Tutored Wine Evening at Gatton Manor

Click image for a large versionFriday 11th February 2011
£34.95 per person

A fantastic opportunity to test your wine knowledge ans learn some more under the direction of our Managing Director, Alan Snudden.

The evening will begin with a blind tasting of 6 wines and a quiz; then over dinner you will have the opportunity to sample a different wine with each course - all for only £34.95 per person.

To book call the gatton manor event team on 01306 627-555 (Option 2)

Menu

To Start

Caramelised red onion & goat's cheese tart with rocket & balsamic dressing

To Follow

Lamb shank with sweet potato mash

To Finish

Lemon creme brulee with orange shortbread

Gatton Manor Website: http://www.gattonmanor.co.uk/ 

SPAIN TAKES ON ITALY AGAIN

The multi award winning Crown Inn in Chiddingfold, Surrey (awarded 5 stars by the AA with a special commendation putting them among the top 11 inns in the country and recently voted Conde Nast Johansens Most Excellent Inn in Great Britain) in association with its sister hotel The Ship Hotel Chichester and The General Wine Company held a highly successful Italian versus Spanish Wine Tasting evening on Wednesday 21st July.

Hosted by Alan Snudden from General Wine over 100 guests sampled specially selected wines for the evening.

Alan, Chris and Charles, with Master of Wine Mike Ritchie presented 25 wines from Spain and Italy. As well as some well know names, Riojas and Chiantis, we tried some of the great, but lesser known wines from each country. One of the stars of the night was the Brindisi Reserva, 2007,  Rich with plumy fruit, a blend of Negroamaro and Montepulciano, a lovely spicy finish.

"The most controversial table was Chris McCann’s Sherry offering. 4 sherrys from Hidalgo. A dry salty refreshing Manzanilla, the Oloroso Abocado, the sweet syrupy Pedro Ximenez (great over Vanilla Ice cream) and also the Palo Cortado 20 year old which had a nose of nuts and honey, but was incredibly dry, one to tick off as tasted, but judging from Dan’s reaction, it won’t be appearing on the list!" - Alan Snudden, Managing Director - The General Wine Company.

Highly original tapas were created by Kevin Stuart Head Chef of The Crown while Mark Evans Head Chef of The Ship countered with speciality Italian canapés.

The evening was rounded off by ‘Mr Sinatra’ himself Jack Valentine singing live whilst many attendees decided to continue eating and drinking and sampling The Crown Inns brand new menu.

Daniel Hall, owner of The Crown Inn, said ‘We started The Crown Wine Club some months ago and like to put on an event every so often which is open to members and non members alike. Both hotels entered into a little bit of healthy competition with staff from each supporting their country. I believe our guests really enjoyed the evening and we had some excellent feedback particularly about Alan’s choice of wines, its great to have the support of The General Wine Company as we can always keep our lists fresh and have some fun with these Wine Club events’.

For further information on

The Crown Inn call 01428 682255 or visit www.thecrownchiddingfold.com

The Ship Hotel call 01243 778000 or visit www.theshiphotel.net

Cline Cellars Wine Dinner

The General Wine Company Cline Cellars Dinner at Annie Jones Dinner. Right to left: Charlie Cline, Hellen Louise Divers, James Alexander, Dich Oatley

Wednesday 12th May was a date for the diary indeed! The General Wine Company was delighted to host a fabulous Wine Dinner for 26 guests at Annie Jones restaurant in Petersfield. We were extremely lucky to have Charlie Cline from Cline Cellars in California join us for the evening’s organoleptic festivities. Charlie chose six wines from their cellars (all available from the Petersfield shop) to match with the menu devised ever-so-skilfully by the highly acclaimed and talented Steven Ransom in the Annie Jones kitchen.

 

Guests were greeted with a glass of exceptional Pinot Gris in the garden and a warm and lively welcome from our very own Dich and Hellen, followed by a fun introduction from Charlie to set the tone for the evening. Between each course, Charlie introduced the next wine in an informal and interactive fashion, laced with entertaining anecdotes and funny stories from the vineyards in Sonoma County. Naturally, the room was more than just buzzing as the evening progressed, with guests giving impromptu musings on the wines and ludicrously tasty dishes emerging from the kitchen.

 

The occasion was great fun and certainly aided by the fine delicacies and flowing wine and most certainly by Charlie himself, whom we all agree, is welcome back anytime!

 

The success of the evening has cemented the plans to host many more evenings in the near future, all focussing on a different theme and a different wine region.

 

James, Dich and Hellen very much look forward to having you along!

Photo Gallery Link 

Annie Jones Restaurant Link