It's been 12 years since Laurie Webster last presented to us, so it's with much pleasure that we will welcome him back again this month.   When Laurie last visited us, we tasted an excellent selection of wines from Argentina.   So knowing how much our members appreciate Argentinian wines, I've asked him to bring us up to date and show us his latest recommendations. This time, Laurie will be presenting in partnership with Wellbrook Wines, a Kent based company, which imports most of their wines directly.   

Tonight we welcome Meghan Pieratt, who is presenting to us for the first time.  Meghan is Business Development Manager in the UK for Famile Perrin, one of the most prominent wine-producing families in France's Southern Rhône Valley, best known as the owners and stewards of the legendary Chateau de Beaucastel. Now in their fifth generation, the family is a pioneer in organic and biodynamic viticulture, practices they have championed since the 1950s.

Preet Sahota is one of our Society's most popular speakers and needs no introduction to those who have been members for more than a couple of years.   He has a reputation for bringing us lesser known wines from the new world, especially South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.   We like the wines he shows us and they are well priced.   So it comes as no surprise that Preet holds the record for the amount of wine ordered at our tastings.

By popular demand, Keith will be digging deep into his cellar to bring you some superb wines, which will hopefully get us in the mood for the upcoming Christmas celebrations.

I can think of no better way to start our 40th anniversary year than with a presentation by Master of Wine Richard Bampfield. There are only a small number of Masters of Wine in the world, so it is always a privilege to be able to welcome one of their ranks to present to us at the Whitewater Valley Wine Society. For many years, Richard has been a consultant to Lidl’s wine buying team and shares his vast experience with them.  He has a huge influence on the wines which appear on their shelves. He will give us a behind-the-scenes insight into the wine buying philosophy at Lidl.  We’ll find out how they source their wines, what influence they have over the winemakers and how they know which wines their customers will like.

The Whitewater Valley Wine Society will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2027. Our main celebration event of the year will be a gala dinner, to be held on Friday 5th March 2027.
Bookings for this dinner will open in Autumn 2026.