Our Black Tie Dinner

The Final Event Of 2025

This post is a recap of our Black Tie Sparkling Dinner, held as the final event in our 2025 calendar. It is not an event announcement or a ticket page – it is simply a look back at a memorable evening shared with guests who came dressed in black tie, ready for great food, sparkling wine, and a touch of friendly competition.

Few things feel more special than a dinner where everyone has made an effort, the room is full of familiar faces, and each course comes with something worth talking about. This event delivered exactly that, with laughter, lively debate, and four beautifully different sparkling wines that kept everyone guessing until the final reveal.

A Sparkling Welcome

We welcomed guests with a Kir Royale, a classic aperitif that immediately set the tone. The combination of crème de cassis and bubbles brought a festive richness to the first glass of the evening, and it did what the best welcome drinks always do: encouraged conversation, relaxed the room, and built anticipation for what was coming next.

As guests settled in, the atmosphere was warm and celebratory, with a sense that this was a fitting way to wrap up the year’s events.

Four Mystery Glasses

Waiting at each place setting were four chilled samples of sparkling wine. Each glass represented a different sparkling style, but there was a twist: the wines were served blind, and nobody knew which glass was which.

The four styles in the line-up were:

Cava
English sparkling wine
Crémant
Champagne

Guests were invited to rely on their senses and compare each glass carefully. Aroma, bubble texture, acidity, flavour profile, and finish all became clues. Some guests felt confident early on, while others took their time, tasting and re-tasting with impressive focus.

The friendly challenge quickly became the centre of the evening. Every table had its own theories. One guest would be certain they had found the Champagne, while someone else would disagree and make a case for Crémant instead. The debate was lively, good-natured, and exactly what makes a tasting event so enjoyable.

Champagne came out on top this year, but not without a few surprises along the way.

The Reveal: What We Poured

Once dinner was underway, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived. We revealed the wines behind the mystery glasses, giving guests the chance to compare their guesses with the real line-up.

The bottles were:

Crémant de Loire – Chateau de l’Aulée
Cava – Codorníu Vintage
English Sparkling – Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
Champagne – Alfred Gratien Brut

Seeing the answers sparked another wave of conversation, especially among those who had confidently backed a different style for a particular glass. It was also a reminder of how close quality can be across sparkling categories, and how personal preference plays a big role when tasting blind.

A Mini Quiz and a Bottle to Take Home

To add another layer of fun, we ran a mini quiz for each bottle during the reveal. It kept the energy up between courses and gave guests the chance to test what they had learned as they tasted.

The winner took home a bottle, which made for a fitting prize and a great end to the challenge element of the evening.

Fundraising for Children’s Respite Trust

This Black Tie Sparkling Dinner recap would not be complete without highlighting the charity element of the night. We ran our raffle in support of Children’s Respite Trust and raised £160 in the room.

We also held the membership hamper draw, and Veronica and Robert were the winners. Congratulations to both of them, and thank you to everyone who bought raffle tickets and helped support such an important local cause.

Thank You for an Unforgettable 2025

This event marked the end of our 2025 calendar, and we want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who joined us across the year. The Black Tie Sparkling Dinner was exactly the kind of evening we love hosting: welcoming, engaging, and full of great conversation around wine.

We look forward to sharing more events soon.