And Finally...

2010 has been a year of a few firsts for the Events Team; our first tasting at the Eden Project, our first Wine Show at Vinopolis, our first run-in with a volcanic ash cloud and both Jo and Will’s first tastings. It’s been a great year and we’re looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings.

Our 2010 highlights:

John –‘A fantastic evening aboard the HMS Warrior and our Lake District visits - looking forward to heading back with our Cumbria tasting in June.’
Will – ‘The Eden Project tasting. A brilliant venue and a great excuse to return to my home county!’
Ian – ‘Also the HMS Warrior and hosting a wine and dinner evening at Le Manoir alongside the first lady of New Zealand Wine, Jane Hunter’
Jo – The Vinopolis Show – I loved the festival buzz and spending a few days around Borough Market was great fun!’

The most popular wine from across our 2010 tastings has got to be the Pillastro Selezione d’Oro which has wowed our customers across the UK every time we’ve shown it this year… It’s certainly one to keep you warm this winter!

Thank you to every one who has come along to one of our events this year – we’ve really enjoyed doing them and hope that you had a great time too!

We’ve got lots of exciting new locations (Brighton, Godalming & North Wales, to name a few) and some old favourites (HMS Warrior, Lincoln and the Lake District) already booked up for 2011. Our first one is at the end of January at STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon… Let’s hope the weather improves by then!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Events Team

Wine, Canapés and Riots!

On Thursday 9th December, we had a rather interesting day as we headed to London for our annual Wine & Canapés evening for 200 tasters, due to be held in The Mall Galleries, Westminster...

So far this year, we’ve been up against volcanic ash clouds, airport strikes and extreme weather. On Thursday, we had a whole new challenge… in the form of several thousand demonstrators!

John, Will and I made our way to London nice and early in case our route was affected by the protests taking place around Parliament Square as MPs voted on tuition fees. We managed to get there just fine, though the area was very heavily policed, and we were able to start early - we certainly didn’t want to have anyone waiting outside with all that going on so close by, particularly on such a FREEZING cold night!

By contrast, the atmosphere at the tasting was warm and relaxed. Any of our customers that had experienced a stressful journey getting to The Mall were soon sipping on elegant Champagne and nibbling exquisite canapés as they viewed the fine oil paintings of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters that line the walls of the gallery.

We were joined by two producers; Marie O’Riordan of Halewood International, with a selection of terrific value, excellent quality Romanian wines including the night’s top seller Colina de Piatra Alba Pinot Noir 2009 and Ollie Marsh of RidgeView Estate Winery who showed off two of their outstanding, multi-award-winning English Sparkling Wines, South Ridge white and rosé – both were very well received and it was great to include some impressive wines from less familiar territories.

Thanks to all who came and joined us on the night. Despite the unfortunate timing, it turned out to be a really great evening, riots and all!

This was our final tasting of the year but we’ve already got lots of exciting new venues (Brighton, Swindon Steam Museum & Cardiff, to name a few) and some old favourites (HMS Warrior in Portsmouth, the Lake District) booked up for 2011. So here’s to another great year of tastings!

Cheers!

Jo x

No rest for the wicked

or if today is Thursday, this must be Cheltenham...

The days since the Laithwaites Show at Vinopolis have hardly been idle. We’ve had four more events to organise, to travel to and to host - and there are another two in the offing.

The former Bird’s Custard Factory in Birmingham is now an Arts & Media centre comprised of many different spaces – we opted for The Old Library which dates from 19th Century. Dilapidated by the Nineties but now restored to a bright, airily-vaulted venue thanks to grants from English Heritage and the EDRF.

Despite the threat of heavy snow around the area, Jo and I made it and so did almost everyone else. It was good to be joined by Jim & Paul from our Solihull Shop who presented 5 wines including the statuesque Trapiche Las Palmas Cabernet which ended up as fourth most popular wine behind these three:

Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc 2009 – sadly now sold out; 2010 vintage due in February 2011

Pillastro Selezione d’Oro 2007 – the ‘Champion’ wine of 2010 at our events

Moonlighters Cabernet Sangiovese 2006 – a unique RedHeads Studio production


Reading Town Hall was next on the list for John and Jo – if you’re thinking this one should be easy for them being based in nearby Theale, you haven’t met Reading’s Traffic Wardens.

Unfortunately, the snow did affect this one – two out of three producers were unable to make the journey to Reading from France but we did have 120 customers and some canapés to sustain them. David Emmins representing Campanula will be pleased he did make it as his lively Hungarian Pinot Grigio 2009 was the most popular wine followed by the muscular Groote Kaap Cabernet 2009 and the dainty frizzante Limonetto.

