Wine tastings are on hold at the moment
Summer 2020 update – In-person wine tastings are on hold for the moment. To be the first to know when I’ll be up and running with new tastings, sign up to my mailing list here.
You can check out some of my previous tastings below in the archive.
To check out my Taste Unlocked Food & Wine Experience in Chartres, France, click here.
To check out my Mindful Living Retreat in Provence, France, click here.
What to expect at my tastings
I may take wine a little more seriously than most but I still like to have fun when tasting it. My sessions are educational, interactive and a little bit irreverent*. Each session is limited to 15 people and we'll taste five wines over about 1.5 hours. If you’re the note-taking type then bring a pen.
We taste all wines blind – to allow us to really focus on what we're tasting (but there's always a big unveiling at the end). Come prepared to be surprised, delighted and to learn something you never knew about wine!
*I don't have many rules when it comes to wine tasting, but please no strong-smelling perfume, cologne, hair products, etc.
Wine tasting archive
"Everything you ever wanted to know about wine tasting"
7.00pm for 7.15pm, Tuesday 12th November 2019
My final tasting at Linden Stores
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
You bring the questions; I’ll bring the wine. In this tasting you’ll learn what blind tasting is and how to do it; how to sound like an expert when talking about wine; and answers to anything vinous you can think of. My one rule: there is no such thing as a silly question!
Wines:
"Marc" Pfalz Riesling, 2018, Renegade (London) 2018
Lockhart Chardonnay, Napa + Sonoma, CA, USA 2017
“Dosset” Vino Rosso, Principiano, Piemonte, Italy 2016
Vinterloper Red #6, Adelaide Hills, Australia 2017
Crystal Nat Fizz Rosé, Renegade (London); grapes from Croatina, Broni, Lombardy, Italy 2018
"Old Country, New Wine II”
7.00pm for 7.15pm, Tuesday 12th March 2019
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
With a wine-making heritage of over 8,000 years (!), Europe is the undisputed 'old country' of wine-making. But it doesn't mean you can't teach an old dog new tricks! In this tastings we'll explore some of the most exciting, dynamic wines coming out of wine's traditional strongholds today.
Wines:
Vinho Verde, Vila Nova, Portugal 2016
Tocco Passerina, Colline Pescaresi IGT, Italy 2017
Vita Vinea Kisi, Kakheti, Georgia, 2016
Pinot Noir, Renegade London Wine, England 2018
Viña Almate, Alfred Maestro, Valladolid, Spain (Castilla y León) 2017
"West meets East"
7.00pm for 7.15pm, Tuesday 14th May 2019
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus,… An ABC of the unexpected, when it comes to what’s hot on the wine scene these days. Indeed, some of the most exciting, daring (and affordable) wines on the market today are coming from the eastern extremities of the European continent. In this tasting we’ll explore this mysterious East. Prepare to be pleasantly discomfited!
Wines:
Kavaklidere Altin Köpük Brut NV, Turkey
Papagiannakos, Savatiano, Greece 2017
Voskevaz Karasi Collection, Voskehat, Armenia 2015
Diren Collection, Öküzgözü, Turkey 2016
Orgo, Saperavi, Georgia 2017
"How to literally change your brain, while tasting wine"
7.00pm for 7.15pm, Tuesday 13th November 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
The act of smelling (or tasting) something and then talking about it literally changes the neural pathways in our brain. Human beings can differentiate billions of different aromas using our sense of smell, and unlike other animals, we can actually attempt to communicate what we smell in words. This is exactly what we do when tasting wine! Come along to this wine tasting for a mind-altering experience as we taste some seriously thought-provoking wines.
