Thursday 27th October will see London hosting the first ever festival of Madeira Wine, and it’s free.
We are happy to admit that the collective knowledge at BarLifeUK on Madeira doesn’t amount to much at all. It’s a fortified wine made on the island of Madeira and it tasted lovely last time we had some, that’s about it. We’d imagine most of you reading this have a similar level of understanding. Fear not, the Madeira Wine Experience is here to help us all.
Key Details
Date: Thursday, October 27th 2022
Time: 10am – 5pm
Venue: Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, London Bridge SE1 9DD
Cost: Free
Register here
The event is supported by a series of world renowned wine experts, sommeliers, chefs and bartenders. They are all joining forces to illustrate how versatile and relevant Madeira wine is to today’s customers.
The main tasting will feature six producers – Barbeito, Blandy’s, Henriques and Henriques, HM Borges, Justinos and Pereira d´Oliveira. The event will also be showcasing a range of cocktails prepared by world-renowned, award winning bartenders, Erik Lorincz, co-founder of Kwant London, Tristan Stephenson, the curious bartender and Barrie Wilson, veteran bartender and owner of Scotch Limon.
There are also a series of talks taking place, Dr Jamie Goode will lead masterclasses for the trade, focusing on Colheitas and Frasqueiras at 11am and then the different styles of Madeira at 4:30pm. At 2pm a session matching Madeira Wine with food will be presented by Donald Edwards, head sommelier at Michelin Star restaurant, La Trompette and Drew Snaith, head chef at East London restaurant, Pidgin.
If you are busy during the day you can always join the great unwashed as the evening will be opened up to a wine knowledgeable consumer audience, supported by the Three Wine Men and led by their expert presenters, Tom Surgey and Aleesha Hansel. After opening the event, both presenters will lead a series of speed tastings, running through two of the best Madeira Wines put forward by each of producer.
We’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the cocktails that will be served at the event and they look fantastic. We will certainly be there to expand our knowledge and drink delicious things and we hope to see lots of you there.
The trade tasting runs from 10am to 5pm, and the consumer event from 6pm to 9pm. Registration for the trade event can be made through www.westburycom.co.uk/events and for the evening event through Eventbrite.