Next day, next event – Cheltenham, the beautiful Grade I listed Pittville Pump Room – again more snow around but we were not to be put off. With most of our staff coming from our Gloucester base, travel wasn’t quite so much of an issue here.

Tony & Barbara Laithwaite joined Will to taste their way around 32 wines and our popular Breton Cider, presented by Sylvain Ruffier. Other highlights in sales terms were the Pillastro Selezione d’Oro (again, see, told you so) and Westend Estate’s The Boxer 2009 red.

With a quick trip to Gloucester to look after a group from the Institute of Directors thrown in last week, this week, with only two events should be a piece of cake, shouldn’t it?

Ian

A Show to Remember

When Laithwaites Wine throws a party, it is a party to be remembered! That’s exactly what we did at the weekend in the wonderful Vinopolis Great Halls, adjoining our Arch shop, next to London’s world famous Borough Market.

We were delighted to be joined by scores of wine producers from across the globe, around 200 different wines, 70 members of staff, and almost 1600 happy smiley customers over three tasting sessions!

The wine and wine makers, of course, stole the show, and a rich cacophony of laughs could be heard for most of the weekend as producers joked with customers, customers joked with each other and staff and we all ribbed the South African boys about the rugby.

At the end of each session the votes were counted up and the winner announced, with Bill Calabria’s Westend Estate Pinot Grigio 2010 scooping the award for Friday evening, his Amore Durif 2009, winning the Saturday evening prize and the Spier Signature Collection Pinotage 2008 splitting the Westend Estate wines for the Saturday lunchtime top spot.

Hopefully, all those who attended, be they staff, producers or customers, enjoyed the events of the two days and can take back fond memories; I certainly have several fond memories as well as one slightly painful one that will remind me to take more care where to put my foot next year!

For a full list of the wines on show please feel free to browse this eBrochure

Will Waters

What started off as a pipe dream

What started off as a pipe dream came to reality on Saturday, when we hosted our first ever wine tasting at the Eden Project.

The 12 strong team of staff were joined by a whole host of producers who had travelled down to Cornwall to be with us on such a brilliant day, the focus of the tasting was to show the diversity of wines available that use sustainable, biodynamic and organic practices.

Richard Addison & Zakkie Bester, CEO of Cape Weaver in South Africa came along and showed their new range of excellent wines from the Cape. David Ferreira from Casal Branco in Portugal jetted in from his whistle stop world tour (literally, I have no idea how he managed it).

William Long owner of Long Wines in Spain braved the British public transport to come along and Tamara Roberts, South Ridge Estate in Sussex took the sensible option and made a long weekend of it and stayed over on Sunday in Cornwall with the family.

We were blessed with the weather and, as you looked out across the Eden Project from the Gallery Room, the sun glistened across the tops of the two huge biomes and we were all taken aback by the view.

200 customers joined us on Saturday and many were queuing up some 20 minutes before opening time eager to be the very first through the door. The atmosphere was very relaxed and I’m certain that the majority of people took full advantage of the half-price entry into the Biomes to make a full day of it.

Every person I spoke with had a smile on their face when they left the tasting and we were urged to return to Cornwall again next year!

Will

Harvest UK Style

Since last Thursday’s visit to the Sussex coast with The Wine Club for Jo’s first ‘proper’ tasting – Eastbourne Town Hall, lovely, enthusiastic customers with Nicola Greening pouring ethereally silky Pinot Noir from Felton Road – it’s been all about the English harvest for me.

On Saturday morning, a group of Laithwaites Wine customers and I joined some eager souls at Denbies vineyard near Dorking at 8.30am. They’d all enjoyed our exclusive white from Denbies, Ashcombe Hill 2008, sourced by English Wine Buyer Cat Lomax, and were now in the vineyard to help pick the 2010 vintage, with the reward of lunch and a tasting after the morning’s work.

Bucket and secateurs in hand and fortified with bacon butties, we set about the rows of Reichensteiner we’d been assigned. Frost had markedly affected this particular part of the 107 hectare vineyard (the largest in the UK by far) especially further up the slope. Still, I’m told our patch yielded 2 tonnes by noon. With a white and a rosé over a three-course lunch and 2 sparklers and a still white in the cellar, I did feel our efforts had been rewarded.

I managed a 9.30am start on Sunday (the 8.30am picking team might have been a bridge too far!) at Barbara & Cherry’s Wyfold Vineyard. With the Pinots (Noir & Meunier) safely despatched to the winery on Saturday, the objective for the day (glorious sunshine!) was to get the other half of the vineyard done, the Chardonnay.

