Bluff Your Way To… at B&H Buildings London

This series of interactive evenings is designed to bluff your way through the trickiest social situation, stay on track with the latest trends, and appear as a fountain of all cultural knowledge.
B&H

B&H

Each Bluffing session will be based around a theme, with an expert on board to guide guests away from terrified ignorance into confident repartee.

Events take place fortnightly on a Tuesday and are well-worth going to.. fun and informative. And it’s a great bar/restaurant if you’ve not yet discovered B&H Buildings in Clerkenwell, London.

2015 Wine Trends – March 31st

Bored  of  Bordeaux? Not  so  savvy  about  Sauvignon? Queen  of  the  grape,  Jane  Parkinson  was on hand at this buzzy event in the gorgeous bar at B&H Buildings to guide us through the trends in wine.

B&H Bluff Your Way To... Wine

B&H Bluff Your Way To… Wine

Jane knows her stuff and this is what we learned:

“Longer lasting and cheaper bubbles, aromatic New Zealand whites, Slovenian blends, elegant lighter reds and (brave) new, New World wines.”

inside scoop from Jane Parkinson at Bourne and Hollingsworth's Bluff Your Way To... Wine Trends

inside scoop from Jane Parkinson at Bourne and Hollingsworth’s Bluff Your Way To… Wine Trends

Here’s the wines we tested:

Philippe Michel Cremant de Jura 2012 from Aldi (£7.29). Longer lasting and cheaper bubbles.  Aldi have upped their game with this on taste and price.  Cremants are made using the champagne method and deliver a more concentrated bubble and softer flavours that would suit ‘all day drinking’ (no, not like that) – think summer weddings and buttery brioche.

Philippe Michel Cremant Du Jura

Fizz under a tenner

Brancott Sauvignon Gris 2014, Ocado & Tesco (Now £7.85). Check out the label, almost identical to the well-known sauvignon blanc but this is sauvignon gris, a pinkish forerunner of the sauvignon blanc grape and also grown in Marlborough on glacial silt soils. New Zealand wants to shift its “one trick pony” image – having planted their first sauvignon blanc grapes in 1975 and almost single-handedly transformed the New World of  white wines and now they are pushing this pungent, earthy aromatic Sauvignon Gris.

Brancott Sauvignon Gris

gris not blanc

Dveri Pax Furmint/Pinot Gris/ Traminer/Riesling 2013 from M&S (£10) – trend in blended wines and from Slovenia. It’s less important to have a single grape variety wine, these grapes go well together to make a great white wine. And it’s from Slovenia – where wine has been made long before the Romans introduced wine making to France and Spain. Our favourite of the night.

blended wines are on the rise

blended wines are on the rise

Domaine de I’Idylle Savoie Mondeuse 2012, Yapp Bros (£12.50) A lighter red? Wine trends are to the more elegant, less of a big hit and punch to the nose. This is 12% alcohol by volume from the mondeuse grape grown in Savoie, east France. Yapp Brothers Wine Merchants is widely recognised as the UK’s leading importer of French regional wines championing under appreciated, distinctive wines.

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 12%

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 12%

Cornelia Red, South Africa M&S (£10). Wines from the new, New World. Cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst  make natural wines in the ‘traditional’ manner, meaning minimal interference,  on 28 ha of old bush vines grown in dry Swartland, South Africa.  The soils of Cape West coast retains the winter moisture, allowing sun-loving powerful Shiraz, fresh Cinsaut, and spicy Mouvedre, to thrive. Another blend, fragrant full-bodied red scented with dark berry and wild floral aromas. Brave new New World off the beaten track and one of the lesser known Cape Wine Routes.

Cornelia Red South Africa

big bright warhorse

BOOK HERE for

Bluff Your Way To…

A guide to Gin Trends- April 14th

The General Election– April 28th

Online Stardom – May 12th

Cannes Film Festival – May 26th

Tickets are priced at either £10 for general admission or £25 to include relevant drinks and flights of tasters.

Sessions take place at
42 Northampton Road
EC1R 0HU
Read about the venue here Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings

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