LYMM WINE AND BEER CIRCLE NEWSLETTER
August 2026
LAST CLUB NIGHT – Wine Tasting from Preet Sahota
Preet Sahota from Edgmond Wines visited us again this month. He was his usual entertaining self. He brought us 6 wines – 1 from South Africa and 5 from New Zealand. After the tasting there was an opportunity to purchase the wines and many of our members decided to buy a bottle or two.
| Wine | Origin | Colour | ABV | Normal Price | Special Price |
| Truida MCC 2023 | SA | White sparkling | 11.5 | £31.99 | £12.99 |
| Millton Opou Riesling 2021 | NZ | White | 10.5 | £19.99 | £11.99 |
| Giesen Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2020 | NZ | White | 13.5 | £25.99 | £9.99 |
| Ara Pinot Gris 2018 | NZ | White | 13.0 | £18.99 | £9.99 |
| Smith & Co Pinot Noir 2021 | NZ | Red | 13.5 | £23.99 | £12.99 |
| Te Mata Alma Pinot Noir 2019 | NZ | Red | 13.5 | £41.99 | £18.99 |
NEXT CLUB NIGHT – 16th September 2026 at 8pm
Gary Conley is giving us his hilarious history of working men’s clubs entitled; ’Eye Up! The pies ‘ave come’ Natalia will also be bringing us her choice of Wine of the Month.
CRAFTY WINOS
The August meeting was held at Jill’s house in Great Sankey. The crafts being worked that evening were model making, art work, lace making, cross-stitch, tapestry, knitting and crochet. Here are some photos.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 2nd September at 7:30pm at Kath’s house in Lymm.
August Walk – Sunday 23rd August
Eleven walkers started out from the Car Park at Castle Park Frodsham. The walk was led by Derek. The route was approximately 3 kilometres and included an ice cream break at The Cheeky Ice Cream cabin adjacent to the Crown Bowling Green (actually mostly brown).
The walk included a section of Frodsham Hill Lower Walk, across Howley Lane up to Park Lane, and ended with a section running parallel to the railway line.
The Park features some beautiful vintage trees.
Derek
September Walk – Sunday 20th September
Frank is leading our September walk. It’ll start and finish at the London Bridge pub Stockton Heath (WA4 5BG). Length 4 miles, mostly flat, on footpaths but with a climb at the beginning. Frank spoke to the London Bridge and they are fine with us parking there as long as everyone puts their reg number into their machine inside the pub when we come back.
LWBC Dinner List
The dinner list is a way of members getting to know other members on a more personal basis than can occur at a club night. Every month on rotation, three couples from the list eat at one couple’s house with each couple providing a course, with – as far as possible – a different set of couples each month at a different venue. A couple can be either the standard two people but can also be a single person – who may or may not bring a friend (who need not be wine circle member).
Frank is putting together a new dinner list for the winter, starting in October, so if you would like to take part and are not on the current list, please let him know.
“If you’re not sure what’s involved and would like to know more, you are very welcome to contact me and I will be happy to explain. There’s no requirement to be a spectacular host/hostess or a superb cook, decent home cooking is more than adequate. New members on the list are always welcome as it makes for more variation, as well as making it easier for me to put the rota together. I always arrange for them to have an easy course (ie starter or dessert) to begin with so that they are not dropped in at the deep end.”
Finally, if you are already on the list, but would like to come off, please let me know also.
Happy dining! Frank
2026 Caravan Season
The Caravaners have just 1 more rally planned for 2026.
Thursday 3rd September – Tuesday 8th September
Haven Lake District Leisure Park, Moor Lane, Flookburgh, LA11 7LT. Lodges and static caravans are available for hire for non-caravaners, if they wish to join us for all or part of the time.
Organiser – Anna
Caravaners visit to Clitheroe
Altogether four units and one dog spent the weekend North of Clitheroe, with views of Pendle Hill. Surrounded by wildlife it’s a beautiful place to unwind. Friday was fish and chip night, joined by Keith, Judy and Ashley. All went according to plan, and Anna provided a quiz on Portsmouth. Keith was the winner and we all know more about Portsmouth now. Jill, David and Ashley did a forest walk (5.3 miles) close to Stocks Reservoir.
Saturday was our main feature of the weekend with Clitheroe Food festival. Julie and Annmarie met us all on the park and ride bus. We can best describe the festival as hot and very busy. Everyone had different lunches and we all went back to pink bubbly for Jill and David’s 40th Wedding Anniversary.
On a cloudy Sunday morning Rob led a walk from the beautiful private village of Downham. Beautiful views from a ridge and a roman road. Julie and Annmarie headed for Boundary Mill and Jill and David had afternoon tea at Foxfields Hotel in Billington, see photo to the right.
Thanks to Kath for booking the lovely views, the Food Festival and great weather.
Jill
Vineyard visit
Many thanks to Kath for organising a trip to a local vineyard – the Two Bridges Vineyard in Glazebury, on Friday 28th August. 19 of us had a very enjoyable afternoon. We were treated to an informative and entertaining talk by the ‘Drinks Magician’ (Keith) before enjoying a picnic under the large gazebo. Although it was overcast, no rain fell on us. We tasted their Campion White and Campion Red wines produced solely from their Solaris (white) and Rondo (red) grapes. Their wines are produced for them by the Halfpenny Green winery near Stourbridge.
JULY NEWSLETTER – QUICK WINE QUIZ VÉRAISON
August is typically the month when véraison starts in northern hemisphere vineyards, but what is véraison?
a) The moment vines break winter dormancy and begin shoot growth
b) The onset of grape ripening marked by colour change and softening
c) The completion of flowering when berries have fully set
The answer is b) Veraison is the stage when grapes soften, change colour, and begin accumulating sugars — the true start of ripening. This traditionally takes place in early August and is celebrated in the southern Rhône with the Fête de la Véraison. The most famous of these is that of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the first week of August, where the whole town is involved with street celebrations.
AUGUST NEWSLETTER – QUICK WINE QUIZ AUTUMN BEER
September is the month when Munich’s Oktoberfest begins. Which of these beers is brewed specially for the festival?
a) Märzen
b) Rauchbier
c) Maibock
JULIE’S CLIPPINGS
This month, Julie has some Gruner Veltliner and Pinot Noir wines for you.