With plenty of volunteers for the picking, I joined what I now think of as the elite team - the weighers. (pic) We soon had a metronomic system in place for weighing every box of grapes as each row came off the tractor, all carefully recorded by Barbara.

The grapes looked in excellent condition, full and ripe with remarkably little rot. Once stacked and swaddled in black plastic film (who knew shrink-wrapping took so much energy and induced so much dizziness?) the pallets of grape boxes gradually filled the vans bound for the winery, to be made into top quality English sparkling wine.

By about 1.30pm, everything was done – time for a beer, a bite to eat and the team photo. 3.6 tonnes we handled – and that excludes the weight of the boxes! I left with a real sense of having done something useful and with a desire for a nice hot bath, hoping to stave off sore muscles the following day.

Having helped with the harvest at Theale Vineyard (quality also very high indeed – hear more on this at BBCBerks) the previous week, I’ve managed to do my bit at three different English vineyards this month – hardly enough to apply for a post at Le Chai au Quai, but 2010 is certainly a vintage I shall be looking forward to seeing in bottle!

Ian
Events Manager

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Halfway through a very busy week

Can’t stop long, halfway through a very busy week. Five events planned, 2 down, 3 to go – this must be Wednesday!

Yesterday, we were delighted to be visited by Jane Hunter CNZM OBE. She gave staff a wonderful tasting in the afternoon and then swept on with me to Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons for a seven-course virtuoso performance dinner for 40 rapt Laithwaites customers – and all of this on half a voice. I was primed and ready to step in at any moment! Luckily, Jane’s voice just held out and a seriously fun time was had by all. Wine of the night, for me, was the (Turkish) delightful, scented Hunter's Gewurztraminer 2009

Meanwhile, 60 miles away in Petersfield, the rest of the team were entertaining 62 more customers at a walk-around tasting in the Festival Hall. Star attraction was the ‘proper’, dry red Lambrusco of Angelo Cerciello from Casali Viticoltori with a huge chunk of Parmiggiano – forget the pale imitations, this is the real stuff!

Next up is Will’s event in Derby, a 120-person sell out, at the County Ground – new venue to us, looks like becoming a regular fixture.

The week finishes with Jo and I amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford with 100+ Club Members in the Town Hall. Three special guests this time: Sam Lockyer of Stonewall Wines, Esther Pascual of El Bombero fame and one Will Laithwaite, with his brand new brew, Loose Cannon Abingdon Bridge

Just time to cast a glance both forward and backward before a fortifying cup of Earl Grey and then back to the prep – we celebrated my 20 years of Laithwaites service with a little lunch at Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest a few days ago – I think we all agreed it couldn’t have been more perfect. Thanks Gerard & Nina Basset and team!

You can see what I mean by joining me for dinner there in March next year or go under your own steam with the very special offer for Laithwaites customers that runs until the end of November.

Hope you can join me!

Ian

Leaving on a jet plane... well propeller anyway

Last week I was off on my travels again, and visited the beautiful Isle of Man to host two very different events on the island. Despite the very early start (5.30am!!) the team were all smiles when we landed, due to the brilliant reception from the staff at Gloucester the UK’s friendliest airport, and possibly the best flight I have ever taken (the pilot carries your bags to the plane and brings around sweets before take off!).


On Wednesday, we held a very relaxed and informal wine evening at the Villa Marina and were joined by around 80 guests who sampled from the 31 wines on show. Several wines shone on the evening, including Tarapacá Sauvignon, Beaton Track Pinot Noir and Baileyana Grand Firepeak Chardonnay. A special mention also has to go to Andresen whose Ports once again performed well and were enjoyed (and bought) by many customers.


We tried something slightly different on Thursday at the Sefton Hotel – a 5-course charity dinner, with a wine auction and 30 very happy diners. The evening was a great success, the food was excellent, wines were very well matched and customers left with great big smiles on their faces, several of whom were lighter in the pocket as the auction raised a magnificent £1440 for the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF). The wine of the evening in my opinion had to the Familia Martínez Bujanda Gran Reserva 1997 which, when matched with the Canon of Manx lamb main course, was mouth-watering.

In total, we raised just over £2110 for the ABF, which more than doubles what has been made in the previous 2 years we have visited the island!

Will Waters
Customer Tastings Manager

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Hush, hush – we've a really BIG celebration planned …

As newly crowned Large Independent Wine Merchant of the Year, we thought we ought to celebrate in style…

So join us and a few thousand others in this field in Berkshire next July … and we will have hundreds of wines for you to taste, lots of foods and fun things to do for you and your family and friends. Wine knowledge won’t be required!

