The Old World

Dates:  11/01/06

Over the course of the six weeks we will introduce you to

1. France - Burgundy, Champagne
2. Germany, Austria, Alsace
3. France, Rhone, Southern France
4. Italy
5. France - Loire, Bordeaux

6. Spain, Portugal

This is a tour of the greatest regions of them all, complete with history, food matches, and all the other information you may want. We will uncover what it is that makes these wines the most revered of all; we’ll demystify them for you, and give you the opportunity to form your own opinions and decide for yourself. We won’t be scrimping, either. I don’t taste this stuff every day myself, and I enjoy it every bit as much as you do!! £120.00 for six weeks.

Location:  7.30pm at the shop, every week for six weeks

Fees:  £120.00

Spanish night at the Real Eating Company

Dates:  09/02/06

A special night of tasting. On the liquid side we’ll be trying eight wines, chosen to represent everything that is good about Spanish wine today. This will include some wonderful sherries, a big secret from Ribeira del Duero, some fabulour riojas, and one of the world’s finest seafood wines! The food is to be supplied and hosted by one of the UK’s leading importers of Spanish foods, and will include manchego cheese, pata negra, jamon serrano, chorizo, and several other mouth-watering delicacies.

Location:  from 8m at the Real Eating Company

Fees:  £25.00

A Journey Through France

Dates:  28/04/06

During this tasting, which will last in the region of two hours, you will be guided on a tour of this King of wine-producing nations. Beginning in Champagne, you will have the beguiling, inconic, but sometimes confusing names unravelled before you as you sample the wines of Alsace, the Loire valley, Burgundy, the Rhone Valley, and finally Bordeaux. You will be shown what made these wines famous, how they retain their allure, and what their prospects are for the future. If you wish, there can also be a friendly, lighthearted, team-based quiz, with a bottle of champagne for the winners.

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £30.00

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

Wine, Cheese and Art at Coriander

Dates:  18/05/06

We are holding a wine and cheese evening in conjunction with Coriander, the award winning organic restaurant and deli situated at 5 Hove Manor Parade, Hove St, Hove. Check them out at www.corianderbrighton.com.

We will we showing about a dozen wines at the event, and Coriander will have a range of their cheeses to taste, to include some regional French Artisan cheeses which are being brought in especially for the night. We will be making possible cheese and wine matches, mixing things around and generally having some fun!

On show also will be the work of Louise Brooks, a talented local artist, who will be present to discuss her work with you.

Tickets are £10, payable to ourselves to Coriander, and we are only selling a fixed number of tickets, to please book early to avoid disappointment.

Location:  From 7.15 pm at Coriander

Fees:  £10.00

Champagne Night

Dates:  16/06/06

To include light buffet supper.

A fabulous evening’s hosted tasting of champagnes, to include Krug Grande Cuvée, Bollinger Grande Année 1997, Billecart Salmon Rosé, and plenty of others.

Location:  from 8pm at the shop

Fees:  £35.00

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

World cup of Wine

Dates:  08/07/06

The nine major wine countries competing in the football World Cup go head to head in a blind tasting! We'll pick a wine in the price range £15-£22 from each country, bag them up, and give you the chance to choose your faves. A group stage will lead to semis and an eventual World Champion. Come on England!

Location:  the shop

Fees:  £25.00

Summer Flavours

Dates:  14/07/06

We select 15 of so of our favourite fizzes, whites, ross and reds for summer. Come in, taste at your leisure, and ask questions about what youre trying! The idea is to try some old favoruites, as well as loads of stuff youve never drunk before. £7.50 IS REFUNDED IF YOU BUY SOMETHING ON THE NIGHT, BUT TICKETS MUST BE BOUGHT IN ADVANCE.

Location:  the shop, from 7.30pm

Fees:  £7.50, refundable against purchases made on the night

Barbeque night at Coriander

Dates:  31/07/06

We've selected two whites and two reds for barbeques, no frills, no fuss, and David at Coriander has come up with his usual magical selection of salads, marinades and sauces, to provide a night to remember. We budget for more than a bottle a head and David goes a bit mad too , so these nights are fast attaining cult popularity! Stupidly good value.

