WiBF Wine Tasting Event with Great Grog, Edinburgh

I met a member of the WiBF (Women in Banking & Finance) at a recent wine tasting and figured their next event, a wine tasting, sounded my sort of thing. Just to give you an idea, the group is essentially a networking group which connects professionals from every sector of the banking and finance industry in London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Dublin.

Tonight Great Grog are running the tasting and I quote from their website We are an independent Wine Merchant in Edinburgh (Internet/Warehouse/Wholesale/Retail/Wine Bar/Educators), established in the last century (1999!). We peddle the thrifty... to the rare & ultimate drinking experience. We flog grog that we, as practised drinkers, like to glug, at the price we would like to glug it at.

I'm intrigued to see how this is going to work. Networking isn't easy in a standard seated wine tasting event. Great Grog adapt well and adopt a two pronged attack of Matt manning the tables and filling glasses and Simon pacing the floor with a bottle. This works really well and gives everyone the opportunity to try the wine and network/chat at the same time. Both Simon and Matt are also available to answer any questions about the wine and have a really good back ground knowledge of all of the wines on offer.

They've put on a varied selection too. From the Prosecco (becoming a popular choice for a starting point on many tastings) to the full fruity Murray River, South Australia Nebbiolo (nothing like the Italian Nebbiolo's I've tasted).

Prosecco Ca' Bolani Brut, Italy £7.99
Handmade Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2009 £6.99
Kahurangi Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Nelson, NZ 2008 £7.99
Las Corazas Rosado, La Mancha, Spain 2008 £4.65
Juan Gill Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain 2007 £6.75
Trentham 'La Famiglia' Nebbiolo, Murray River, South Australia 2005 £8.85

They're all pretty good, I like the Monastrell, a nice easy drinking wine, balanced with a savoury edge along with red fruits and a different grape from the norm. Generally the favourite amongst the group seems to be the NZ Sauvignon Blanc a great wine for a reasonable price. It's not too vegetal like some NZ Sauvignon Blancs and has nice white fruit flavours too. It's a great atmosphere and a great bunch of people.

I've been to the Great Grog shop but confess I have never attended one of their tastings, something I have to rectify as soon as possible. So many wines, so little time...