attendees and anyone is welcome to join us. Just send us an email to tonghamtaster@gmail.com or ring John on 07717 876743 if you fancy joining us. The fun starts at 8pm. If you have never met us before and want to know more about our group click on Wine Circle at the top of this page.

JOHN’S BBQ WINE ADVICE
Most rosés go well with BBQ food. What better to drink on a hot summer’s night?
With reds either go for big wines such as Shiraz, Malbec, Pinotage etc or go for some more acidity with a lighter Beaujolais. Probably a young Australian Shiraz would be a popular choice with many in the UK. In the USA they would recommend a Zinfandel – why not try the Ravenswood Zinfandel from Majestic?
If you fancy a white, try a Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling.
Which exact wine you choose will depend on what exactly you are barbequing and what sauce or marinade you are using and even on you and your guests own personal taste. Don’t worry too much as BBQ is not haute cuisine – just don’t waste an expensive wine. Have fun trying a selection of value wines. Join us next Friday for some ideas.

French Sauvignon Blanc Evening

France is the spiritual home of Sauvignon Blanc with Sancerre and Pouilly Fume having created the worldwide reputation of this white distinctive grape varietal. Nowadays, perhaps some consumers believe that Sauvignon Blanc comes mainly from New Zealand as this is the favourite tipple of many. For years Sauvignon Blanc was my favourite wine and of course, being me, I prefer the French Sauvignon Blancs. There are many French Sauvignon Blancs other than Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. Perhaps surprisingly, Quincy was the second ever Appellation Controlee after Chateauneuf du Pape, and Quincy only grows Sauvignon Blanc. Also in the Loire, Reuilly and Touraine grow lovely Sauvignon Blanc wines as does St Bris in Burgundy. In the Loire, Bordeaux and South West Regions Sauvignon Blanc is often blended with other grapes to produce other distinctive and delicious wines.

For our next Tongham Tasters’ wine evening we will be blind tasting some of these French Sauvignon Blancs – 4 single varietals and one blend. Our sixth and last wine of the evening will be a red – I’ll bring along something special. The date for your diaries is Thursday 12th May at 8.00pm and the venue is in Tongham Surrey – full address when you book.

Everyone is invited and welcome but places are limited to just 14. Cost is the usual maximum of £10 and is payable on the night. If you want to join us please ring John Etherton on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com. It should be a good convivial evening with nice wine and some simple food to match. Hope to see you there! If you need more information click on Wine Circle at the top of this page for our FAQs. We welcome new faces to our events so please feel free to join us.

If it’s Friday it must be the Languedoc!

You are invited to our March 2011 Tongham Tasters wine evening, which, unusually this month, is on a Friday. The date to put in your diaries is March 11th at 8.00pm.

This month, Steve S is hosting the event and choosing the wines. Most of us know that Steve is a big fan of the Languedoc and so no surprise that the theme of this month’s evening is the wines of the Languedoc.

As usual we will be blind tasting 6 wines, enjoying a little food and of course thoroughly enjoying each others company. Cost of the evening is shared by all who come along and is limited to a very reasonable £10 per head – cash on the night.

Participation is limited to 14 as it is being held in one of our homes and we only have one bottle of each wine. As we normally only get nine regulars along to our events there is room for a few additional people to come along and join in the fun. We welcome any new faces and if you want to join us, give Tongham Taster organiser John a call on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com.

Vines in the Languedoc

The venue will be in Tongham which is close to Farnham, Aldershot, Seale, Ash and Runfold in Surrey, UK.. Address will be supplied on booking your place. Hope we get to clink glasses with you on the 11th.  If all is stilll not clear click on Wine Circle at the top of this blog for our FAQs.

If keen on the wines of the Languedoc do tune in to this blog for information and recommendations relating to this region each week during March.

Invitation to the February Tongham Tasters Wine Get-together

Less than two weeks to go before the next Tongham Tasters’ get-together. This month, Clive is hosting the evening and providing the wine and food. As usual we will be blind tasting six different wines. The date for your diary is Thursday 17th February at 8.00pm and the location is Tongham, Surrey, UK. The cost of the evening is shared between those who attend and is limited to a maximum of £10 per person.