Location:  Coriander, 6.30pm until late

Fees:  £15.00

Warwick Wines at Coriander

Dates:  12/09/06

This will be our flagship event of the year, in all likelihood. David at Coriander is preparing a five course extravaganza, in which every course is being matched to the wonderful wines of one of South Africas leading estates, Warwick. The evening will be hosted by Mike Ratcliffe, who is MD of Warwick Wines, and who will guide us through the wine. Mike is son of the founders of Warwick as a wine-producing estate, and has witnessed its rise to pre-eminence from a unique perspective. It will be a fascinating and memorable evening. Tickets £39.50. Book early.

Location:  Coriander Restaurant

Fees:  £40.00

A Night of Italian Wine

Dates:  21/09/06

We will take an evening to travel through this vastly diverse nation to view its wines, regions, and styles. In truth, we will barely scrape the surface with our eight wines; Italy is simply too multi-faceted. However, the wines were trying are sensational, and will give you a great idea of where to start when looking at this countrys wines from now! Benchmark examples only on duty tonight. Tickets £20.00. Fourteen tickets available.

Location:  At Igigi Coffee Shop

Fees:  £25.00

Eight Great Grapes

Dates:  05/10/06

This is excellent as an introduction to wine; we hold it regularly, and it's also a favourite as a private event.



2006 Dates: Friday 24th March, Friday 26th May, Friday 9th June, Thursday 5th October.

2007 Dates: tbc but please ask call us for more info.

The purpose of this evening is to show eight major grape varieties, four white and four red, most of which that can be found on any restaurant list or in any shop. Hopefully in introducing these varietals, their histories, where they’re grown and why they’re grown there, it will be possible for you to come to some sort of idea about which you like and why! We’ll taste a benchmark example of each variety, find out what characterises them, and also talk about what might make a good food match with each wine. Light buffet supplied during/after.

Location:  the shop

Fees:  £20.00

Contact:  ,

Port and Sweet Wine tasting, with cheese

Dates:  23/11/06

We will taste a range of 8-10 ports and sweeties, including

Warres Vintage 1985 (£60.00)
Tokaji 6 puttonyos (£40.00)
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1997, Sauternes (£45.00)

as well as a host of slightly less rare, but also delicious, others! Well tell you about how the wines are made, what makes them different from each other, and a little of their respective histories. The cheeses will be sourced from good local suppliers.

Location:  from 7.30pm at the shop

Fees:  £30.00

Contact:  tel: 01273 820 320, view website

Pre-Christmas tasting

Dates:  01/12/06

12% discount on everything bought on the night. This is a try-before-you-buy evening. We will open a generous selection (15 wines or more) of what we feel you might want to drink over the Christmas period, including:



Jeio Prosecco £7.99 down to £7.03 on the night

Roederer Quartet Brut £16.99 down to £14.95

Vilmart Grande Cuve Brut £23.50 down to £20.68

Montagny Blanc Premier Cru 2002, Louis Latour £13.99 down to £11.89

Mitolo Jester Shiraz, £10.50 down to £9.24

Pavillon de Loudenne 2002, Medoc £9.99 down to £8.79

And many more including port, sweeties, and all manner of whites and reds!

Location:  The shop, from 7.45pm,

Fees:  £15.00, or £5.00 if you spend £50 on the night

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

Christmas Day of Dreams

Dates:  07/12/06

We do Xmas Day drinking the way it should be done!



Menu below:

Bollinger Grande Anne 1999 (£60.00) as aperatif

Meursault 2002, Arnauld Ente (£31.50) - Smoked salmon with dill, honey mustard and creme fraiche dressing on blinis

Pommard 2001, Comte Armand (£31.75) - Turkey with sausage wrapped in bacon & cranberry filo parcels

Chateau Feytit Clinet 2001, Pomerol, (£35.00) - Creamed Stilton and black grape on crostini

Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1997, Sauternes (£42.00) - Miniature Christmas puddings with brandy cream

Ramos Pinto Vintage 1995 (£36.50) - dark Belgian truffles



You will get a good half glass of each wine. Should be a helluva night.sign up now!

