Tuesday, 8th October 2024
Members: £59
Guests: £64
*Members of the Cambridge Society of London may invite one guest – if you are not currently a member and would like to become one, please enrol via this link.
France versus England
France is the unchallenged leader in matters vinous. No country produces more great wine, and in greater variety. Britain’s role has historically been the grateful neighbour. Our climate was not seen as warm enough to ripen grapes. But over the last twenty years prices have risen across the Channel, and temperatures have risen generally, so that investment has flowed into the warmer, drier counties and some undeniably very good sparkling wines are being made. You have probably all seen headlines of Champagnes being upstaged in competitions by the English (and indeed Welsh) pretenders, but that often depends on who enters; and it is only the sparkling category. The intent of this tasting is to see what the reality is; how close can English wines come to their French counterparts, matching grape varieties, styles and price points, of both still and sparkling wines. We will taste all the wines blind in pairs and ask ourselves two questions. Which wine is French; and which wine do we prefer?
The wines will include an English rosé as an aperitif, two Blanc de Blancs (ie Chardonnay), two Blanc de Noirs (ie sparkling Pinot Noir and possibly Pinto Meunier), two still Chardonnays, two still Pinot Noirs and an English Bacchus against a Burgundian Bourgogne Aligoté; so this is a little bit pricier than usual!
As usual the venue will be revealed to those who have purchased a ticket. But as many of you know it is very close to Green Park.
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About your host
Richard Pearey DipWSET, Chairman of the Society, has been passionate about wine from an embarrassingly early age. He began creating a cellar in 1984 and despite (or perhaps because of) a long career in advertising, film and sports marketing, then men’s luxury shirts, has been drinking steadily ever since. His addiction to the grape has led many of his friends to hand over their wine cellars to his care. He has organised and hosted wine evenings as corporate or staff entertainment for city firms, marketing agencies and private clients, from 8 to 200 people. He has run a wine course for friends, his own wine club – Who Nose – since 1985 and his old school dining society, the oldest in the world, for 23 years. He co-founded a wine event company, We Don’t Spit, in 2013 and learned to spit, at which point he began his official wine qualifications. He completed his Diploma in lockdown and works at Hedonism Wine in Mayfair, whilst now pursuing his ultimate dream of becoming a Master of Wine, of which there are still only 425 in the world. Part of this 3-5 year course involves blind tasting 24 wines from anywhere in the world. So he is hoping tasting with Society Members will help!
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Cambridge Society of London Transfer and Refund Policy
i) At least 14 calendar days before the event: We will provide full refunds (minus any booking/transaction fees, which are nonrefundable). Alternatively, if you have found a suitable replacement, we can change the name on the ticket on the understanding that you will reclaim the ticket price from them separately.
ii) Between 4 and 14 calendar days before the event: Our arrangements with our hosts are always finalised 4 calendar days before each event. With more than 4 calendar days’ notice we can still change the name to someone named by you on the understanding that you will reclaim the ticket price from them separately. Alternatively, we MIGHT be able to sell it to someone else; there is no guarantee of that but we will do our best and then refund you if successful.
iii) Less than 4 calendar days: We regret that we cannot offer refunds if given less than 4 calendar days’ notice