6 Glasses ready to be filled with interesting wine.

We always welcome new people coming along to our events. No knowledge of wine is required, just an enthusiasm to try different wines in a social atmosphere. So whether you know us or just happened upon our blog site, and fancy coming along, contact us to reserve your place. Spaces are limited to 14 as we hold our get-togethers in our homes.

For more information and FAQs, click on Wine Circle above. Hope to see you on the 17th!

To contact us ring John on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com.

Invitation to the January Tongham Tasters’ Get-together

Only about two weeks to go before another Tongham Tasters’ Get-together. As usual we will be tasting six interesting wines brought along by one of our circle – this month they will be the choice of Steve and Hazel who will also be hosting the event. So make sure you have Thursday January 13th 2011 at 8.00pm in your diary. As usual we will be serving some simple food including palate cleansers.  The theme this month will be Northern Italy.  So we should get some interesting wines and if we get lucky some of Steve's homemade ciabatta.

Glasses waiting to be filled with lovely Italian wine.

It really helps if you can drop us an email as soon as possible to let John know you are coming. Usual email address – tonghamtaster@gmail.com. If you prefer the phone, ring John on 01252 783447.

We always welcome new people coming along to our get-togethers. No knowledge of wine is required, just an enthusiasm to try different wines and join in the fun of our monthly gatherings. So whether you know us or just happened upon the website, and fancy coming along, contact us to reserve your place. Spaces are limited to 14 as we hold our get-togethers in our homes.

All of our meetings are held in Tongham near Farnham in Surrey, UK. We share the costs of the wine and food between all the attendees, and this is set at a maximum of £10 per person.

...and I mustn't forget

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to all Tongham Tasters whether we meet you in person or on-line.

TONGHAM TAPAS FIESTA

Tickets are now on sale for our Saturday February 12th Spanish wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall. Seven superb Spanish wines and twelve tapas dishes to taste should make for an excellent evening and represents tremendous value at just £22.50 per head. We should also be able to raise a few hundred pounds to help the continuing renovations of the village hall – hopefully you will notice quite a few changes since our gala champagne dinner last year.

In some parts of Spain they have Tapas festivals or fiesta during February as part of the lead up to Lent. This may be the first time we have had a Tapas Fiesta in Tongham.

As this is fiesta time, the emphasis this time will be on fun rather than formal so Spanish Tapas is ideal as it is little dishes made for sharing. Rather than black tie this time, we want some colour so wear something red and yellow – the colours of the Spanish flag. There will a bottle of wine for the best dressed person following this theme.

As usual we will include a large educational element so that you will leave the evening with the history of tapas and an introduction to the main Spanish wine regions. Wines will include Rioja, Priorat and Albarino and we will also be reintroducing you to Sherry.

We always sell out, so book early to avoid disappointment. As my mobile phone is broken at present, ring 01252 783447 or 07983 154295 for tickets. We need cheque or cash within one week of booking.

Don’t miss out on the Tongham Tapas Fiesta. Ring today!

Invitation to the December Tongham Tasters’ Get-together

Only just over a week to go before another Tongham Tasters’ Get-together. As usual we will be tasting six interesting wines brought along by one of our circle – this month they will be the choice of Sheila. So make sure you have Thursday December 9th at 8.00pm in your diary. We will be serving the usual palate cleansing foods plus a seasonal Chestnut soup to help warm you against the cold.

It really helps if you can drop us an email as soon as possible to let John know you are coming. Usual email address – tonghamtaster@gmail.com. If you prefer the phone, ring John on 07717 876743.

We always welcome new people coming along to our get-togethers. No knowledge of wine is required, just an enthusiasm to try different wines and join in the fun of our monthly gatherings. So whether you know us or just happened upon the website, and fancy coming along, contact us to reserve your place. Spaces are limited to 14 as we hold our get-togethers in our homes.

All of our meetings are held in Tongham near Farnham in Surrey, UK. We share the costs of the wine and food between all the attendees, and this is set at a maximum of £10 per person.

