“One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it,   sips it and one talks about it”
King Edward VII
    

Welcome to Hannington Wine Society in the lovely village of Hannington, Hampshire, set in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Hannington Wine Society was founded to help everyone who is interested in wine understand a little more about it.   We all love drinking a good wine, but when we are in the Supermarket or Wine Merchant and faced with such an array of wines, how do we know which one to buy?

Do you experiment and hope that you will like it or go for the wine you have bought before and know you will?

How do we learn?

At Hannington Wine Society, we have people from wine merchants, wine companies, wine agencies etc., all with
a great deal of knowledge and a love of wine, visit each month to talk and give tastings about a particular area, grape, company etc.,  this gives you the opportunity to taste and learn about wines from all over the world.

It also gives you the chance to try a large selection of wines you would not normally have though buying and gradually you will expand your knowledge about wine and what kind you like.

You do not have to know anything about wine

You do not have to know anything
about wine to come to our meetings, because that is why it is there.

The people who are already members
are a great friendly bunch, so you
would not feel out of it if you came by yourself and they include novice and experienced wine drinkers, all with a common desire to learn about wines in
a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

You also do not have to live in Hannington to become a member as we have members from a wide area.

The quality of wine has improved greatly over the past twenty years so that we are within reach of exciting and unusual flavours. You might like oaked wine while someone sitting next to you hates it, a full bodied red against a light red, a sweet white against a dry white and what about Rosè, this is coming more ‘fashionable’ at the moment and is  good to drink on a lovely hot summers day.

“Whenever a man is tired, wine is a great restorer of strength” 
Homer, The Iliad

Wine and Health

In recent times, scientific research has highlighted the numerous benefits to be gained from a modest consumption of wine. Today, the beneficial effect of polyphenols (which serve as antioxidants and help prevent vascular and heart disease) are well known. Recent research has also underlined the value of resveratrol, one of the flavonoids contained in wine that helps increase the level of “good cholesterol” and prevent the formation of fatty deposits in the arteries. Similarly, nutritional experts are increasingly convinced of the benefits derived from the consumption of the products which make up the Mediterranean diet, one of which is wine.

Researchers and academics studying the properties of this beverage have pinpointed a long list of diseases which can be prevented or treated by wine, and urge us to take advantage of its numerous benefits.