![\"Wine](\"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/files\/2014\/04\/0204BODNANT60-ceidiog.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Wine Cellar held a Spring Tasting session to show off the wide range available at the new store at Bodnant\u2019s base, Furnace Farm, at Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy.<\/p>\n
Wine Shop and Wine Cellar Manager Tim Watson said: \u201cIt was a fantastic turn-out. We had loads of people through the door, a mix of pre-booked tickets and people who dropped in on the spur of the moment, while visiting Bodnant\u00a0Welsh Food centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a mix of regular Bodnant customers, some of whom brought friends along to see where they get their wines from, to people from around the UK who were in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a great way to show off what wines we have on offer, as many people then headed to the Wine Cellar to buy a bottle of what they\u2019d just sampled. For the five wine suppliers who came along on the day, it was a great chance to meet their customers and talk about their range, as they are very knowledgeable and have often visited the vineyards themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the connoisseurs taking the chance to sample over 50 fine wines from across the world were friends Dorothy Marshall from Eglwysbach<\/em> and Ann Boulton from nearby Maenan, who are both retired.<\/p>\n \u201cI usually prefer dry wine, but this has been a chance for me to try reds and ros\u00e9 wines as well, plus different white wine grape varieties. It\u2019s been a pleasure sampling the wines. Plus this is a lovely way to support T\u0177 Gobaith, which does so\u00a0 such good work \u2013 I\u2019m always happy to do what I can for the hospice,\u201d said Dorothy.<\/p>\n For Ann, it was a chance to step away from her usual tipple of ros\u00e9 wine. \u201cThere\u2019s a great range of wines here, and I can\u2019t wait to try some of them. This is an excellent way of sampling a wine before deciding which one to buy, as well as raising money for T\u0177 Gobaith,\u201d said Ann.<\/p>\n Retired company directors Valerie and David Noakes took time out from a holiday break on Anglesey to sample the wines.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came to Bodnant Welsh Food centre on Sunday and saw the Spring Tasting advertised, so decided to come back and try some wines,\u201d said Valerie. \u201cI hadn\u2019t heard about the hospice before but this sounds an excellent and novel way to raise funds for its work.\u201d<\/p>\n David added: \u201cWe live in Kent and so we often go over to France for the day or short break to try wines, visit vineyards and pick up some bargains. We like to try a range as we tend to match wines with food. However, we\u2019ve come across some wines we haven\u2019t tried before –\u00a0 plus a New Zealand wine\u00a0 from a Marlborough vineyard that I visited when we were staying there. The wine supplier had been as well, so it brought back some great memories.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spring Tasting had more than 50 wines, from Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand plus Russia and Wales, selected by Tim and Bodnant wine consultant Michael Vick, who manages the wine list in the Hayloft, Bodnant\u2019s restaurant.<\/p>\n The pair also run Bodnant\u2019s wine school, which offers courses in wine discovery, appreciation, flavour association and food and wine matching. It also has a wine club which meets on the first Wednesday of every month.<\/p>\n T\u0177 Gobaith\u00a0was established in 2004 to provide care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families from across North Wales. It offers a range of services, including respite and end-of-life care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.<\/p>\n Bodnant Welsh Food is a strong supporter of the hospice, with money from its carrier bag charge going to the charity.<\/p>\n Fundraising Manager, Sarah Kearsely-Wooller MBE said: \u201cWe are delighted to be working in partnership with Bodnant Welsh Food, with their support including acting as hosts for our sell-out clay pigeon shoot on May 21 as well as well as providing donations from the carrier bag charge.<\/p>\n \u201cAt T\u0177 Gobaith\u00a0– just 2.5 miles away – we are indebted to Bodnant Welsh Food for their continued commitment to our work at the hospice, caring for life threatened babies, children, young people and their families.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really enjoy working alongside the Bodnant Welsh Food team and will do, especially in 2014, when we are celebrating our 10th<\/sup> birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim, 37, who is originally from Bangor and now lives in Colwyn Bay, came to the world of fine wine after deciding to give his life a new focus after enjoying a successful career in television.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cI began working in TV production for the BBC in the year 2000, starting out as a runner in the development department and working my way up through the ranks.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2003 I became a casting director with the drama department at the BBC\u2019s headquarters at White City during which time I helped find faces to appear in some of the UK\u2019s best loved drama series, including Eastenders and Doctors.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough I enjoyed the job, a few years ago I decided on a change of career direction. I\u2019d caught the wine bug after visiting vineyards while travelling around Australia and New Zealand some years previously, so I went for wine.<\/p>\n \u201cI moved back to North Wales from London in 2009 and had my specialist wine training with a major company in Bangor.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother reason for coming back to North Wales was that my wife Nicole and I have two young sons, Charlie George, who is four, and Jack Tomos, who is 18 months old, and we wanted them to have the same sort of lovely childhood that I had in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n Tim added: \u201cI was lucky enough to get the job at Bodnant and have spent a lot of\u00a0 putting it together with the help of Michael Vick, our wine consultant. I\u2019m in charge of the shop and the wine cellar which serves our Hayloft Restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shop is well stocked with wines from across the world, ranging in price from \u00a35.50 to \u00a3118 a bottle, however I\u2019d say that 35 to 40 per cent of our wines are under \u00a310.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the bottles are displayed with a full description of what they are and how they taste and if people want more information about a particular bottle I\u2019m always on hand to tell them all they need to know.<\/p>\n \u201cI can also advise people who come into the shop on which wine is the perfect accompaniment to different foods. I believe you\u2019ve got to get the right balance of food and wine.<\/p>\n \u201cOur selection of Welsh wines is becoming increasingly popular and we have three producers whose products we stock, from Pembrokeshire, Montgomeryshire and Monmouthshire.<\/p>\n \u201cWe even have the Welsh equivalent of champagne, a sparkling wine made by the champagne method.<\/p>\n \u201cWine is an exciting world and I learn something new about it every day.<\/p>\n For more information about\u00a0T\u0177 Gobaith\u00a0please visit\u00a0www.hopehouse.org.uk or ring\u00a001492 596 581.<\/strong><\/p>\n