Dates for your diary

Tongham Tasters hold wine tastings in Tongham near Farnham Surrey on the second Thursday of each month.   As we hold our get-togethers in our homes, participants are limited to 14 each evening.  Each month a different member of our wine circle selects the wines.  Cost of the food and wine is shared and the cost per person is limited to £10.  We warmly welcome new wine lovers coming to our evenings.   All of us are at different levels of wine knowledge and experience, so don't let being a novice put you off - we all learn more by drinking interesting wines each month.   Also don't worry about not living in Tongham as tasting doesn't necessarily involve swallowing.  Get a flavour of our get-togethers by reading the reports of our evenings and other blog postings below.

Our next events are -

Thursday December 9th - 8.00pm - Sheila
Thursday January 13th - 8pm - Steve & Hazel
Thursday February 10th - 8pm - Clive

To find out more email any questions to tonghamtaster@gmail.com or ring John on 07717 876743.

November's Tongham Tasters' Get-together



Countdown to November 11th



Our next Tongham Tasters get together is at 8.00pm on Thursday 11th November. Ian will be buying the wine this month and he is going for 3 Rieslings (2 dry and 1 slightly sweeter) and 3 fruity reds from around the world – should be interesting. Rieslings are of course the white grape of choice for most wine writers – so if you want to understand why, come along. Fruit is the modern taste preference for reds after years of oak etc, so again we wait to see what Ian has chosen with interest. As usual we will be conducting a blind tasting of these 6 wines.





Please email tonghamtaster@gmail.com or ring John on 07717 876743 if you wish to come along to this month’s event and let us know a week in advance if possible. We appreciate everyone bringing along their own 6 wine glasses as this prevents one person from doing all the washing up or running out of glasses. Remember we only have 14 places available for each event so early notification will prevent disappointment.  As usual we will share the cost of the evening and it is limited to £10 per head.

As usual we welcome wine enthusiasts of all types and levels of experience from absolute beginners upwards.

Report on our October Launch Get-Together

I think I can say without fear of contradiction that our first Tongham Tasters monthly get-together was a resounding success. We had a great crowd of nine wine enthusiasts of different levels of experience – Jean-Michel, Steve, Clive, Steve, Sheila, Jane, Ian, Hazel and John – and both wine and conversation flowed throughout the evening, mingled with some food and laughter. Special thanks to bargain hunter Jane who assembled six interesting wines from Tesco’s during their 25% off wine fair and went way under budget so that the whole evening actually cost under £5 per person. Everyone put £10 in the kitty so that we could do something special at another date.

All wines were tasted blind. Below are the wines we tasted in order of popularity:

1. Storks' Tower 2009 Tempranilla Shiraz Rosé Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Hijas de Antonio Barcelo – normally £6.49 but Jane bought it for £4.87. Seven out of the nine of us voted this their best wine of the evening. John scored this a 15/20 point wine but Ian gave it 18/20. So it proved that we are not wine snobs and can appreciate a good Rosé which this definitely is. It is very similar to the excellent 2008 if you had tasted that this summer. We all agreed that this was a wine you could drink at other times of the year and Ian suggested this would be great with Salmon. Great value and well worth buying.

2. Crozes Hermitage 2007 Selected by Tesco Cave de Tain Silver Medal International Wine Challenge 2010 – normally £8.49 but Jane bought it for £6.37. One person voted this their top wine of the evening and four voted it their No.2 wine. John scored it only 11/20 but Ian gave it a more generous 16/20 so the jury was less certain on this – one of our team said they didn’t like it at all. Top marks to Steve who quickly identified what this wine was – suggesting that the right characteristics were there. A good value wine for lovers of French Shiraz.

3. Arrogant Frog Ribet Rouge Rural 2009 Pezenas Sud de France Vin de Pays d'Oc Bio Cabernet Merlot – normally £7.99 but Jane bought this for £5.99. Two of our enthusiasts voted this their No.2 wine of the evening and another 5 their No.3 wine, so it consistently featured highly in everyone’s list. John gave it 15/20 but Ian didn’t like this one and gave it only 9/20, proving that everyone has different tastes in wine. It certainly benefitted from breathing and got better as the evening progressed. An interesting organic Bordeaux blend from the Languedoc,which partly disproves my theory that silly named wines are not worth buying.

