121 Wine courses

The French arguably make the best sparkling wine in the world – Champagne, but their counterparts in the New World are catching up fast with their own versions ... England included, especially our very own country, Hampshire!  We will blind-taste 6 of the very best Hampshire sparkling wines, and decide for ourselves once and for all which one deserves to be our favourite! This is an opportunity to taste high quality sparkling wines coming from great locations around Hampshire.

Only 12 places available, so please do hurry booking as this exclusive tasting will sell out quickly. There will be no more opportunities to taste these extremely rare wines. These Champagnes were released in very small quantities in the first place and then aged in my own wine cellar to perfection, so none of them are still available on the market to purchase.

Chardonnay is the most successful white grape in the world. We will explore oaked, unoaked, youthful as well as aged versions of the most reknown and beloved of grapes.

We tour the stunning vineyards of the Loire Valley for refreshing, mineral and bone-dry wines. We'll go East to taste a steely Sauvignon Blanc, through the Touraine Region to experience a Sancerre and thus enjoy the sharp delights of a mouth-watering Sauvignon Blanc. Discover why the Loire Valley wines are some of the most expensive wines today, and how to find the best value for money wines from this region.

90 minutes of chocolate and wine indulgence! Have fun creating your own chocolate bar and then settle down and enjoy a guided tasting of wine and chocolate pairings specially selected by our flavour experts. Strictly for ages 18 and over. You may be asked to prove your age. Please ensure you have photographic proof of age as refunds are not given if service is refused because you cannot prove you are 18 years old or over.

There are lots of people who think that the first task of any wine is to be red. We meet you at our events, and while you’re (usually) very polite about the white wines, your eyes light up when we say, ‘And now let's move on to the reds…’ So we’re putting on a tasting just for you, in which we’ll focus on rich red wines, seven of them, with some rather tasty cheese on the side. To show that red wine can be full-flavoured without being full-bodied, we’ll begin with reds that are refreshing and fragrant, probably from Italy and France. Then we’ll move on to wine that are draughts of the warm south, most likely from countries close to the Mediterranean. Spain. And we’ll finish with gutsy Malbec or Australian Shiraz (aka Blood-and-Thunder from Down Under). Or possible both. Whatever the line-up, you can be assured of an excellent, belly-warming and tooth-staining evening.

Some really excellent and value-for-money Rosé and Red examples from France (yes France can be cheap!) tasted against some of the best examples from around the New World.

Join us in Southampton at the fabulous DOLPHIN HOTEL, as we taste several pairs of wines made from the same grape variety, but from different countries.  Do you think you can tell the difference between Zinfandel from California and Primitivo from Puglia? – by the end of the night you will be able to!

It's Kids' Archery - for the grown-ups! Put the kids to bed and come and have a night out with a difference. Hone your soft archery skills and enjoy some (non-alcoholic)* wine and cheese. Bring a friend or just bring yourself. Try your hand at 4 different targets/games with a prize for the winner. ​*If you'd care for something stronger then feel free to byob.

There is a 20-minute Introduction to Wine Tasting at the start of this tasting.