There will be music, fun fairs, picnic areas, loads for the kids to do and lots more besides.

Tony will invite you specifically later this year, but we wanted you to be the first to know

Keep the weekend of 8-10th July 2011 free – it will be well worth it.

Events Team

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Erni Loosen pays a visit

I would argue that our office is visited by greatness whenever I’m in residence (my colleagues may not always agree, ha ha) however earlier this morning a small gathering of staff could truly say that they were in the presence of greatness.

Erni Loosen swung by the office in Theale along with his right-hand man in the UK Nigel Blundell, and treated us to a brief tasting session of a selection of his wines, before hitting the road again and visiting our Gloucester office.

We kicked off the tasting with the Johann Wolf Pinot Noir 2007 from Pfalz, an oddity in most peoples eyes as red wines from Germany are a rare breed, or so we thought. I was surprised to be informed that Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world!

The wine was lovely, well balanced with juicy ripe fruits and a spicy edge – a great way to start a tasting at 11am. Next up was the Johann Wolf Pinot Blanc 2008; white flowers, fresh and a zesty finish, it would have been brilliant with shellfish, so must remember that for the next time!

Schieferberg by Loosen Dry Riesling QBA 2009 quickly followed, with its stone fruit aromas, and lively citrus body had us all impressed (plus it’s exclusive to us, so you wont find it anywhere else in the UK).

However when the Bernkasteler Lay Kabinett 2009 was poured we were in awe. Produced from old, ungrafted vines that hold onto the slate cliffs along the river from the tiny village of Bernkastel, the wine was stunning. The delicate green apple nose hits you first, followed by a slightly off-dry palate that boasts the traditional German Riesling finish, and all with only 7.5% alcohol. Very refreshing!

We did however save the best till last, Dr. Loosen Beerenauslese 2006 was tremendous; rich ripe fruit, with fresh acidity is the perfect combination and had everybody in the room clammering for a second drop.

After this a brief chat about what he’s been up to in recent months, and a rather funny story about an American lady in Vegas who obviously didn’t know her wine-making history, he was back in the car to do it all again for the next lucky set of staff.

Will Waters

Customer Tasting Manager (and big new fan of German wines)

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Henley and Wimpole Hall

A busy few days for the team… we had a lovely Wine & Canapé Evening on Thursday, held at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames. There were 62 customers – a perfect number for the size of the room. The atmosphere was quickly buzzing and the canapés were just right for the wines.

It’s a shame that the weather was, well… British, as a table or two on the outside terrace would have added a nice touch. But the beautiful views from the large picture windows overlooking the River Thames and Mill Meadows were quite sufficient, and created a charming setting for this special evening.

The Hickinbotham Shiraz Cabernet and Pillastro Selezione d’Oro in particular were big hits.

Photos are on Flickr.com - check them out.

At the weekend, the team were at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire for the annual Tomato Festival! It was great to see so many customers there … the weather held and we had the added bonus of seeing 84 Ferraris too – look at these beauties…

Next up … the Isle of Man.


John Kemp, Head of Events

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

NOT good weather for fish and chips…

Last night was a ‘Vineyard Work Party’ night. Barbara and her friend Cherry own a vineyard together in Wyfold, currently growing the Champagne varieties. It’s a gorgeous plot, planted on land belonging to a beautiful farm house with horses, ducks and free range chickens. All staff here at HQ are invited along to help out with the various jobs that are carried out throughout the year, such as pruning and harvesting.

Last night, ‘tucking in the vines and a general tidy up’ was needed. All volunteers would be rewarded with a fish and chip supper after the work was done, washed down with beer and/or wine (usually we are treated to a BBQ à la Tony but he and Barbara are in France at the moment). So Ian and I went along for another experience of working life in a vineyard… and of course, the fish and chip supper.

We were off to a good start; secateurs in hand, partnered up, snipping away at lateral growths and leaves shading the grapes. There were about 20 of us in total. But then, about half an hour in… how the heavens opened! Admittedly, it had been a grey day, but never did we expect such a downpour. After 2 minutes of it bucketing down we realised in turn that it was not going to let up and a disaster movie-style scene began to unfold as we all raced through the vines, in torrential rain, towards shelter.

After about 10 mins gathered under a tree, shivering and dripping wet, we all agreed it was time to go home and that we’d try again next week. So off we went, tails between our legs, drenched and without fish & chips.

Still, at least the sun was shining gloriously this morning so I decided that it would be a good idea to make the most of the last month of summer and don some shorts… (looks out of window)… Ah, perhaps not.

Have a good weekend, all!

Jo from the Events Team

P.S Our events are now listed on Facebook: look out for them. We’ll be coming to a town near you soon!


Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Contrary to popular belief, tasting events do not just appear out of thin air

They take many hours of planning over several months, to bring the correct combination of individuals together to stage the perfect event.

I’m excited at the moment as things are coming together for the very special event that I’m hosting at the Eden Project on 30th October. Not only is it such an iconic venue, but also it’s the perfect excuse for me to go home and visit friends and family.

There has certainly been a buzz created by the event amongst staff in the office. Unsurprisingly I’ve had no shortage of volunteers to ‘help’ later on in the year, along with several producers already pledging their support and promising to attend, including South Ridge Sparkling English Wine from Sussex.

With so many excellent events coming up later on in the year, customers are almost spoilt for choice (Isle of Man, Liverpool, Derby, Oxford, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Cheltenham, and even a special dinner with Jane Hunter at Le Manoir to name but a few) but we are not resting on our laurels; there is still a lot of work to do and 2011 still to organise, with a list of new venues as well as our old favourites.

I look forward to seeing you all at a tasting near you soon!

Will Waters, Events Manager

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Being There

Even in this hi-tech world of virtual tours and interactive maps, nothing beats seeing for yourself. So Joanna and I met at the Theale office early yesterday and headed out on a recce up the M6.

First stop was the Racecourse at Chester. The Long Room will make a fantastic space for us with its view of the winning post, the lush green track and the room’s light, airy feel. They’re a professional bunch at the Racecourse so I know it will be a pleasure to organise – a drop of September sun will make it glorious.

After a punctuated trip through the Mersey Tunnel (NB. Credit cards not accepted at the Toll, if you’re passing that way!) and a brief lunch at an old student haunt, we walked up to one of Liverpool’s most impressive edifices and our second venue of the day, the Metropolitan Cathedral atop Mount Pleasant (currently being scrubbed and cobbled).

A massive contrast to our first venue, the vast, vaulted Pontifical Hall in the Crypt will be a stunning backdrop to our event – I suspect our Spanish suppliers who are booked to join us there in September, Bodegas Ramón Roqueta and Martínez Bujanda will surely approve.

Important details noted, it’s straight back behind the wheel, homeward bound. 450+ miles in a day, 6 soulful CDs played, 3 tolls paid, 2 great venues visited, 2 superb events eagerly anticipated ...

Ian Dunn, Events Manager

Visit laithwaites.co.uk/events

Welcome to the Events Team's first blog

Wow! What a tasting we had earlier this month onboard HMS Warrior in Portsmouth.

HMS Warrior was launched in 1860, and was Britain’s first iron-hulled warship. She was the largest, fastest and most powerful ship of her day, and soon became the pride of Queen Victoria’s Navy. Now permanent resident at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, HMS Warrior is a wonderful setting to enjoy a fun and relaxed wine tasting, on a warm July evening.

The gates were flung open at 6pm to the patiently waiting crowd, and within what felt like seconds we were boarded by 250 customers (many veterans of previous visits to HMS Warrior) who were greeted on the top deck by smiling faces, and a glass of champagne (in stark contrast to the reception prospective boarded would have received 150 years earlier!).

After the Champagne, guests made their way down onto the gun deck to sample wines from the 35+ available to taste. Sam Lockyer from Forrest Estate was swamped with customers who wished to try the ever popular Stonewall Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2009, DK Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and Stonewall Riesling 2007.

Bruno Prieur from Domaine Prieur in Sancerre also joined us. This was a rare treat indeed as he very rarely travels far from his beloved estate; his La Damnée des Prieur Rosé in particular seemed to be very popular amongst our guests, with several people describing it as their favourite wine of the evening.

Ruth Chavarri from Pagos de Tahola flew over from Rioja especially for the evening as she enjoyed it so much in previous years. Her three wines, including the Pagos de Tahola Gran Reserva 1999 are always amongst the favourites whenever shown, and the HMS Warrior tasting didn’t let us down.

Guests were also given the opportunity to taste barrel samples from the excellent Bordeaux 2009 en-primeur selection, and then compare these too older wines from the same estate (almost a ‘look what we made earlier’ experience some customers mentioned).

The atmosphere created in such a wonderful location was electric, and this resulted in scores of customers requesting that we return as soon as possible! Especially if we took the Andresen 10 year old White Port & Andresen Royal Choice 20 year old Tawny Port again which many people enjoyed an extra sample of whilst making their way down the ‘gang way’ and heading home after an evening afloat.

We look forward to seeing you all again next near, and should you wish to join in the fun at another tasting then please do click on the following link to find your next closest tasting.

www.laithwaites.co.uk/events