Wine Tasting Group Archives - Seaham Harbour U3A

Christmas Dinner at the Vermont

George Fairweather — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 15:14:04 +0000

Wine Tasting Group’s Christmas Dinner at the Vermont

We left from Dow House and were transported by coach to the Vermont, Newcastle. The coach was very roomy and comfortable, with Christmas music wafting through the air, it certainly added to the occasion.

We arrived at the Vermont on time and were ushered into a nice lounge with very comfortable sofas (I thought, this is a good start). After a brief rest a waitress ushered us into the dining room and we sat down with a sense of anticipation for the first course to arrive, when it did arrive the food was good. The rest of the food was tasty, for those who ordered the roast, it was served with one of the biggest Yorkshire Puddings I have ever seen and it was delicious!

The service was a little slow between courses but it gave us time to chat and enjoy little sips of the wine. There was lots of laughter and talking, it got a little louder as the evening progressed, but its Christmas. I looked around the room and no-one seemed to mind as they were all enjoying themselves.

The evening went all too quickly, 9.30 arrived and it was time to get on our warm comfortable coach (it was cold outside) and the driver was most helpful, he ferried us to our home addresses.

The company we used was Seaham Coaches, based at Westlea. The driver said they have a 27-seater coach, which could be useful in future.

We all had a wonderful fun evening, enjoying one another’s company, it was a perfect start to the festive season.

Thank you, Gordon.

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Wine Tasting Update – March 2022

George Fairweather — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 11:29:46 +0000

Wine Tasting Update – March 2022

Like all our groups COVID put a stop to our wine group meetings. Shame! Our last meeting being early March 2020 before the pandemic took hold.

When legally allowed in 2021 we met outside in the garden. Fortunately, the weather was favourable and it was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves once more. People brought along their own picnics, and the wine flowed again. The joy of friendship with u3a was very noticeable.

Indoor meetings began back in August 2021 following strict guidelines. Our group members were eager to do something “normal” again. There was a great deal of catching up to do both with wine tasting and gossiping. A brilliant time was enjoyed by all.

Wine tasting has always been a very popular group and we have to limit the number of participants involved. Keeping folk on track can be a problem. Each member, plus another helper, is expected to lead a meeting. Before COVID the meeting leader would match up wines with tasty morsels that complimented the wine. However, since August everyone brings their own foodstuffs along.

In December, 2021 we met socially for an evening meal at the Church Mouse. A lively night was filled with fun and laughter. A great start for the festive season.

In April 2022 we are having another social evening at the Three Horse Shoes. It’s so nice to meet together with friends. April also sees another social outing planned to the Harrogate spring flower show. No doubt a few sample glasses will be enjoyed.

Hopefully now that COVID has receded things can only get better.

Gordon A

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Wine Group 2021 Christmas Dinner

George Fairweather — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:12:24 +0000

Wine Group 2021 Christmas Dinner

We held our Christmas Party at the Church Mouse just outside Durham. Considering there were a lot of us they managed to serve the food quickly, so we all ate together. There is nothing worse than food coming out in dribs and drabs. We all had a good chatter and there was lots of laughter, it was a great evening. The drinks were reasonably priced but I thought a large glass of Coke was a bit steep, I suppose someone has to be Scrooge at Christmas! Ho! Ho! Ho! Gordon organised a card raffle, everyone won a prize and not a pair of complimentary slippers in sight!

There was a slight hitch at the end and Gordon sorted it out. I think he comes prepared for such eventualities!

Many thanks Gordon from us all for organising the meal and everything you do throughout the year to make the Group so successful.

George F

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Images of our Visit to Holmfirth Winery

George Fairweather — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 10:26:46 +0000

We had an enjoyable and interesting day at Holmfirth Winery. Dean the young man who conducted the tour was very amusing and very knowledgeable about wine and its production. We tasted three wines, a red, white and rosé, of the three I preferred the rosé. I even had a very reasonable priced glass of the rosé with my lunch. The food was excellent, the staff were very friendly and very professional.

Many thanks to Gordon, on behalf of the Wine Group and friends for organising another wonderful outing.

G & CF

Just for a laugh!

Good shot G

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Wine Group Christmas Party 2018

George Fairweather — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:53:50 +0000

My apologies for the lateness in putting the photographs of the Wine Group Christmas Party on the website.

Tiara’s and tinsel were the theme for this years’ wine tasting Christmas party. Everyone made a great effort and looked very glamorous (even the men).

The party started off on a quietish note but by the end everyone had great fun.

Gordon had organised some games, I’m not sure where he gets his ideas from but I dare anyone to draw a snowman on a paper plate whilst held on top of your head and get everything in the right place. Picasso would have been quite envious if had judged the results.

