Newsletter March 2026

Dear Members,

At last, the signs of Spring arriving have started to appear, the yellow peril of pine pollen, the jonquils in the Jalon valley are nodding their yellow heads and the dawn chorus has started. Our third Tasting of 2026 is not far away and there are a couple of CBWS activities to tell you about.

On 19 February we had an enthusiastic and very informative presentation and an interesting tasting from the owner of Acústic Cellars, DO Montsant, Albert Jane. This prestigious bodega presented 5 wines (2 whites and 3 reds) all of which have been rated by Peñin,Robert Parker and Tim Atkin at 90 to 93 points. The Tasting Report is available HERE. We visited this bodega on our May Wine Trip in 2022, and Albert presented his wines in November 2022 at Los Amigos where many people bought his wines. We took over 15 orders on Thursday evening and would like to offer this to members who could not attend.

If you wish to order some of the wines that were tasted on the night, please click HERE Acústic wines are only distributed in Catalunya and in export markets, so it is a great opportunity to taste these premium wines. The cut off date for orders is 11th of March. We will be in touch with regarding payment, and where to collect your order.

We have had to change the closing day for tasting events. The reason for this is that restaurants are now asking for our meal orders a week in advance to help them minimise food waste and help to keep costs lower. From the March tasting the closing date for bookings and payments will be the Wednesday in the week before the tasting.

A reminder that we are organising an informal wine scoring workshop to be given by Neville Richardson. This will be in late March, the dates we are considering are the 19, 23 & 24 March. There are still a few spaces available. Please email me at president@cbws.eu as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

Our next three Tasting events are:

On 19th March our Tasting is at Javea Golf Club, when Fergus & Joan Fitzpatrick will introduce a tasting of wines made from a single grape variety – Garnacha. A welcome Cava will be served at 19.30 with dinner at 20.00. The cost is €50 for members and €60 for guests. The menu is as follows:

Welcome Cava & Tapa
Entrades (para compartir).
      Beef Carpaccio with Parmesan Cheese
      Crunchy Goat Cheese with salad and candied onions
Segundo – eligir
      Roasted Lamb at low temperature with sauté potatoes
                                                     or
      Grilled Cod with Vegetables
Postre
      Pineapple with Coconut Ice Cream

Please book directly on the CBWS website or via the link below. Our maximum capacity for this event is 72. Booking is now open and will close at midday on 11th March after which no more bookings can be made and there will be no refunds for cancellations.

Looking ahead, our next tasting is on 16 April at Denia Yacht Club, Tony & Gro Salter will host what promises to be a lively and entertaining evening titled “My Favourite Wine”, where five newer members will present their chosen wines. Each table will vote for their Best Presenter and Best Wine of the Evening, with surprises in store for the winners. It sounds like a fun evening!

On 21st May at Maxim’s in Moraira Sara & Neville Richardson will be presenting ‘What’s in a Label: how much does the packaging influence you?’ Do you prefer a trendy label or an old-fashioned label? Find out on the night what attracts casual wine buyers the most. On 5th to 8th May 35 members will be going on our annual wine away trip, this time to the DO of Madrid. This trip is now fully subscribed.

Enjoy your month.
Regards
Helen