u3a

Exmouth & District

Wine Appreciation

The group is aimed at people who enjoy drinking wine and would like to share their knowledge and/or know a bit more about it – whilst not taking it too seriously!

Each member hosts and runs a session on a topic of their choosing, at a venue of their choosing (usually their home). The topic can be anything wine-related. This isn’t an expert-led group but a co-operative of people who are happy to share knowledge and even do a little work to educate the rest of us.

One by one members organise and deliver the session. That would include any research required, the prep of any relevant materials, the acquisition of suitable wines and the selection and management of the venue. The venue could be their house, another member’s, a friends’ or somewhere completely different.

The wines are sampled before, during or after the session as decided by the session Organiser. The wines are be paid for by those attending (usually £7-£10 each).

We normally have around 10 people per session and each person consumes, on average, 1-1 ½ glasses of wine. Transport is arranged and managed accordingly. Some venues are in central Exmouth allowing most members to walk to and from the session.

Wine Gallery

Status:Active, not currently accepting new members
When: Monthly on Monday evenings
Third Monday evening of each month
Venue: Member’s Home
Cost: Usually £7- £10 per session

Wine Appreciation Group topics through the years

2018
Sept 2018Wines of New Zealand (Marlborough)Nigel
Oct 2018Old world v new world – can we tell?Ian
Nov 2018The Douro region in PortugalDavid
Dec 2018English winesNick
2019
Jan 2019MalbecJackie
Feb 2019Wines from different shelves in the co-opBob
Mar 2019Bordeaux winesRoger
April 2019Aldi and Lidl v Waitrose and other more expensive outletsPhilippa
May 2019California – 4 different red grapes and a blend from same supplierDick
June 2019The Penedes region of SpainSue m
July 2019Wines of the Provence regionSue d
Aug 2019Does vintage matter? Malbec and Carmenere winesStuart
Sept 2019The Franschhoek valleyIan
Oct 2019ShirazDavid
Nov 2019Comparison of same wines and same years at different pricesNick
Dec 2019Jane McQuitty (times wine writer) recommendations of fairly unknown grapes – Piquepoul, Viognier (5 French and 1 Italian)Jackie
2020
Jan 2020Cabernet sauvignon from different countriesBob
Feb 2020Eastern European winesPhilippa
Mar 20202 whites recommended by the Telegraph when eating out: a Hungarian Furmint and an Austrian Grenache (Waitrose) and 4 better reds from LidlDick
Aug 2020Wine group lunch at David and Sue’sDavid and Sue
2021
May 2021Wines from northern ItalyStuart
June 2021Gathering when we took our own wine to presentGaynor
July 2021Wines from darts farmJackie
Aug 2021English wines from a vineyard in KentNick
Sept 2021RiojasDavid
Oct 2021Surprise South African winesIan
Nov 2021German winesPhilippa
Dec 2021No WAG 
2022
Jan 2022Fizzy winesDick
Feb 2022Wines of the worldBob
Mar 2022Chilian winesSue
Apr 2022Wines from where?Stuart
May 16Tesco finestGaynor
June 20Jacky’s favourite winesJacky
July 18 David
Aug 15No WAG 
Sept 19Sharpham visitNick
Oct 17An eclectic selection of wines from strange placesIan
Nov 21Tonic test and easy quizPhilippa
Dec 19No WAG 
2023
Jan 16 2023Christmas winesDick
Feb 20Wines from different placesBob
March 20From where in Western EuropeStuart
April 17Blended winesGraham
MayTesco customer favouritesGaynor
June 19Wines from Southern ItalyPhilippa
July 17Fruits of the worldLynn
August 21  
Sept 21Visit to Pebblebed cellarsJackie
Oct 16Languedoc-RousillonIan
Nov 20A selection of favourite winesDick
DecNo WAG 
2024
Jan 15Wines from where?Stuart
Feb 19The Wine Society own label range – Classic grapesGraham
March 18 Same grapes Jackie
April 15  
May 20