In a change from the usual workshops and seminars, JCI Cambridge's August event was Wine Tasting. Over 30 people attending to learn the art of wine tasting and feast upon cheese and biscuits afterwards. Our man on the scene, cheese (and now wine) connoisseur, Works In Print Director Patrick McCrae gives us the low-down on how the evening went:

In keeping with our JCI Cambridge goal to provide business-based personal development-focussed training events we invited Buying Director, Lyndsey from Cambridge Wines to run this months' session.

Pour, examine, swirl, sniff, taste... spit.  Well, let's be honest, no one spat their wine out.  Gallant neighbours of designated drivers took blousey, deep purple, fruity, high minty noted bullets while we all sat around and dredged our memory for adjectives.  

She was not there to tell us about the 3500 wines she personally tastes and buys for their now 8+ shops around the UK, her seven years as the incumbent, nor indeed to tell us about staff management (she is recruiting, by the way) but to tell us how to taste wine!

"What does it look like?" ,  "What does it smell like?"   asked Lyndsey. Of course our hilarious responses to glass one, the veritable (and the best) [insert name]: "tastes of wine", soon depreciated into people shouting out Oak! TCP! Metallic things! Or my personal favourite Cotton wool!  My neighbour (and designated driver bullet-taker) noted that he had just not smelled enough things in his life to fully take part.

As the evening progressed and we evolved from "Buy One Get One Free" wine drinking troglodytes it seemed our focus may have waned. Much how Come Dine With Me can make a man superbly hungry, so Lyndsey's descriptions of edible accompaniments to the fine wines made everything grumble.  Evidenced by President Jen and Membership Director Nick's hurried arrangement of our cheese selection, as we worked out that bottle five of six would probably sit well with rare steak. 

We had six wines in total, plucked from Cambridge Wine's '(affordable) bring this to a party and people will love you range' and I know a few people will soon be feeling the love.In short, if you weren't there, you missed out.  Superb night.  People stayed right until the end when we were possibly overstaying Eversheds' generous hospitality.  Luckily for some hangers-on not all the wine was finished so some (unnamed) parties could be seen exiting with half-empty bottles! 

Apparently JCI Cambridge does it again!