What are we all about?
The Chalfont and Amersham Wine Club (formerly the Amersham Wine Appreciation Society) has been running since 1992. The club meets on the first Tuesday of every month in Little Chalfont Village Hall, Cokes Lane, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, HP7 9QA. The meetings now start at 8pm, aiming to finish around 10.30pm.
Each month a presenter, usually a wine merchant, winemaker or other wine expert, is invited to host a tasting of wines selected by them, usually on a specific theme. The Club tries to cover all areas of the wine-making world as it is geared towards “appreciation” of all wines rather than focusing simply on fine wine.
After a period of sustained growth, the Club now has a membership of about 100 and an average attendance of around 50. It is large enough to flourish, but small enough to maintain a friendly and informal atmosphere.
No prior knowledge or experience of wine is needed to come along to the club. If you enjoy drinking wine and want to meet like-minded people then this is the club for you.
The club plans well ahead and will typically have tastings planned for the forthcoming six months at least.
The evenings cost £22 per head for a tasting with cheese served half way through. After the first two meetings, new members are charged a one-off membership fee of £10.
At each tasting members vote for their favourite wine of the evening – the Wine of the Month. At the April meeting, which is also the Club’s AGM, the previous year’s Wines of the Month are tasted against each other. The winning wine is then the Club’s Wine of the Year.
The Club also arranges other events including a summer party and special tasting events.
The Club has also organised several wine-tasting trips abroad. So far these have been to Tuscany in Italy, Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Languedoc in France and Piemonte in Italy. These have proved to be great fun and very educational. They are quite hard work but well worth the effort to enjoy a wide range of wines, presented at the vineyards with meals and a real taste of the region from where the wines originate. Further trips will be organised if there is sufficient support from Club members.
Club constitution
To see a copy of the Club’s constitution, please click here.