Founded in 1997 the Club's aim is to promote members' enjoyment and appreciation of wine in the company of people who share their interest, whether they are enthusiastic beginners or long-term wine enthusiasts.
Our annual programme of tastings is designed to broaden members’ understanding and appreciation of wine and to enable them to taste wines they might not been able to access or afford. We aim to introduce our members to the world’s leading wine experts in all fields – and to drink the best wine we can.
Sociable but serious, passionate but thoroughly professional in all it does and focused on quality, the Club aims to cover both classic growths and new trends from the world of wine.
Membership
The Club welcomes as members people who have already acquired a basic knowledge in wine, such as that gained by attending a basic level wine course e.g. WSET Level 1 or equivalent. If you would like to join the 170 or so current members, or to find out more about the Club, please see the FAQ page.
Tasting and Events
The Club holds around 8 or 9 tastings and events each season, which runs from September through to June. You will find details of the current year’s programme in the Calendar of Events section of this website. The Club’s tastings are presented by an international and changing group which includes producers, wine merchants, wine educators and Masters of Wine. Tasting reviews are created for each tasting and these are available to members both as a resource for members who are undertaking further wine studies and as a way of members accessing information about tastings they may have been unable to attend. Tastings are normally held at easily accessible venues in Oxford, including in the Marquee at the Cherwell Boathouse (www.cherwellboathouse.co.uk). In addition to formal tastings the Club also organises social events, generally at Christmas time and during the summer, so that members and guests can socialise in a relaxed environment.
Organisation
The Club is run by an annually elected Committee of members and is a not for profit organisation. In addition the Club is proud to have as its President Michael Palij MW and three further MWs – Jasper Morris, Jonathan Pedley and Richard Bampfield – as its Vice Presidents. The Club also has an Honorary Life Vice President, Charles Garrett, who was a founding father of the Club and who served as Club Secretary from 1997 to 2004.
Wine Offers
From time to time the Club makes available to its members the opportunity to purchase wines at a discount. These wines are usually associated with the Club tastings or presenters, or are made available to members through those tastings held in Oxford colleges by a variety of wine merchants. The Club has a wine-buying members group which attends college tastings and selects wines for offer on the basis of their quality and value for money. We organise collective orders thus enabling members to buy on a "by the bottle" rather than a "by the case" basis - a particular advantage when purchasing more expensive wines. Wines purchased through this scheme are for members' own consumption and not for resale.