FUTURE PROGRAMME (scroll down for record of past meetings)

Wednesday, 27th May 2026 - Camino de Santiago - Wines (Catherine & Kevin Poole)

Wednesday, 24th June 2026 - GUEST SPEAKER; Ian Wilson from Wellbrook Wines, Mayfield

Wednesday, 22th July 2026 - SOCIAL: At Home with David & Jane (Wine and Tapas)

August - Summer Break

Thursday, 24th September 2026 - Social Cheese & Wine Mingle

Wednesday, 28th October 2026 - Wines of New Zealand (Jan Whiteley)

Convenor - David Austin
Treasurer - Paddy McFarlan

Want to know more?
Please contact David using the email link at the top of this page.

Scroll down the page to find out more. You will also see pictures from our visits and the future programme of wine meetings.

Attendance/Communications
All members will be asked to RSVP to the monthly email invitations.

Objectives
Through a varied programme of wine tastings, guest speakers, outside visits and members' presentations, the Group's main objectives are to:

(a) Learn more about the wine-producing regions of the world: their climate, geology, topography and soil types, and the properties they impart on the wine;

(b) Explore the numerous grape varieties and their principal characteristics;

(c) Increase our understanding of the science and art of viticulture and wine production;

(d) And, most importantly, Enjoy tasting it!

Please Note:
We are now accepting new members

Membership:
There is an expectation that members will lead one wine group meeting in the year year. This involves selecting a wine topic/theme, purchasing wine, undertaking background research, preparing some handout notes and providing food/nibbles. All costs are re-imbursed.
However, we recognise that some people do not feel able to take the lead and so we have set up a Reserve/Social members list. People on the reserve list will continue to be invited to meetings/events when space exists, but will not be expected to lead any sessions.

A TYPICAL MEETING - At a typical meeting we have a short introductory presentation, followed by the tastings. We try six different wines (usually 3 white and 3 red). Summary notes are provided; these include details about the wines (eg grape varieties, country/region, growing conditions, wine production techniques), tasting notes and ideas about food matching.

We always have some samples of cheese/meat to complement the wines.

At the end of each session, we take a straw poll to find out which wine was the favourite of the evening. We also try to guess the cost. Interestingly, it’s not always the most expensive wines that get the thumbs up from our members - everyone’s taste is different. As part of the fun, any remaining wine is raffled off at the end of session!

		PAST MEETINGS
2026		Topic
April		Champagne Tasting plus horizontal tasting of St Emilion wines (same vintage/different producers)
March		South American Wines: Brazil and Uruguay
February		Portuguese Wines (Geoff Taylor)
January		Presentation and tasting of wines from Wildwood Vineyard, Eridge (Paul Olding)
2025		Topic
December		Pre-Christmas Dinner with flight of wines (The Greyhound Inn)
October		Social Event: Cheese and Wine Mingle, Commemoration Hall
August/Sept		Summer Break
23rd July		Vertical Tastings (Different vintages/years of same wine, vineyard and producer.)
25th June		Spanish Wine Influence around the world
28th May		Exploring Swiss Wines
23rd April		Wine Quiz & Blind Tasting
26th March		The Art of Blending, with some quality examples
19th Feb		Orient Express - London to Constantinople with wines en route
January		Dry January - No meeting!