It was my friend, David, who put the idea in my head.  Wine tastings might be a good place to meet eligible men – eligible meaning wine lovers who are affluent enough to be able to buy wine: surely the perfect combination.  Maybe this is what prompted me to fork out £45 to go to the Justerini & Brooks customer tasting last week, but it was also held at beautiful Somerset House and it’s not often you get to taste such a great range of fine wines from around the world.

Normally, I try to go to trade tastings as there is less crush, more focus and the chance to talk to the producers.  Also, in my new status as “press” I don’t need to pay.  Retail tastings are much more of a social event and there’s something of the free bar about them – I once left two friends alone at the Decanter Italian Fine Wine Encounter only to relocate them an hour later giggling and somewhat over-tasted in the Franciacorta room – you know who you are!

Anyway, I really enjoyed the J&B tasting.  With so many styles to try from around the world in only a few hours, it was a little overwhelming and difficult to keep focus.  Not only that, there were three masterclasses from JJ Prüm, René Rostaing and Davide Voerzio from Roberto Voerzio to choose from.  I managed to squeeze into the latter and learned how their focus on work in the vineyards and particularly on ensuring low yields pays dividends in the cellar.  I absolutely loved their:

• Barbera d’Alba, Riserva Vigneto, Pozzo dell’Annunziata, 2007 – wonderful plummy fruit burst, lovely smoky finish, aged in the same way as Barolo;
• Barolo, Rocche dell’Annunziata Torriglione, 2007 – powerful with an almost explosive fruit intensity, but still exceptionally elegant and very, very long;
• Barolo, Riserva Fossati, Case Nere, 2003 – from a poor vintage but fabulously expressive, silky and delicate

I was hoping to sniff out some good value options overall, but I’m not sure this was necessarily the place for that, so, of the wines I tried, I particularly enjoyed:

• Sancerre, Petit Chemarín, Vincent Pinard, 2009, £28.40 – poised and harmonious: ripe fruit with a lovely mineral flintiness, creamy mouthfeel;
• Weisser Burgunder, Trocken, Bernhard Huber, Baden 2011, £14.40 – hint of spritz, white peach and yellow apples, lovely dancing, fresh finish;
• Soave Classico, La Froscà, Gini, Veneto, 2009, £15.40 – orchard fruit and pear tart, with herbal tones, great body but not at all heavy, yum!
• Clos Martinet, Priorat, Mas Martinet, 2008, £35.40 – wonderful complexity and intensity: layers of bright red fruit, garrigue, herbs and tapenade – so persistent;
• Rosso di Montalcino, Le Ragnaie, 2010, £15.40 – softly structured, expressive, succulent, ripe red cherries – what a pleasure!

Back to David’s theory.  Well, I think it has some merit, but I’ll leave it at that as this is meant to be a wine blog, not a dating column.  Suffice to say, ladies, the ratio is in our favour…

Wednesday – South Place Bar at South Place Hotel
My friend’s directions didn’t sound too promising:”behind the Moorgate Marks & Spencer”… but this hotel bar greets you with dimmed lighting and a good, buzzy feel when you stroll in.  It definitely has the after work feel of its City location, with a slight hint of the executive lounge.  The DJ installed behind one of the sofas seemed a little bewildered at being surrounded by so many suits but carried on valiantly.  We settled into two squashy leather sofas and were able to catch up over a few glasses of wine without straining to hear.  There was only a very limited selection of wines by the glass the night we were there, not at all the range promised by the list on the website.  The Moët Brut Imperial seemed a rather unimaginative house Champagne, but whoever chose the lovely, English, Balfour Hush Heath as the rosé fizz has redeemed themselves.

Thursday – Mews of Mayfair Terrace
One of my current favourites.  The terrace is always packed and the after-work crowd has to slope off mid-work to be sure of securing a table.  Even if the weather means the canopies have to be pulled over and the heaters turned up, it really feels like you’ve stepped out of London and into some side street in a Mediterranean town.  Mews apparently owns the restaurants on both side of the passageway and is in the process of amalgamating the menus.  Until that point the Mews wine list seems to be a touch more expensive than the Mayfair Pizza Company, so best to sit on the latter’s side (in the unlikely event that you have a choice) as its wine list provides a good selection at very reasonable prices.  It even includes a couple of grower Champagnes, although sadly these had run out last week.

Friday – Un-named pub in Marylebone
I have a new rule: no more pub wine.  Ordering wine in a pub is always a triumph of hope over experience.  No pleasure can be derived from a warm glass of Merlot that has been quietly oxidising under the lights for the last couple of days or from an unambitious Pinot Grigio.  Also, how can it ever be a good idea to opt for a 250ml goblet of wine?  Two of those these days and I’m well on the way to sliding under the table.  So, no more.  Pubs are for ales and spirits. That’s it.  With all this in mind, I smugly ordered my G&T on Friday but was mistakenly presented with a G and soda.  No doubt this is good for the waistline and I believe it’s the basis of a Gin Rickey, but I’m old fashioned and to me that’s a crime against Hendricks.  I couldn’t believe it when they wouldn’t change it – is no drink safe in a pub?  Grrrr!