Wine Not? Care Home Residents Tour The Wonderful World Of Wine

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Ashcombe House care home in Worting Road were treated to a wine tasting masterclass hosted by Nick Parker and Lee Isaacs from Unity Wines.

Nick and Lee took Barchester residents on a tour of the world of wine starting with a light, fresh Italian sparking dry white wine, Tosti Asti Secco. With lemon, pear, apple and white peach, this is a great alternative to Prosecco.  Next was a South African white, Bird Island Chenin Blanc – such a versatile wine, this example had green and red apples, peachy fruit, and a hint of something slightly tropical with a wonderful hit of apricots, nuts and melon.

Then the residents were off to France to try Ancien Temps Rosé, a light, rosé with notes of white flowers, strawberries and cranberries.  To finish, it was the turn of Spain where residents sampled Ramon Bilbao Rioja Crianza with its ripe, vibrant blackberries and plums, and filled with flavours of brambles, cinnamon and nutmeg and a lingering toastiness. This was a firm favourite with the residents and the afternoons favourite.

Nick said “It was a privilege and a pleasure to share some of our best-loved wines with the Barchester residents, it was a whistle-stop tour but hopefully we gave everyone a good flavour of some of the different styles on offer from a lovely dry Asti right through to fruity Rioja,”

This tasting was really interesting, (not to mention delicious!) because it showcased so many different styles of wines from countries around the world.

General Manager, Louise said: “Our residents do enjoy a glass of wine with their lunch or dinner and they love to try new styles so the tasting went down an absolute treat. We accompanied the wine with a selection of cheeses and crackers. It was very interesting to learn which wines pair well with different foods, our residents are looking forward to trying out Nick and Lee’s recommendations.”

Mary Dodsworth resident at Ashcombe said “ It was a lovely afternoon doing something I have never done before, the rose was my favourite and I will be having that again.” At Ashcombe house we have a varied life enrichment programme with daily activities and special events, something for everyone.