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For a pleasant drinking town that has a small fishing problem, expectations were high ahead of the wine tasting evening at the wonderful Wivenhoe Society. Friday night in the Congregational Hall is booze night - well, it is on an annual basis anyway.

Best make the most of the fine wine, friendly company and chocolate biscuits on offer.

Chin chin.

Except I missed out on the first items on the agenda, namely Glera Prosecco frizz ante rose, and the Stonebridge Sauvignon Blanc. Thank goodness it wasn’t Banks’ Mild to start off the booze fest.

Much like my favourite wines, I am a notorious late starter. Actually I was messing around with the washing machine, and arrived fashionably late at the Congregational Hall, just as the splendid Wine Master was in full flow.

Whoops.

With all the tables taken, I shuffled around nervously, found a gap in the side and took up my vantage point. The very, very charming fellow wine fans were most welcoming, inviting me to find a chair and join in the conversation.

This was a sell out event, and there was no room in the Inn. See what I have done there? Aha!

I did manage though to find a kiddie chair in the Congregational Hall, and propped up at the side of the table, two inches from the ground and looking up at those around me. I know my place, etc, and it only turns out that my table companion was none other than Wivenhoe’s Mr Mayor.

Cripes.

The company was as welcoming as the wine. As the booze flowed, so did the conversation. It was a genuine pleasure to get an insight into Wivenhoe life from a man of high office, even if Mr Mayor insisted on “just call me Brian.”

OK, Brian. Blimey.

Plenty of sniffing followed. I’ve often considered how smelling a wine glass is a waste of drinking time. What did add to the experience however were some specially baked chocolate biscuits, to bring out some extra flavour once we hit the fruitier variety of red plonk.

Cheese and biscuits complemented the port, and before you knew it, bottoms up had been reached and it was time to head back to base. I resisted the temptation to round off the evening with five pints of Stella and a trip to the curry house. Only a fool would mix his St Haellett Shiraz with his chicken tikka masala.

Many, many thanks to the good folk at the Wivenhoe Co-op for making the evening possible with their generous support. Well done to the Wivenhoe Society for staging the event, and most important of all - a huge thanks to Dave Harrison, our esteemed and highly skilled wine master for the evening.

Chin chin.

The full list of wines sampled were:

Glen Prosecco frizz ante rose

Stonebridge Sauvignon Blanc

Pouilly Fume Les Charmilles

LFE Chardonnay / Viognier

St Hallett Riesling

L’Oustalet Reserve

Pulenta estate Malbec les jovenes

St Hallett Shiraz

Marques de Valido Rioja Reserva

Plus… some port.