4. Tim Adams 2008 Semillon Clare Valley Australia – normally £10.49 but Jane paid only £7.87. Three of the team voted this their No.2 wine and two voted it their No.3 wine. John scored it 12.5/20 and Ian was in agreement scoring it 12/20. Perhaps rather disappointing scores for the most expensive wine of evening. However, a nice wine, if you like oaked Semillon, from an excellent producer; but most of us prefer the Tim Adams reds.

5. Argentina Reserve 2009 Chardonnay Fairtrade selected by Tesco – normally £6.29 but £4.72 in the wine fair. One of the Tongham Tasters voted this their No.1 wine of the evening and another two had it at No.3. John gave it 9.5/20 but Ian gave it 15/20 – this was a wine that definitely split the group into two; you either loved it or hated it. For Hazel it was another example of why she doesn’t like Chardonnay. However, others found some nice tropical fruits in this wine.

6. Altos de Tamaron Ribeira de Duero Tempranilla oak aged 2009 – normally £5.24 but Jane purchased for £3.93. None of the group had this wine in their top three, proving how difficult it is to purchase good wines in the £5 and under price range. However, it gave us a good laugh in arguing whether it tasted of mud or strawberries! John scored it 11/20 suggesting it was reasonable value but Ian gave it only 6/20 suggesting that it wasn’t drinkable.

It will be interesting to see if anyone can come up with such a popular wine as the Storks’ Ridge Rosé at a price of just £4.87 – Jane has thrown a challenge down!

The food we had with all this interesting wine from around the world, was smoked salmon and cream cheese pancake roulades, chorizo and cheddar pancake wedges, celery and carrot soup, cheddar cheese and pita bread plus cucumber, carrot and celery crudités.

This month we have featured the wine scores of John and Ian in our blog, but if you want your scores to appear here, come to our next Tongham Taster’s Get-Together at 8.00pm on Thursday November 11th. Good news is that we are not short of volunteers to choose the wines for the next 3 months. Ian has volunteered for November and is currently deciding between a theme of Rieslings, Australian wines or a bit of a mix. Sheila will provide some interesting wines for our December get-together, whilst Steve and Hazel are hosting our January evening.

Thanks to everyone for making our launch event such a success – cheers!

Tongham Tasters' First Get-Together Coming Soon !!!

Tongham Tasters first get-together is scheduled for Thursday 14^th October at 8.pm.   We have had a lot of interest, so do be sure to email us (tonghamtaster@gmail.com) between now and 7^th October letting us know if you are definitely going to come and who if anyone is coming with you.   Look forward to seeing you on the 14^th.  Cheers!

Welcome to Tongham Tasters, an informal fun way to discover wine, locally

Join us for an informal monthly get-together and explore the world of wine. Share your favourite wines or bring new ones to try. Taste other participants’ choices and discover their views. Six wines per session; Costs shared between participants; max £10 per person per session.

First get-together
“Jane’s Supermarket Wines”
Thursday 14th October 2010
Grange Road, Tongham
8 pm start

RSVP by 7th October on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com

Tongham Tasters FAQs

What is Tongham Tasters?

An informal, fun way to discover wine, locally
Meet once a month, on the 2nd Thursday of each month – 8.00pm start.
Each monthly get-together costs a maximum of £10 per person.
All monthly get-togethers held in the Tongham area.
Everyone takes it in turn to buy the wines.
Get-togethers restricted to a maximum of 14 people (over 18s only).

When Are Our Next Get-Togethers?

14th October 2010 – Launch get-together: "Jane's 6 Supermarket Wines"
11th November 2010 – tba
9th December 2010 – tba
13th January 2011 – tba
10th February 2011 – tba

What Happens At Our Monthly Get-Togethers?

Short informal introduction to the evening by the person who purchased the wines
Blind tasting of the wines
Discussion about the wines
Chat and Simple food (French Bread, Cheese, Crudités and Cold Meats)
Fix future get-togethers, hosts, themes, person who purchases etc.
A different person each month purchases the wine
Get-togethers held in Grange Road, Tongham, Surrey UK; others are welcome to host an evening locally

What Do You Want From Me?

Try to come to as many get-togethers as possible.
Purchase the wines for one meeting a year and do a short introduction to that meeting and its wines (you will be reimbursed the cost of the wines).
Bring your own glasses to each event – each person should bring 6 glasses to each event so that they can properly compare and taste each wine.
Share in the cost of wine and food at each session you attend (maximum of £10 per meeting). Payment in cash on the night.
Notify host whether you will be attending next get-together at least 7 days in advance. Meetings will be rescheduled if less than 6 can attend.

