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