The food was supplied by Relish, the buffet was excellent with a good selection of food to cater for all tastes.

Champagne this year was chosen by Gordon and was very quaffable.

Good Choice!

Many thanks from everyone Gordon for all your hard work

The Snowmen

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Cancellations of Meetings

George Fairweather — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:05:57 +0000

Due to adverse weather and information from BBC Weather

the following meetings are cancelled.

Trivia Pursuit 1st March

Wine Tasting 1st March

Walking 2nd March.

We are sorry for the cancellations but safety must come first.

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Wine Tasting Christmas Party

George Fairweather — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 22:30:31 +0000

I’m not sure how Gordon does it, but he surpassed himself this year with our Christmas Party. There were games and a quiz, the food was supplied by Relish, we all thought it was a jolly good spread, there wasn’t much left. I think we must have been hungry or was it the party games that gave us an appetite. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the Champagne, a good selection.

We all made Christmas hats this year and what a variety were on show, the imagination knew no bounds!

Many thanks Gordon for all the work you do and organizing our party.

GF & The Wine Group

Double click on image to enlarge

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On Cloud Wine

George Fairweather — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 01:21:47 +0000

Our wine tasting group meets on the first Thursday of each month. There are twenty members in the group. Unfortunately, to date, we can’t accommodate any new members as holding a discussion with twenty already proves difficult once a glass or two of wine has lubricated the tongues of some! We do have a waiting list, although, there is nothing to stop someone starting up a second group.
We meet for fun and laughter as well as friendship. We are a friendly, lively group but do have a serious point to the evening, namely, sampling wines we wouldn’t normally select ourselves.
Each member of the group takes it in turn to lead the meeting by selecting wines , finding out about them and sharing this with the group whilst producing some delicious food nibbles to compliment the wines.
Our evenings to the Newcastle Wine School have always proved to be highly enjoyable and a great success.
Our Christmas evening, sampling various champagnes was hailed by all as a memorable night accompanied by tasty food and lively games and a quiz.

A couple of important point to finish:-
Life is too short to drink bad wines.
The secret of enjoying a good wine; firstly, open the bottle to allow it to breathe, and, if it doesn’t look like it’s breathing, give it mouth to mouth.

Cheers.

Gordon

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Champagne Tasting

George Fairweather — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 20:19:54 +0000

Our last tasting of 2015, I think it was the best tasting yet! Nineteen of us gathered at our usual spot on a rather windy winter’s night.

Gordon yet again has worked wonders, for our delight and tasting, he pulled out of the bag 9 bottles of champagne, 2 of the same label, which we had tasted before on our trip to the Newcastle Wine School in November and 7 different champagnes. I thought the first bottle was Prosecco but I had just eaten a slice of chorizo sausage, not the best food to consume before tasting a fine wine!!

The evening progressed well with lots of laughter and banter, I’m not sure how much serious wine tasting went on but it was a fun, a nice start to the Christmas Holidays.

Thanks to Gordon for leading a great group.

Thanks also to those who presented their choice of wines to the group this year.

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An evening at the Newcastle Wine School

George Fairweather — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:04:58 +0000

Seventeen members of the Wine Tasting Group paid an evening visit to the Newcastle Wine School, where we enjoyed food from a tasting menu.

The food was very good, the beef was just a little overdone, but this did not spoil a thoroughly enjoyable evening! The choice of wine was paired with each dish and was excellent. Alex and Louise were our hosts for the evening. Alex has a tremendous knowledge of wine and wine regions which he talked about with great enthusiasm.

Hopefully we all came home more knowledgeable about French, Australian and New Zealand wine, also where we can purchase the wines we tasted.* See list below as well as the evening menu.

Aperitif-Abel Charlot Brut NV France 12.5%

Marks & Spencer £16.00

2. Honey glazed smoked Scottish salmon & pickled Cucumber

* The Lodge Hill Riesling 2014 Jim Barry, Clare Valley, South Australia 11.7%

Majestic Wines £14.99

3. Slow-roasted belly pork, Pease pudding

*Domaine Saint Ferr’eol Grande R’eserve Viognier 2007 Pays d’Oc 13%

Majestic Wines £12.99

4. Pressed Durham ham terrine, homemade mustard

*The Edge Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New Zealand 14%

Waitrose £14.99

5. Roast Northumbrian beef & horseradish mash

*Chateau Yon-Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2011 13.5%

Marks & Spencer £23.00

6. Sticky Toffee Pudding

*L’or du Ciron Sauternes 2011

Bordeaux France 14%

Marks & Spencer £12.00 ½Bottle

Thank you Gordon for organising the above and for the work you do to make the Wine Tasting Group so enjoyable.

Thank you to Ian the owner of Northstar Coaches, who dropped everyone off near or outside their homes. What service!!

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