How wonderful to be able to throw massive parties under the Arches of London Bridge. All your friends there, wine producing mates from Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and and … familiar, smiling faces in animated conversations with excited customers and so many bottles to see and try. Everyone seems to know everyone. We do know everyone! By the end of the evening we certainly know everyone.
Three great, high vaults – cathedrals of wine – including our own ever-more-spectacular Arch Emporium … which just gets more and more stunning. I asked Susan - who runs our shops - to give us the finest wine place in all London. And she has. Though not finished yet apparently!
Got roundly booed when I announced the end of the show; no-one wanted to stop.
So actually we didn't. Just went down the lane and carried on in the Wine Bar. We took it over entirely. All Laithwaites was there and all the growers. Trays of food. Keeps coming. It’s an even noisier party. No speeches, just tales of the just-finished harvest and the Christmas season taking off. I took off into the cobbled streets but found hotel unaided and just thought I'd lie down before getting ready for bed … hence Saturday morning.
Then off to go do it all again.
PS the customers picked as their favourite wines of the night Henry's Chateau Verniotte, (proud fathers, him and me) Trapiche's Single Vineyard Malbec (two pricey items) and what they were now calling 'Pink Stump'; the new 'Black Stump' Rosé. Well, it was a party!
The tasting table from the show, demonstrating just a few of the flavours and aromas to be found in wine
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