Wines:
Frizzante Non-Filtrato, Lemoss, Veneto, Italy NV
Txakoli De Getaria (Hondarrabi Zuri grape), Ameztoi, Spain, 2016
Invaders Orange, Eschenhof Holzer, Wagram, Austria 2016
‘if life gives you lagrein’ 2017. Langhorne Creek, South Australia
La Bonne Franquette Malbec Réserve, Domaine Les Ramparts, Gascony, France 2017
"How to drink better (value) wine"
7.00pm for 7.15pm, Tuesday 9th October 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
What makes a ‘good’ wine? What makes a great wine? Why does wine cost what it costs? What makes it worth paying amount X for wine Y? In this tasting, we’ll learn how to taste wine as objectively as possible, and discuss the answers to all these questions. Ultimately, you’ll learn how to drink better wine!
Wines:
Eekhoring Blend, Western Cape, South Africa 2017
Bacchus Renegade, England 2017
A Los Vinateros Bravos, Itata, Chile 2015
Bout D’Zan Rouge, Rhone, France 2016
Frizzante Non-Filtrato, Lemoss, Veneto, Italy NV
“The Wines of Georgia”
Presented by James Flewellen and Jason Pack
7.00 for 7.15pm, Tuesday 11th September 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£25. Bookings in advance; please email wine@jamesflewellen.com.
The inhabitants of the Caucasus have been making wine uninterrupted for over 8,000 years! Georgia is now starting to shake off the effects of decades of oppression under the Soviet regime and is now one of the most exciting, dynamic places for wine on the planet.
In this special tasting, we'll showcase some of the latest wines to emerge from Georgia, including wines made in subterranean clay pots – the same way Georgians made wine long before ancient Sumerians had invented writing!
Wines:
Matrobela Rkatsiteli 2016
Matrobela Rkatsiteli 2015 (kvevri)
Shumi “Iberiuli” Mtsvane 2015
Babaneuri Kisi 2016 (kvevri)
Matrobela Saperavi Dry 2015 (kvevri)
Lukasi Saperavi Dry 2014
"Like That? Love This!"
7.30pm, Tuesday 10th July 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
We all have our favourites – go-to wines for when we're in the mood for something fresh and fruity, or smooth and silky. But maybe you want to branch out just a little and find something that still ticks those boxes but gives you something a bit different. With this tasting you'll discover that if you like that, you'll love this!
Wines:
Loraxel ‘A pel’ Pet Nat Ancestrale, Catalonia, Spain (Xarel-lo) 2017
Eschenhof Holzer, Grüner Veltliner Wagram, Austria 2017
Belotti Rosso, Piedmont, Italy 2016
Haywire Gamay. Okanagan Valley, Canada 2016
Ferghettina Brut NV. Franciacorta DOCG, Lombardy, Italy
"Old Country; New Wine"
7.30pm, Tuesday 5th June 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
With a wine-making heritage of over 8,000 years (!), Europe is the undisputed 'old country' of wine-making. But it doesn't mean you can't teach an old dog new tricks! In this tastings we'll explore some of the most exciting, dynamic wines coming out of wine's traditional strongholds today.
Wines:
Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve, Devon, England 2016
Pheasant's Tears, Mtsvane, Tibaani, Georgia. 2016.
Pecorino, Cantina Orsogna, Abruzzo, Italy 2016
Petit Pittacum (Terra Gauda), Bierzo, Spain 2016
Arcadia Cabernet Franc, Thrace, Turkey 2011
"Wine tasting at Linden Stores"
7.30pm, Tuesday 20th March 2018
Linden Stores – 220 St Paul's Road, Highbury, London N1 2LL
£15. Bookings in advance; please email laura@lindenstores.co.uk
Wines:
Rosé Crémant d’Alsace, Mayerling, France 2011
Dry Tokaji, Chateau Dereszla, Tokaj, Hungary 2015
“The Underworld”, Perdeberg Winery, Grenache Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa 2016
Invaders Orange, Eschenhof Holzer, Wagram, Austria 2016
“Dosset” Vino Rosso, Principiano, Piemonte, Italy 2016
André Brunel, “Sommelongue”, Côtes du Rhône Rouge, France 2014