What Wines?

6 different bottles of wine at each get-together.
Wines will follow a pre-agreed theme, as simple as “6 wines from Asda” or more specialised such as “6 Red Riojas”.
Cost of any bottle of wine will normally be between about £5 and £20.
Cost of all six bottles must not exceed £50.

How Can I Join In The Fun?

Contact John Etherton on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com.
Visit the website http://tonghamtaster.blogspot.com for details about future and past get-togethers.

September 2008

My wine of the month for September is an incredible value red wine at only £4.49 from Lidl (yes, Lidl!); it is Baturrica Tarragona Gran Reserva DO (both the 2001 or 2002 are available and excellent). I cannot remember a wine I paid under five pounds for in the UK tasting so good for a very long time. It tastes very similar to a Gran Reserva Rioja and has a good balance of oak and fruit and that lovely vanilla I seek in Spanish reds. The grape varieties are Tempranilla and Cabernet Sauvignon and it has been aged in oak for at least 24 months before further ageing in the bottle as part of a total 5 years minimum ageing. I suggest you go and snap some up today. We have already enjoyed 6 bottles of this wine and blind tasted it against Gran Reserve Riojas at three times the price with surprising results!

You find bargains like this by searching for wines from unknown regions; it is highly unlikely that you will find a wine from Rioja this good at this price. The Tarrogona wine region is best known for growing grapes for sparkling Cava and also for sweet red fortified wines, as well as being famous as the port that has shipped communion wines all over the world for many years; maybe church attendances would increase if they served this Gran Reserva instead!

Serve this wine with lamb; it can take quite strong flavours so why not try roast lamb stuffed either with black tapenade and garlic or alternatively perhaps stuffed with Chorizo, red peppers and green olives.

My white wine of the month is twice the price and can be puchased at £10.00 from Laithwaites. However, the wine is so beautiful it almost seems a bargain! It is a 2005 Vouvray Reserve Champalou. This is a slightly off dry white made with Chenin Blanc grapes and comes from one of the top producers in the area. This wine is a real pleasure to drink and shows off how good this grape variety can be when made as a dryish wine.

People are put off Vouvray because there is such a mixture of styles from dry to sweet and very often no indication on the bottle as to the style. However, this is a wine to change people's minds about this appellation.

If a wine of this quality was made in Sancerre or Burgundy it would fetch a much higher price, so thank God for unfashionable wine regions!

Serve this wine alongside a cold pea soup with crispy pancetta and seafood (langoustines, prawns or monkfish). I had this dish recently in Bourges, France and my wife Jane has managed to create an excellent version since I told her about it.

Talking about eating out we visited some lovely restaurants in August. Pride of place went to Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat' Saisons; this was faultless and the wine sommelier very interesting as he guided us away from any wines we knew in order to give us new experiences. His suggestions of a Cuvee Frederic Emile Trimbach Riesling 2001, a Vins de Pays des Cotes Catalanes 2006 blanc, and a red Sicilian wine made entirely with Carignano grapes (Turrigoz 1999) were excellent. More local, Kei's new Chinese Restaurant in Runfold is excellent and we enjoyed a lovely Rioja rosé wine with our meal.

Later in September we will be making our six monthly pilgimage to France for the Foires aux Vins. The exchange rate is not so favourable at the moment but we hope to still pick up some good value French wines. Amongst those wines we will be searching for will be some Christophe Cordier Macon Charnay Vielles Vignes 2007 (€9.95 at Carrefour), Domaine du Clos de Fourchis Macon Aze 2006 (€5.75 from Auchan) and some Le Clos Delorme Valencay 2006 (€6.90 from Monoprix). We will report back in next months blog.

Also in next month's blog we will report on tasting a South African Pinot Noir at over £20 a bottle and let you know our wines of the month for October.

Our next wine tasting in Tongham will be in November just after the Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived. We will be featuring wines from Beaujolais and Macon alongside some of Jane's famous French cooking. Details next month.

Good tasting and do let's have your comments.