Location:  7.45pm at the shop

Fees:  £30

Contact:  ,

Around the World in 28 Days.

Dates:  From 10/01/07 to 07/02/07

A five week wine course, taking in the UK's ten most popular wine-producing nations. Tasting four wines from each nation, we will give an overview of the country, describe its history of wine production, and showcase the wines that have made it popular. If the country has one particular iconic wine (such as Penfold's Grange from Australia, or Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand), we will make sure we take that in, too! The cost of the wine tasted over the course of the four weeks is scheduled to comfortably exceed £1200, so there are some very good wines on the list.
Course cost: £125.00 (if you can't attend a week we'll charge pro rata, ie. £100 for 4 weeks)

Week 1, Thursday January 10th, 7.45pm.
Australia
New Zealand

Week 2, Thursday January 17th, 7.45pm.
Italy
Germany

Week 3, Thursday January 24th, 7.45pm.
Chile
U.S.A.


Week 4, Thursday January 31st, 7.45pm.
South Africa
Argentina


Week 5, Thursday Feburary 7th, 7.45pm.
France
Spain

Only 25 places available!

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £125.00, or £100 if you cannot attend all five nights

Contact:  ,

A Four Week Wine Course A Comparison of New and Old

Dates:  From 11/01/07 to 12/02/07

January 11th, 18th and 25th , and February 1st 2007, from 7.45 pm at the shop.

A Four Week Wine Course A Comparison of New and Old. Cost £100.

While the New World (USA, Australia et al) is taking over our supermarket shelves at the sub-£5 level, at the very top end of the quality spectrum it seems many of the traditional (often French) regions still reign supreme. Or do they? In this course, we will take several of the classic wine producing regions and compare them to their most similar emerging rivals. This is your chance to learn about a wide range of wine styles, try the iconic names, and to find out for yourself who really rules the roost!

Each week well also try a range of cheeses.

Week 1.

Champagne, England and USA for Sparkling.

The Loire, New Zealand and South Africa for fresh whites.

Week 2.

The Mosel Valley, Australia and New Zealand for rieslings

The Rhone Valley, Chile, and Australia, for Syrah.

Week 3.

White Burgundy, New Zealand and South Africa for full whites.

Red Burgundy, New Zealand and USA for pinot noir.

Week 4.

Bordeaux, South Africa and Australia for Cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

And finally, we'll finish with a hotch-potch of sweet wines from everywhere!

Iberian Night - the wines and food of Spain and Portual

Dates:  02/03/07

We will taste a range of Spain and Portugal’s finest, including iconic wines from Rioja, Jerez, Porto, Galicia, Ribeira del Duero, Rueda and others. THIS IS A TAPAS NIGHT AS MUCH AS A WINE NIGHT. We will be serving matching tapas with each wine, so prepare yourself for jamon serrano, boquerones, manchego cheese, chorizo and all the rest of it. This night sold out in about ten minutes last year and remains one of the best nights we’ve ever done, by all means call/email us to book your place.

Location:  from 8pm at the shop

Fees:  £25.00

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

South African night

Dates:  16/03/07

A night to combat the winter blues! Many of you may know that Mrs Peirce (my wife) is a South African…anyway, she’s fed up her husband’s country’s bad weather and dark nights, so we’re going brave the elements, stoke up the braai and break out the boerewors (sausage!) rolls, biltong, and koeksisters, put Ladysmith Black Mambazo CD in and add any other SA cliches we can think of. We’ll also open all the brassiest, most gutbusting, sunshine-infused wines we can find, and have a proper night of it. This country, not long ago almost exclusively the land of the bruising red, now uses a variety of microclimates to produce a vast range of brilliant wines. We’ll also try the legendary Vin de Constance. This Constantia sweet wine was bought by European Heads of State in the early 19th Century in preference to Yquem, Tokaji, and Madeira. Call or email us to book up.

Location:  from 8pm at the shop

Fees:  £20.00

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

England and France - A comparison of Sparkling Styles

Dates:  13/04/07

We’re delighted to announce this tasting, which we’ve been dying to do for ages.

