On 18 August 2016 London Branch organised a lunch for 11 members in the private dining room of The Greenhouse Restaurant in London’s Mayfair. A special five course meal with matching wines was prepared by Chef Arnaud Bignon. With the canapés we enjoyed Champagne Goutorbe Boillot, Carte d’Or. The starter was the restaurant’s signature dish of Dorset Crab, …
A Tasting of Fine and Rare Tawny Port
On Tuesday 2 December 2016 we were treated to a fascinating tasting of Tawny Ports presented by our Chairman, Jeffrey Benson at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel, Victoria. Unlike Vintage Port, which spends years developing in bottle and then needs to be decanted, Tawny Ports with an indication of age spend their time developing in oak casts, throwing their sediment, and …
WSET Advanced level 3
Jeffrey Benson recently held and tutored a course for IWFS London Branch members leading to the Advanced Level 3 certificate award of the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust). This is an internationally recognised professional qualification, involving both a written examination and a blind tasting. Those who participated found it most demanding; very much more so than Level 2, which …
Spring/Early Summer 2014 Newsletter
Vintage gems from the London International Wine and Food Society summer events programme • Garage or garbage? Rare wines from the winemaking rebels from Bordeaux – 3 April • Fine and rare white Burgundies dating back to 1955 – 8 April • Dinner by Heston – 1 May • A tutored tasting of fine red Burgundies from the 1950s – …
Spring 2014 Newsletter
It’s all Greek, Sparkles and Garage for Spring 2014 with the London Branch of the International Wine and Food Society · Jeffrey Benson looks back at the ‘Ultimate Tasting’ of a 1795 Madeira · Fine and mature Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese · Exclusive evening at 10 Greek Street Restaurant with owner Luke Wilson · Celebrate local with English sparkling wines · Garage …
Carole’s Farewell
Farewell but Not Goodbye! Dear London Branch Friends After 11 years of managing your Programme of Events, I have decided that the time has come for me to retire. I know it doesn’t seem like it but it was in November 2002 that the new Committee offered me the role jointly with another new Committee member. My first ever programme …
The Pentathlon
The Wines Cremant de Bourgogne AOC Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Mercurey Blanc AOC, 2009 Jean Michel & Laurent Pillot Beaune Premier Cru AOC Les Avaux, 2009 Domaine Lucien Jacob Seduction d’Automne Roussette de Savoie (Altesse) Les Rocailles, 2006 The Menu Warm Pea soup with raspberries _____________________ Gravallax cured with dill and vodka, served with potato pancakes _______________________ Seven …
Olympic Torch launches London Branch Summer Programme.
IWFS London Branch has adopted an Olympic theme for its summer programme, so what better way to launch it than with a superb dinner at The Leander Club in Henley, just before the Olympic Torch passed through? Members enjoyed a sparkling wine reception with canapés, followed by a first class three course dinner with excellent wines, including a 1985 Chateau Larmande St …
A Savoie Lunch
A Savoie Lunch for London Branch Alan and Stephanie Shepherd have been regular visitors to the Savoie region of France for some years, and have hosted Savoie food and wine events for IWFS on a number of occasions. This time it was a lunch for the London Branch, at their home in Camberley. Whilst previous …
London Branch in the Krug Room
The Krug Room at the Dorchester is the original ‘chef’s table’ – one of the first to offer diners the opportunity to watch their meal being prepared at first hand. It was first opened in the 1940s, but completely remodelled in 2003, and is now a sleek, stylish and contemporary space with a wall of glass overlooking the kitchen, which …