Newsletter October 2024
Dear members
I hope that you all had a great summer. Those of us in the Costa Blanca are enjoying the more moderate temperatures, the less busy restaurants and dodging the rain showers whilst comforting ourselves with the phrase ‘we need the rain really’.
At our first Tasting after the summer we were very lucky to avoid the downpour at this outdoor event at Montesanco. 56 members and guests enjoyed a different type of event at this new and exciting project at the heart of our region in Teulada. The tour around the vineyard, the outdoor seating next to the beautifully restored winery and the excellent wines created a great atmosphere. A fuller report on the evening and description of the wines tasted is available {here} or on the tastings section of the CBWS website.
Wine scoring
Many of you will be familiar with the wine scoring which we are invited to complete at each tasting. To date in 2024 I am delighted that we have welcomed 26 new members to CBWS, so a quick note on the wine scoring may be helpful to new members and a reminder to others.
We score the wines because, as a society whose fundamental purpose is the appreciation of good wines and furthering our wine knowledge, the scoring process helps us to think about the wines we taste in a more structured way. All of the wines which we serve fall into the categories of good, very good or occasionally excellent. We do not serve poor wines. At our January Tasting each year we taste a selection of the highest scoring wines from the previous year.
Our approach to tasting wines is set out in the ‘Wine Tasting’ section of our CBWS website, I would strongly recommend reading the ‘Scoring guidance’ and ‘Describing wine’ sections. When completing the scoring forms at tastings it is really important to try to distinguish between the quality of the wine and your personal preference. For example, you may not prefer, say, Tempranillo as a grape, but if you are tasting a very good example of a Tempranillo, you should give a high score in the categories of; Nose, Balance, Palate and Finish. You may then choose to give a lower score in the Overall impression category, which is effectively your personal preference.
Volunteers for wine tasting team
As many of you know, we have a wine tasting team at CBWS who volunteer to organise the events which we all enjoy throughout the year. Even though we have three more events planned for 2024, we are now organising our 2025 programme. So far we have volunteers to organise 7 out of our 10 regular events plus the 2 wine trips. The monthly events do not need to be onerous and can range from arranging a food and wine pairing menu at your favourite restaurant, to a bodega visit such as Montesanco. There is plenty of support available from Sue with regard to venues and menus, and from myself and Sara and other members of the tasting team. So, if you have ever felt that you want to get involved, or have a bright innovative idea, or that you could do better yourself (!), please contact me directly and I’ll talk it through with you over a glass of wine!
Next tasting – Les Rotes Denia 17 October (19.30 for welcome cava)
Patrick and Helen Harrild will be presenting an evening of wine and music at Les Rotes hotel in Denia. I anticipate that a combination of this popular venue and a presentation from our internationally renowned musician member will be very popular. Numbers are restricted to a maximum of 70, so please book early. There is very limited accommodation available at the Les Rotes hotel at a 15% discount to members who book directly with the hotel and quote Costa Blanca Wine Society. There are other hotels available close by. The menu for the evening is set out below:-
Crema de calabaza con cruciente de iberico
Calamar a la plancha sobre Cebolla caremalizado
****
Pescado del dia (corvina) sobre salsa de gambas y verduritas al Vapor
o
Présa iberica sobre pure de zanahoria asada y pimentos a la llama
****
Brownie de chocolat al 70% con helado
Please book directly from the CBWS website or via the link below
Bookings will close on Friday 11 October, after which no more bookings can be made and there will be no refunds for cancellations. The welcome cava will be available from 19.30 before which there will be a cash bar available. You will be given a voucher for your cava from Sara when you choose your table number (that’s the hotel’s approach, not ours)!
Rest of the year
Our event on 21 November is a fun regional wine quiz hosted by Helen and Paul Nicholls at Costa Marco restaurant in Benimarco
The annual pre – Christmas dinner/tasting, hosted by Sara and myself will be at Javea Yacht Club on 5 December.
And Finally the dates for 2025 tasting and trips are now on the website here
Enjoy your month.
Regards
Neville