About

The Herefordshire Fine Wine Society was founded in the 1980's as a direct result of members attending a college evening wine course given by local author and wine professional Jon Hurley, getting together and drafting a constitution for the running of future meetings. The society is based in Hereford and meets on the first Thursday of every month (apart from July, August and January) at our new venue of the Hereford Rowing Club.

With an active membership varying between fifty and sixty, it has a varied programme with tastings given by its president, knowledgeable members, and a wide range of outside speakers. The Society attracts experts and merchants from across the country and not just from its own locality.

Past tastings have included a Judgement of Hereford based on the old chesnut of New World v Old World classics and Raka Wines from South Africa presented by the owner Piet Dreyer. The society has been grateful in the past for presentations from many fine merchants including Tanners, Lay and Wheeler, Pol Roger (UK), Ledbury Wine Cellar, Irma Fingal-Rock, Mentzendorff, Libertys, Armit, Vintage Roots, Fells & Co, Majestic, Go Brazil Wines, The Noble Grape, and Les Caves de Pyrene to name a few.

The society has an Annual Dinner in January, a Summer Party in July, and arranges visits to wine growing areas in alternate years; we have recently visited the Southern Rhone in France in June 2017, Piedmont in Italy in 2019. With an annual membership fee of only £20, the tastings are priced based on the cost and attendance at each meeting, but which are usually between £10 and £15. Please see our gallery section for a flavour of what we do.