I have been prevailed upon to do another wine tasting at my younger daughter’s school, South Hampstead High School, London NW3 in aid of their World Challenge Expedition to Vietnam on Monday March 5, 2007.
The last one, held in the school gym last May, went down pretty well with those purple pagers who came. See The sweet smell of Viognier and socks (Tamlyn, where are you? Haven’t heard from you for ages.)
Tickets are laughably cheap at £20 each. No first growths – obviously. It’s not that sort of wine tasting. I will instead be sharing a hand picked selection of superior wines for more everyday consumption, average retail price around £7 a bottle, kindly provided by Waitrose. Last time I think people appreciated the chance to discuss various wine-related issues, put questions, get recommendations etc etc. I’ll also bring along a few copies of the hot-off-the-press Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd edn) in case anyone wants to buy one and have one personally dedicated. You will be provided with something to nibble on too.
There will be a raffle of some smarter bottles, magnums and other worthwhile prizes. I fully expect a good deal of fun to be had by all while the girls (16 and 17 year olds) raise the final sum needed for their trip this July. They will be trekking between hill tribe villages and forest campsites in Vietnam and helping in one of Hanoi’s many needy schools and orphanages under the auspices of the much admired World Challenge organisation. The deal with World Challenge is that they have to raise the money needed for the trip themselves. Our daughter has been working weekends at the local deli.
Doors open: 7pm
Tutored Wine Tasting: 7.30pm
South Hampstead High School Sports Hall
3 Maresfield Gardens
London NW3 5SS
Nearest tube stations: Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road (Jubilee and Metropolitan lines)
To guarantee your place at this event, please fill in the following form, and return by Wednesday February 28, a week on Wednesday, (no tickets available on the door) with a cheque made payable to SHHS Vietnam, to:
World Challenge Wine Tasting
JancisRobinson.com Limited, c/o Percy Westhead & Company, Chartered Accountants, Greg’s Buildings, 1 Booth Street, Manchester, M2 4AD, United Kingdom
Name …………………………………
Number of tickets ………
I enclose a cheque made out to SHHS Vietnam for £……….