Other Wine Club Events

Sussex Federation of Winemakers Seminar in Eastbourne - Friday 27th to Sunday 29th September 2024

The Seminar will be at the Haddon Hall Hotel in Eastbourne on a full board basis and is open to all wine club members. Arrival time is usually around Friday from 4 pm and we leave on Sunday after lunch. The exact programme will be available in July but normally the weekend comprises several tutored wine tastings & perhaps a talk. On the Saturday evening after dinner, there is live music & dancing. If dancing isn't your thing you can just sit, chat, drink wine and listen to the music! The hotel is in a great location 1 minute's walk from the bandstand on the seafront and a few minutes walk from the pier or main shopping area of Eastbourne. All rooms are ensuite, with a TV and tea & coffee making facilities. The booking form was emailed out to all Rottingdean Club members at the end of March so if you didn't receive it and want to go, please get in touch! Members have priority booking until the end of April. After this, the weekend is opened up to friends and family of members.

Afternoon Garden Party - Thursday 23rd May 2024

We are planning an afternoon Garden Party at the Grange Tea Garden, Rottingdean from 2 pm to 5 pm. Club members will have exclusive use of the main garden. The tea will comprise of sandwiches, cakes, scones with cream and jam. Tea or coffee and pimms. Details re booking etc have been emailed out to members.

Bolney Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting - Thursday 18th July 2024

The vineyard tour will start at 11.30am and lasts approximately 1½ hours. This will be followed by a wine tasting with 5 wines and also Bolney Gin. Bolney Wine Estate have been crafting top English wines for 50 years producing red and white wines and sparkling wine from their own home-grown grapes and are proud of their award winning range. Members can stay on to purchase lunch or snacks on the day at their own additional cost. The Eighteen Acre Café has delicious cakes, pastries and sandwiches and is on a walk-in basis on the day. The Eighteen Acre Restaurant has an à la carte menu and a number of tables have been reserved for those who would enjoy staying on for lunch, at their own expense, in the restaurant. For full details and booking, club members should refer to the booking form emailed out on 12th April. Here is a link to the Bolney website so you can get a flavour of what is involved and how to get to the estate: www.bolneywineestate.com

Visit to Ridgeview Winery - Tour & Tasting - Thursday 5th September 2024

We are organising a Vineyard tour and tasting at Ridgeview Wine Estate at Ditchling for our members. Full details and booking will be available shortly and emailed out to members and announced at a Club evening once finalised. In the meantime here is a link to Ridgeview's website so you can see where exactly it is and what it looks like! www.ridgeview.co.uk

Christmas Lunch

We will have a Christmas Lunch held locally in December. Details to be announced nearer the time.

Below are some highlights of our 50th Anniverary events from 2023

Wine Club 50th Anniversary Lunch

For our 50th Anniversary we enjoyed an excellent lunch at The Star Hotel in Alfriston.

Visit to Albourne Winery - Tour, a Talk & Tasting

As part of the Club's 50th anniversary celebrations, we organised a Vineyard tour, a talk and tasting at the Albourne Winery for our members.

The experience was around 2 hours and included a guided walk through the vineyard and to the winery and bottle store then onto a tasting in the tasting room of 4 wines paired with 4 local cheeses.

Christmas Lunch

Our Christmas Lunch was held at the Black Horse in Rottingdean and replaced our usual meeting in December.

Sussex Federation of Winemakers Weekend in Eastbourne

The Federation organised a weekend away at the Haddon Hall Hotel in Eastbourne on a full board basis. This was open to all wine club members. Arrival time was on a Friday from 3pm to the Sunday leaving after lunch. The weekend comprised several tutored wine tastings & on the Saturday evening after dinner, there was live music & dancing. The hotel is in a great location 1 minute's walk from the bandstand on the seafront and a few minutes walk from the pier or main shopping area of Eastbourne. All rooms are ensuite, with a TV and tea & coffee making facilities.