Reserve's Summer Range Tasting

Summer conjures up many images: the beaming sunshine, big men with their tops off, a cold glass of white wine, thunderstorms – hang on, what? Oh, wait, yes we forgot to mention that this summer has been one of absolute weather chaos. For our Summer Range Tasting last Friday at the Northern Tennis Club, our 9th consecutive large summer event, we had a sky full of more clouds and rain than we'd expect at our Christmas Wine Fair – did we let that dampen our spirits? Not one jot...

When people started arriving at 6:30pm, we had five – count them, FIVE – suppliers stuck in traffic. We were supposed to have several tables outside and a BBQ on the night – both cancelled due to the torrential rain, the mini-lake and the actual ducks that were congregating on it. Most people would throw in the towel (we could have done with a few of those) and told guests to head home. But West Didsbury is made of sterner stuff than your everyday wine-loving community, and the show had to go on.

We managed to squeeze 200 lovely customers, staff, friends, suppliers and family into one of our favourite places, and it didn't take long to get a fantastic ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ atmosphere instilled into the rain drenched attendants. It got busy, but never crowded, and there were lots of comments on how we had ‘just the right amount of wines' and that the reduced amount of people there created a much more intimate environment, just as we had hoped. Success!

So what were the picks of the evening? Well a few customers told me of their new-found love for Sherry – the Fernando de Castilla Antique Palo Cortado being a revelation to many (as one would hope). The Legaris Verdejo seemed to get the vote from many people for the fresh, good value summery white wine, and the standout red was perhaps Fontodi Chianti Classico, a favourite here in the shop that won some new fans. The ‘wow that's crazy!’ award has to go to the old, sweet Pinot Noir – making something as delicate as Pinot taste like old Madeira is truly a gift of the Gods!

We would have loved sunshine. We would have loved a BBQ. We would have loved to have wondered home on foot, not huddled into cold, damp taxi. But we had some fantastic wines, and a great time, and the legacy of this Didsbury event lives on. We'll see you next year...  

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