Vineyard Partners dine in style at Durham Cathedral

Cathedrals seem to hold a fascination for Vineyard Partners. Late October, 64 of our enthusiastic Partnership customers journeyed to Durham’s historic masterpiece to enjoy an evening of culture, fine food and most importantly, fabulous wines. There were plenty!

Customers gathered at the crossing in the Nave and were divided into small groups to be taken on a magical tour of this historic 11th century building, now a World Heritage site. It was a fascinating lesson in human ingenuity and history – of Saint Cuthbert from Lindisfarne, the monks who carried his bones and a certain blessed vision, which decided the resting place of these remains in Durham. And so started the building of the original wooden structure, which was replaced four centuries later, with the construction of this magnificent Norman building. That took 40 years. There are many things that are remarkable about this edifice – in particular, one must marvel at its high, stone-vaulted ceilings – quite a feat in any age, ingenious in the 11th century.

After an hour’s great history, with colourful tales from our red-cloaked guides, guests took a break of either Evening Prayer or a walk around the old, cobbled streets of Durham. A trio of fine English Quality Sparkling Wines greeted guests at the reception – Barbara Laithwaite’s Wyfold Rosé 2017, voted Best English Sparkling Rosé at the IWC 2022; Henry Laithwaite’s Harrow & Hope Blanc de Blancs Brut 2017; and Windsor Great Park 2016 – accompanied by a string quartet and tasty canapés. It was held in the Chapter House – a room rarely opened to the public and a great treat for Harry Potter fans. It was here that they filmed scenes for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Dinner was served in the Undercroft restaurant, accompanied by seven Vineyard Partner wines and the mellow 37-year-old Armagnac, exclusive to VPs. Many were served in the impressive, 5-litre jeroboam bottles – those took quite a lot of skill to pour from. We let winemakers Jean-Marc Sauboua and Norrel Robertson MW show us how.

We were honoured to have these two exceptional winemakers at the event to present their wines – Altos Pigeage red and white, Château La Clarière red and white and the LC Sauternes from Jean-Marc and the Sierra de los Sueños from Norrel in the heights of Calatayud. We were also delighted to have along Tony Laithwaite, our in-house presenter Grant Hedley and Anne Linder, the mastermind behind Windsor Great Park Vineyard.

Durham is, of course, a special place for Tony – his old university town, where he met Barbara, his future wife and where his son, Henry, also studied … and fell in love!

A big thanks to Durham Cathedral and the Reverend Canon Michael Everett for hosting us, to our organisers and all our presenters who brought the stories of the wines to life.

We hope to have news soon of the next VP event – to be hosted in London in spring 2023.