The London Wine, Dining and Travel Meetup

Join us for an unforgettable Champagne evening, hosted by Devaux Champagne when there will be a spectacular selection of Champagnes served alongside a delicious menu created especially for the evening by Head Chef Michal Kaszuba.

Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or simply curious, this intimate experience offers a perfect blend of elegance and enjoyment. Join us for a sparkling night to remember—reserve your place today.

Champagne Devaux traces its origins back to 1846, when brothers Jules and Auguste Devaux founded the house in Épernay. In the 1980s, the estate moved to the Côte des Bar—Champagne’s southernmost region and a renowned stronghold for Pinot Noir.

Since 1999, Chef de Cave Michel Parisot has led the winemaking with innovation and finesse, earning the title of ‘Sparkling Winemaker of the Year’ at the 2020 International Wine Challenge.

This dinner will be held in the upstairs private room of Lore of the Land.
Menu and Pairings have not yet been released, but the food has been excellent at previous wine dinners here.

DIETARY ISSUES: This event is suitable for 'flexible' diets, but for previous dinners here an alternative vegetarian menu has been available. In any case please let me know if you have any dietary issues.

The pre-pay for this event is £95 which covers:-
- £90 which is the cost of the champagne and food matching dinner
- £5 meetup/paypal fees

Please note that Meetup now charge an additional fee to attendees on top of the price which the Organiser sets. This fee is paid direct to Meetup and is beyond our control.

REFUND POLICY: The As I have to pre-pay for the tickets, refunds are NOT offered for this event. If you need to cancel you will have to sell your place to someone else in the group.

WAITLIST: If the event is fully booked and you would like to join the ‘waitlist’, post a comment to let me know

Cheers
Christos

The Loire is the longest wine region in France spanning a total distance of 250kms, from Sancerre in the centre of France to Muscadet near the Atlantic Ocean, and it produces every style of wine.

In this tasting we will try the full range of styles. The 'welcome wine' will be 2 bottles of a sparkling wine, and then we'll taste 3 different whites, 1 rose, 3 different reds, and to finish a luscious dessert wine, so 10 bottles in all. Numbers will be limited to 12 people seated round one table, so almost a bottle of fine wine per person. During the tasting a selection of fine cheeses, pates, and other food will be served.

WAITLIST: If the event is fully booked and you would like to join the ‘waitlist’, post a comment to let me know

REFUNDS: The 'ticket price' for this event is £32.50 including £2.50 for paypal/meetup fees. If you cancel by Tuesday 16th September latest AND there is someone on the waitlist who pays for your place you will get a refund of £30.

Please note that Meetup charge an additional fee to attendees on top of the price which the Organiser sets. This fee is paid direct to Meetup and is beyond our control.

Cheers,
Christos

Located in the heart of Piccadilly bordering Soho and Regent Street, Brasserie Zédel is a grand and bustling Parisian brasserie. With a relaxed and lively atmosphere, the restaurant serves traditional French food at remarkably good value. With all its art deco flourishes and distinctively French glamour, Zédel is a restaurant that still delivers a certain expectant excitement as you descend the stairs towards the grand basement brasserie.

Brasserie Zédel is open throughout the day, serving classic dishes such as French Onion Soup and Steak Haché, and there are options for all tastes - pescatarians, vegetarians etc. There is set menu for 2/3 courses for £16.95/£19.95; a Menu Formule with 3 courses and a glass of wine for £28.95; and of course a wider choice from the a la carte menu. Note that there is a cover charge of 95 pence per person, and a 15% service charge will be added to the bill.

You can choose any of these menus, see: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.brasseriezedel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Zedel-Main-menu-and-wine-menu-combined-summer-2025.pdf

Even better on Mondays you can take your own wine for no corkage charge. For our table of 8 people I will take a 6 bottles of wine with an average retail price of £20 per bottle - 1 bottle of sparkling wine, 2 white wines, 2 red wines and a dessert wine. With typical restaurant mark-ups these wines would cost around £60 on their wine list, so this is a great opportunity to enjoy delicious food and drink fine wines without paying restaurant prices (for the wine!).

The pre-pay for this event is £48 which covers:-
- the 6 bottles of wine I will take for the BYO
- £25 credit towards your food bill
- meetup/paypal fees

On the day you will pay the balance of your food bill and any additional drinks you order.

Please note that Meetup charge an additional fee to attendees on top of the price which the Organiser sets. This fee is paid direct to Meetup and is beyond our control.

The wine which I will take is an integral of this event so please do NOT ask if you can attend if you are not happy to share in all the bottles of wine.

REFUND POLICY: The 'ticket price' of £48 includes a non-refundable £3 for paypal/meetup fees. If you cancel by Friday 5th latest AND there is someone on the waiting list who pays for your place you will get a refund of £45.

WAITLIST: If the event is fully booked and you would like to join the ‘waitlist’, post a comment to let me know.

Cheers,
Christos

This tour is fully booked but you can join the waitlist....

Porto is Portugal’s 2nd largest city and a captivating blend of old-world charm and modern energy. The Old Town in the vibrant Ribeira district is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a major attraction of the city are the port lodges of Vila Nova di Gaia on the other side of the river. We’ll visit a couple of these and maybe enjoy a boat ride on a traditional Rabelo.

After a couple of nights in the city we’ll take the train from Porto to Regua and witness the extraordinary, dramatic scenery of steep terraced vineyards crawling down to the Douro river. Famous for the production of grapes destined for fortified wines, Douro Valley also produces fragrant whites and bold, full-flavoured red wines, and we’ll taste several of these along with the local gastronomy. Depending on the date of the harvest, there may even be a chance to witness some traditional grape foot-treading!

Bookings for this tour opened 10 days ago on the Criterion Wine Tours website and 20 people have already booked which leaves just 2 places!

The tour will start at Palacio Cedofeita Hotel in Porto at around 4pm on Saturday 4th October, and it will finish at Porto airport at around 5.30 pm on Wednesday 8th October. You need to book your own flights to/from Porto. For the draft daily itinerary, details of the hotels we will stay at, and cost of the tour and what is included see https://criterionwinetours.com/product/porto-douro-wine-tour/

You can book at the above link. For any questions about the tour send an email to christos@criterionwinetours.co.uk

Cheers,
Christos