A couple of months ago a friend of a friend approached me about leading a wine tasting in order to raise some funds for charity, and after the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing refugee crisis it was an obvious cause to support. The new committee at Snod’s Edge near Shotley Bridge Community Hall, near where I live in County Durham, is trying to organise events to raise the profile of the community and the Hall.

After meeting Hazel and Vicky we decided to look at encouraging people to try different wines and from different countries to the usual bottles purchased on the High Street. They also requested that I should include an orange wine and an English wine. At the same time the wines needed to be easily available to the public and not too expensive so that the costs of the evening were kept low in order to boost the sum raised for the charity. I approached Majestic Wines at Hexham and the manager, David and we talked through a selection of ten wines to fulfil the brief. The success of the evening owes a lot to David and his guidance.

I waned two wines for five categories; dry white wine but not Sauvignon Blanc, a fuller white but not Chardonnay, a lighter red, a fuller red and a sparkling wine alternative to Champagne. The wines selected were as follows:

Villemarin Picpoul De Pinet 2020, Cave Ormarine, France

Assyrtiko 2020, Lyrarkis, Crete

Macerao 2021, Luis Felipe Edwards, Chile

Vinehugger 2020, Reyneke, South Africa

Bicicleta Pinot Noir 2019, Cono Sur, Chile

Nero D’Avola 2018, Corolla, Sicily

Winemaker Series, The Red 2019, Mark Kent, South Africa

LB7 Reserva, 2018, Lisbon, Portugal

Cava, Codorniu, Spain

Brut, Chapel Down, England

My tasting sheet contained suggested marking even though my own experience of and attitude to marks is not terribly positive but it does provide a way for people to think about the wines and decide which ones they like and for what reasons. My own choice regarding what was marked how, eg, I lay less emphasis on the appearance of the wine than others do and I like to add marks for sheer enjoyment of the wine, which to me is the most important aspect of drinking a wine.

Brief comments from me on the grapes, producers, background as well as picking out topics such as the use of oak (LB7), co-operative producers (Picpoul), how orange wine is made, organics (Reyneke and Corolla), volcanic wines and soils (Assyrtiko and Corolla) and the rise of English wine in recent years.

The Picpoul (£8.99) was fine, perhaps less fresh than some examples from this excellent producer. The Assyrtiko (£11.99) had more texture and flavour whilst still fresh and I preferred this in the pairing. Most of the audience preferred the Picpoul.

The Macerao (£9.99) is made from Muscat D’Alexandrie like the OW which Jeff Coutelou makes so it was interesting to try it. A light example, I imagine maceration was fairly short, it was a good introduction to this style of wine, not surprisingly the wine split the audience some really liking the style, others not so sure. The Reyneke Chenin (£12.99) was lovely, good white fruit flavours with freshness and a long finish, easily my preferred white wine of the night. The vote was split between these two overall.

The Cono Sur Pinot (£8.99) is a standard new world Pinot, plenty of sweetish fruit though there’s a little reductive note on the finish, good value for money. However, it was outclassed by the Sicilian Nero D’Avola (£8.99). This was the surprise of the night. There were good red and black fruit notes with spice and freshness. At the price it is a bargain and confirms the quality being made in Sicily. The audience agreed.

The South African red (£12.99) made from Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault I used to exemplify how blending works. It was a good full, spicy red made by the winemaker of Chocolate Block in Franschoek. The LB7 (£11.99) wore its oak well though it was noticeable on the finish but this smooth wine had plenty of black fruits. Most preferred this to the Cape wine, I preferred the other!

To sparkling wines and an explanation of how Cava is made differently to Champagne and the English wine here. The Cava (£11.99) was quite sweet and easy, nothing complex. The Chapel Down (£29.99) was very popular with most, some bias perhaps. I liked it but I do think there are better English producers and that this is overpriced even with the 10% discount for buying any six bottles. It was better than the Cava but I wouldn’t buy it myself.

Most of the increasingly vocal crowd gave their vote for wine of the night to the Chapel Down so who am I to say they are wrong. The second most popular was, pleasingly, the Sicilian red. Was it coincidence that my two favourite bottles were the organic wines? Auto suggestion or not I did think that they stood out.

Thanks to Hazel, Vicky and the Committee for inviting me to host this enjoyable event (my presentation boosted by Liverpool winning the FA Cup shortly before we started) and happily we raised almost £500 for the Ukraine appeal. Feedback was very positive and I have been invited back! Thank you to David for his help in organising the wines and glasses and to everyone who made the effort to turn up and, I hope, enjoy the evening. Hopefully many will feel encouraged to try some different wines from different sources.