We will taste four sparkling wines from each country. The English will be, quite simply, the best there is to offer; Nyetimber, Ridgeview, Booker, and Breaky Bottom. The French will be benchmark non-vintage styles of Champagne; Bollinger, Billecart Salmon, Le Mesnil, and Marie Demets.

The aim is to compare and contrast, highlight the differences and the similarities, and to see how the English wines fare! There is another element to the night; 50% of the ticket cost (30.00) will go to the Big Issue Foundation. A friend and customer, Chris Bolton, who owns the local Bang and Olufsen dealerships, will be taking part in a sponsored charity bike ride from London to Paris (hence the theme of our tasting!) on July 26th to 28th this year. That’s 250 miles in 3 days.

The Big Issue Foundation, as you probably know, was formed by Gordon & Anita Roddick and does a hell of a lot of work in getting people off the streets, off the booze and/or drugs and in to some sort of meaningful life. As well as supporting 2000 Big Issue magazine vendors across the UK it provides services to help those willing vendors with re-housing, training, employment, health and education. So it’s a jolly good cause all round really.

Should you just wish to donate to Chris’s effort, please go to www.justgiving.com/cbolton where you can securely use a debit or credit card (don’t forget to tick the Gift Aid option).

Location:  Quaff Ltd, 139-141 Portland Road, Hove, BN3 5QJ

Fees:  £30.00

Contact:  ,

Jordan Estate at Coriander, with Gary Jordan

Dates:  14/05/07

We welcome Gary Jordan from his multi award-winning wine estate nestled in the low hills just south of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Jordan's range was recently mentioned as follows by Matthew Jukes in the Daily Mail; 'Regular readers will know Jordan and their stunning range of wines. Every one is a cracker, and awesome value to boot.' Their range runs from the eminently reasonable £6-£7 chenin blanc to the sensational Nine Yards Chardonnay and the red blend Cobbler's Hill (IWSC Gold Medal winner in each of the last two years, which takes some serious doing), at nearly £20. We will taste 6-8 wines in all.

David Smale at Coriander restaurant will, as usual, provide a fitting menu for us! I'm told this time he wants to put together some South African specialities (which fits with the massive success of our own recent tasting) - Bobotie, Cape Malay Curry, as well as plenty of grilled meats and wors as one would expect. It'll be a full meal - so very good value, including the best part of a bottle a head on the wine!

Sign up now or forever hold your peace....please email us at sales@quaffit.com or call 01273 820320.

For those wanting to know more about Jordan, please go to their site at http://www.jordanwines.com/. They have one of the more progressive sites, including a very funky harvest video diary.

Location:  Coriander Restaurant, Hove St, Hove, from 7.30pm.

Fees:  £29.50

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

Informal tasting of Good St Emilion, Burgundy and Barolo

Dates:  From 18/05/07 to 19/05/07

As you may be aware, we're regularly sent plenty of samples to try for the shop. As those customers who have tried them (they're always lying around open) will know, this isn't always the joy it may sound! However, just recently we've collected together some stonking bits and pieces; four or five from top Barolo producer Pio Cesare, four or five more from Domaine Faiveley (based in Nuits st Georges), and yet others from very solid chateaux in St Emilion. Rather than just taste them behind closed doors, we thought we'd open the trial up to all of you, so if you want to try these wines just come on down to the shop on Friday after 5pm, or Saturday (leftovers only, though, on Saturday!), and tell us what you think! We won't be standing to attention, no flowery descriptions or tasting notes, just get a glass in your hand and get cracking! Please give us a call if you intend to come, though, so we can get an idea on numbers. It's free of charge, by the way.

Location:  The Shop

Fees:  FREE

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

New Zealand Wine and Five-Course Feast at Coriander Restaurant, With Warren Adamson.

Dates:  27/06/07

The purpose of this event is twofold; firstly, to showcase the three most significant New Zealand wine regions of Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and Central Otago (we will try eight wines including benchmark examples from each), and secondly, two show how these wines can be matched to food very easily. David at Coriander will prepare a five course, full-service menu, based on the recommended recipes above - albeit with his own twists, of course! - and Warren will guide you expertly through the wines of his homeland. Warren has extensive experience in NZ and now runs the UK office of New Zealand Winegrowers; as such he is 'Mr New Zealand Wine' in this country. We are very lucky to have him for this night!

