First Tasting; 'Great Success'

Our first major tasting has come and gone, and in the words of the great Kazakhstani, Borat, 'great success'.

As our curious and generous guests came in to wet their whistle, the brewery's musky overhang of malt, gave way to ripe notes of excitement and anticipation.

We had a baker's dozen on the pour on (let's not forget our cleansing prosecco), and a pretty basic, but dare I say it effective, form was provided for each guest to go through and taste the wines. The rating system asked people to score the wines out of 10, guess the retail value of the wine, and give some notes. People were so enamoured with the wines and the experience of tasting blind as they went around the room, that as the time for the big reveal drew closer, some urgency had to be brought to bear.

Several solid responses were provided to what the wines were and it was great to see some collaboration and agreement around the room. One cheeky sod picked the opening vermentino, the Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnays didn't last long, and the pinot was begging for it. However, the two Shiraz on offer made people less steady on their feet, and the Rioja had clear skies for miles.

The winning white was the 2024 Briar Ridge The Squire Chardonnay. This is a winery that I've been working with for some time now and they consistently produce crackers; with their chardonnay being some of their best. A great expression of Hunter Valley Chardonnay at a wicked price point.

There were two reds that tied in first place: The Vinden Headcase Shiraz, and the Demuerte One. Two distinct wines, with the shiraz being elegant and light and the Demuerte being a deeper fuller red, that showed a level of appreciation across styles.

Here is a list of all the wines that we tasted on the day in order of tasting:

Sabreseno Vermentino 22

Casa Lunardi 23

Vinas Murillo Chapirete Sauvignon Blanc 23

Briar Ridge The Squire Chardonnay 24

Inman Pratt Vine Hill Chardonnay 21

Frankly Bob Skinsy 2023

Moonlight Rose Paradis Rose Pet-Nat 2021

Rikard Pinot Noir 2023

Vinden Wines Somerset Shiraz

Mordrelle Basket Press Shiraz 22

Bodegas Escudero Crianza Rioja 19

Demuerte One 22

All these wines are available to purchase in our shop, so if you want to go round 2 (or round 1 for those less fortunate), head on over.

Again, it was a great day and thank you to everyone that came along. We will be doing more of these events in the future so please keep an eye out for those upcoming.