World of Wine - Sparkling and Fortified Wine

World of Wine: Sparkling, Sweet and Fortified

Come along and enjoy a decadent evening of fine sparkling and dessert wines!

For many people, the fizz at the start of the meal and the dessert wine at the end are the most enjoyable drinks of the evening, so we thought - let’s have a whole tasting devoted to them!

These are wines where the craft of the wine maker is paramount: those bubbles and brioche flavours in a sparkling wine or the rich dried fruit and orange peel flavours in a sweet wine are not just the result of natural processes; they require a huge amount of effort and patience on the part of the wine maker. We will try different Champagne look-a-likes from the New World, alongside a glass of the real thing! We will also taste a selection of sweet wines and learn about the five key ways of creating that sweeter style. It is sure to be a fascinating and delicious evening!

Part 1: Sparkling wines
Champagne is one of the most iconic wines in the world - tonight we will learn about the historical method which gives us this beautiful bubbly. We will touch on the input of figures such as Dom Perignon and Veuve Clicquot, whose Champagnes are now so familiar to us. We will also discuss the technical terms behind the labels such as 'NV', 'Brut' and 'Blanc de Blanc': what do these actually tell us about the drink inside the bottle? But the world of sparkling wine is far more diverse than Champagne alone; we will examine other wines, made in the image of Champagne, and ask 'are they as good?' and 'are the really so different from the real thing?'. We will also talk about the rise of Prosecco; this sparkling Italian wine is made in a very different way to Champagne but its popularity has exploded in recent years - why is it so popular? Plenty to learn about, taste and discuss in this line-up!

Part 2: Sweet and fortified wines
The British have a proud history of enjoying a glass of Port or Sauternes after a good meal, but this is a category of wine which has been increasingly overlooked in recent times. Sweet wines can be seen as out of touch or old fashioned, not helped by labels which are hard to read for today's consumers. We’ll re-introduce you to sweet wines in a big way! From Rutherglen Muscat to Beerenauslese Riesling to Tokaji, this is a varied and exciting new world of wine! We will show you the key methods for producing dessert wines, allow you to taste examples of each including a full-bodied Port and cap it all off with the ultra-sweet Sherry, Pedro Ximenez, tasted then poured over vanilla ice-cream…delicious!

All tastings include; minimum of 6 wines, use of professional tastings glasses and nibbles.