Email me at toby@quaffit.com to book your slot (leave a phone number and we'll call you for cc details), or call us on 01273 820320!

Location:  Coriander Restaurant

Fees:  £33.50

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, fax: 01273 820326, view website

A Comparison of New and Old World Wines in Kemp Town

Dates:  24/08/07

For this tasting we are looking to taste eight wines, four from the 'Old World' (ie Europe, mostly) and four from the 'New World' (elsewhere), to compare modern and traditional approaches to winemaking. We will take grape varieties as our starting point, looking at chardonnay and sauvignon blanc for whites, and cabernet sauvignon and syrah/shiraz for reds. In doing so we'll be looking at some truly iconic wines and some benchmark efforts from all over the world, which should be fascinating. We'll also be having a range of wonderful artisan cheeses, many of which are produced locally, to accompany the wines. Starts at 7.45 pm.

Location:  27 Sussex Square, Kemp Town

Fees:  £25.00 per person, including cheese buffet

Contact:  ,

Sussex's Finest - A Selection of our best Wines and Cheeses!

Dates:  12/09/07

Timed to coincide with the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival, this tasting celebrates all that is good about our county! We will taste eight wines, from the finest fizzes, through white, red and rosé, looking at the progress made and the World Class wines coming from our own winemaking region. To complement this we have selected a range of cheeses, all made within the county's border, to delight even the most seasoned palate.

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £25.00

Contact:  ,

A Journey Across Europe - Monty's Benefit tasting

Dates:  01/10/07

A Journey Across Europe - Monty's Benefit Tasting.

This is your chance to unravel the World's finest, most historic wine regions! Starting in Champagne, we will travel through the Mosel Valley in Germany, then on to Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Piedmont, and finish in Rioja, looking to explain the regions and demystify the wines. We'll taste a range of wines of value £15-£25 a bottle, chosen to show what made these regions famous and demonstrating their prospects for the future. We will also be including a light buffet dinner to complement the wine and ward off hunger! To add a little friendly competition to the event, we'll be putting together a lighthearted quiz for you to enter, with prizes for each member in the winning team.

As such, tickets for the event can be bought at £32.50 each or £180 per team of six. If you aren't putting together your own team, don't worry, we will find you some likeminded (and hopefully knowledgeable) partners!

50% of the ticket cost will go to Richard Montgomerie's Benefit Year. Monty has given sterling service to Sussex County Cricket Club since he joined them ten years ago, and been a cornerstone member of the most successful team in the club's 150 year history. He thoroughly deserves his Benefit Year, and we're delighted to be asked to put on an event for him. He is the only bloke I ever scored any runs with...! In light of this theme, the event will be held at the Jim Parks Bar, at Sussex CCC, County Ground, Eaton Road, Hove, NOT HERE AT THE SHOP!

Location:  Jim Parks Bar, Sussex C.C.C., County Ground, Eaton Rd., Hove.

Fees:  £32.50 or £180.00 for a team of six

Contact:  ,

Casa Lapostolle night, with Ronald Janssen. From 8.15pm, at the shop, £15 per head including a cheese platter.

Dates:  09/11/07

Casa Lapostolle are without doubt in the vanguard of premium Chilean producers. Their merlot and chardonnay are widely viewed as some of the country's finest, and their flagship Clos Apalta has received many accolades as being the best wine ever produced in Chile. We will taste all three, as well as a range of others. Ronnie is their European Sales Director, and using his extensive knowledge of Chile will guide us through a range of their wines, while also talking more generally about Chilean wine, its regions, and its prospects for the future. We will serve cheeses from Coriander, as usual, to mop up any surplus!

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £15.00

Contact:  ,

Eight Great Grapes night - An Introduction to Wine. From 8.15pm, at the shop, £20 per head including a cheese platter.

Dates:  23/11/07

An excellent one-night introduction to wine tasting! We'll show you the theory of wine tasting, and in doing so will taste eight major grape varieties, four white and four red, all of which can be found on any restaurant list or in any shop. Hopefully in introducing these varietals, their histories, where they're grown and why they're grown there, it will be possible for you to come to some sort of idea about which you like and why! The night is supposed to be lighthearted, fun, and informative.

