Full Steam Ahead!

This week has seen our first two events of the year; a Wine Dinner at the George Hotel in Stamford, and a walk-around tasting at the STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon (pardon the pun with the blog title).

It was our first ever tasting in Swindon and we were lucky to have found such a spectacular venue to hold it in: STEAM - The Museum of the Great Western Railway is housed in a beautifully restored Grade II railway building in the heart of the former Swindon railway works (it is also very conveniently placed next to Swindon’s Discount Outlet Centre, which, naturally, Will and I couldn't resisit popping in to when we initially went to view the venue).

The Museum tells the story of the men and women who built, operated and traveled on the Great Western Railway. The exhibitions and magnificent locomotives provided a fascinating backdrop as we poured 30 wines, 2 beers, a Cider, a Port and a Maury for 100 tasters.

We were joined by Libby and Brigitte from Le Chai, who flew over from Bordeaux especially to join us and presented 3 lovely Chai wines, plus Will Laithwaite who brought along a cracking beer, the ‘Abingdon Bridge’ from his Loose Cannon Brewery.

My favourite part of the museum had to be the Station Platform, a reconstruction from the 1930’s, which was like stepping back in time. It all felt rather romantic as we served the Haton Champagne alongside the ‘Lode Star’, a steam locomotive built in 1907, and a 1934 Diesel Railcar... Cue lots of posing for photos!

The evening was very relaxed and enjoyed by all. Once again, having been the star of our 2010 tastings, the Pillastro D’Oro 2007 stole the show, closely followed the Stonewall Sauvignon 2009 then our Maury from Le Chai, the La Font Del Bosc 2005.

After Swindon came our annual visit to The George Hotel of Stamford to host a Wine & Dinner Evening, which was as delightful as ever. We, mainly Ian, have been holding events at The George Hotel for 18 years and never tire of it. It was my first visit this time, and I wasn’t disappointed. The hotel boasts traditional furnishings, log fires and quality food and wine, and Stamford itself is a charming town.

We were joined by 70 guests in the oak panelled Restaurant and all thoroughly enjoyed a Champagne reception, a quick tutored tasting by Ian including a Greek wine, the Malagousia 2009 Domaine Gerovassiliou, which caused a lot of interest and debate (very positive!) then a delicious four course dinner. Each course was carefully chosen to compliment the 4 dinner wines, finishing with the Jackson Triggs Ice Wine from Canada, served with Treacle Tart and Marmalade ice cream… heaven!

Next month we’re off to Colwyn Bay, Norwich, Cardiff, Godalming and Nottingham. Plus we’re currently planning our July – Dec events so do let us know if we’re due a visit to your town, especially if you can recommend a venue, at eventsfeedback@laithwaiteswine.com and we will try our very best to see you soon!

Jo x

P.S Special thanks to Puttyfoot for taking some great photos of the Swindon tasting for us! http://puttyfoot.com/