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £20.00

Contact:  ,

25 Wines for Christmas - Festive bargains and must-buys. From 6.30pm.

Dates:  28/11/07

Held at Coriander restaurant, Hove Street, from 6.30pm onwards, but bottles open all night. Cost £5 to book but you'll get that money back if you buy any wine! We'll choose 25 whites, reds, sweets and sparklies that we think will go down well through the Christmas period. We'll bring in several of our suppliers to show off their wines, so you can be talked through everything by the suppliers themselves. David at Coriander will also obviously have dozens of his delicious cheeses and deli items on tasting on the night, too, so it'd be rude not to attend, quite frankly!

Location:  At Coriander Restaurant, Hove St., from 6.30pm

Fees:  £5.00 but this is refunded should you buy any wine.

Contact:  ,

Port and Sweet Wines - An Ode to all things Sticky. From 8.15pm, at the shop, £30 per head, including cheese platter.

Dates:  15/12/07

Sweet wines don't seem to be hugely fashionable at the moment, but Lord knows why not; at every mixed tasting we ever do, they steal the show! This is a night of unbridled, hedonistic pleasure trawling through the most voluptuous wines in existence. Miss it at your peril! The batting order reads as follows: Ruby, Vintage (1985) and 10 year old tawny ports from Ramos Pinto, Moscatel sherry, Orange Muscat from California, late harvest Tokaji, Vin Santo, and Sauternes. Perhaps one or two others too if you can talk me into it...this is the one night of the year when I can't resist drinking, too...

Location:  At the shop

Fees:  £30.00

Contact:  ,

Around The World in 28 Days - New Year Wine Course

Dates:  From 10/01/08 to 07/02/08

A five week wine course, taking in the UK's ten most popular wine-producing nations. Tasting four wines from each nation, we will give an overview of the country, describe its history of wine production, and showcase the wines that have made it popular. If the country has one particular iconic wine (such as Penfold's Grange from Australia, or Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand), we will make sure we take that in, too! The cost of the wine tasted over the course of the four weeks is scheduled to comfortably exceed £1200, so there are some very good wines on the list.

Week 1, Thursday January 10th, 7.45pm.
Australia
New Zealand

Week 2, Thursday January 17th, 7.45pm.
Italy
Germany

Week 3, Thursday January 24th, 7.45pm.
Chile
U.S.A.


Week 4, Thursday January 31st, 7.45pm.
South Africa
Argentina


Week 5, Thursday Feburary 7th, 7.45pm.
France
Spain

Only 25 places available!

Location:  At the shop, starting at 7.45 each night

Fees:  £125.00 (whole course) or £100 (four nights only)

Contact:  tel: 01273 820320, view website

A Champagne Extravaganza

Dates:  19/07/08

Back by popular demand! During the evening we taste seven wines (including a 'Best of the rest' option, which is one of England's finest bubblies). The aim is to show a range of styles and Houses, from Non-Vintage and lighter styles through Rosé to fuller Vintage styles and a Prestige Cuvée. We will explain how and why they're made, and offer pointers as to what to look for in each. This is a unique chance to try a line-up of excellent examples of each style, and take a glimpse behind the scenes of what remains the world's most glamourous wine. £30 each, 25 places available.

Location:  The Shop, from 8.15pm

Fees:  £30

Contact:  ,

An Evening of Pinot Noir.

Dates:  22/08/08

We take an extended look at this most hypnotic and teasing of varieties. Why is it that pinot noir gains so many loyal disciples among both winemakers and drinkers, yet so often offers up an expensive disappointment? How come some of our most sought after wines are made from pinot noir, and the planet's most expensive piece of agricultural land is planted with the variety, yet in many (even most) of the world's winemaking nations and regions, no-one bothers with the grape at all? We'll travel from California to Otago, from Santiago to Melbourne, in an attempt to unravel what it is that is so intoxicating and frustrating about Pinot Noir, ending where it all began - in Burgundy, in Central France. £25 each, 25 places only.

Location:  at the shop, from 8.15pm

Fees:  £25

Contact:  ,