Past events

‘Mastering Midlife Change’

"Sally Evans is an award-winning vintner with a thriving tourism business. Not bad for what she calls a 'retirement hobby'." Cathy Hawker, The Times

At 52, Sally completely changed her life. After a corporate career and with a newly empty nest, she began studying wine and moved across France to create Chateau George 7 on the right bank of Bordeaux, despite being on her own and having no prior experience in the wine industry. Her wines are now critically acclaimed, and she has developed an award-winning wine tourism venue. 

Alongside wine, her other passion is supporting women to follow their dreams and live the life they truly want. Her newly-published book, Make the Midlife Move: A Practical Guide to Flourish after 50, is a practical guide for any woman hoping to make a major life change. During the evening, Sally will share with us her wines, her journey which she recounts with humour and complete honesty and the key stages of a midlife transformation from defining the dream, to having the confidence to take the leap and crush it.

Please join us on Tuesday 3rd of December for what is surely going to be a fun, lively and delicious evening.

This event is now full- no places available - Waiting List

Monica Meade is the Global Head of Audit for Technology, Real Time Payments, and Transfer Solutions at Mastercard.

Before joining Mastercard, Monica worked for nine years at JP Morgan, where she served as the Head of Technology Audit for the Corporate and Investment Bank Markets team for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Prior to that, she held various audit roles at Credit Suisse and Deloitte.

Aside from her professional career, Monica is a passionate advocate for social causes. She serves as a trustee of the Afro Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, a leading blood cancer/disorder charity dedicated to raising awareness of the severe shortage of donors on the U.K. stem cell, blood, and organ donor registers.

Additionally, Monica actively volunteers with the U.K. Cyber Security Council as an Assessor for Professional Registration titles, offering her expertise in assessing candidates. Her dedication to advancing the field of technology audit and information security is evident from her past role as President and board member of the award-winning ISACA London Chapter.

Monica is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and a Chartered Cyber Security Professional (ChCSP). She holds a Postgraduate degree in Information Security from Royal Holloway University of London, along with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Management from King's College London.

Cyber costs millions every year and is usually not a question of "if" but "when" and "how long". Monica will share a bit of light on this hidden world and who are the big actors, how do they get away with it, as well as how to protect one's organisation.

We will be tasting a selection of wines from 67 Pall mall, in a private room with some surprises.

Sotheby's Thursday 5th of September at 6pm

SOLD OUT

Zofia first joined Sotheby’s temporarily in 2017 as an Intern in the Prints Department in London, having studied History of Art in her home country. She then moved to Edinburgh to complete her master’s degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History, while developing her passion and knowledge for wine by working part-time in wine retail. She also had a chance to join The University of Edinburgh’s blind tasting team, which allowed her to successfully take part in national and international tasting competitions, such as Left Bank Bordeaux Cup and Pol Roger Tasting Cup. The idea of working in a global auction house was always on her mind, and at the beginning of 2021 she had an opportunity to merge the two areas of expertise, auctions and wine. A year later she successfully completed the WSET Diploma in Wines and in 2023 she was promoted to Wine Specialist, joining the department’s European network of experts.

Zofia will host us in Sotheby's for welcome-back drinks generously offered by Sotheby's, hence the attractive flat price. We will taste a few wines of her choice and Zofia will explain the hidden mechanism of a wine auction. There will be some nibbles to enjoy and plenty of opportunities to network.  If you ahave always wondered about how auctions work and whether fine wine holds its value, this is the event to come to!

Please come along and do not hesitate to bring a friend!

Maria Lilli joined MSCI in 2013 and leads the ESG Consultant team across the UK and Italy. Maria has more than 14 years’ experience in the ESG Research industry, advising leading institutional investors, asset managers, and central banks on different ESG integration, screening and engagement strategies, and helping develop different educational and analytical tools.

 Additionally, Maria is a member of the UK Sustainable Investment Forum, Industry Development Committee, as well as of the British Standard Institute working group on the creation of standards on the labelling of responsible and sustainable funds. She is also guest lecturer at the London College of Fashion.

Prior to joining MSCI, Maria worked as analyst looking at sustainability issues within the think-tank Accountability. She also worked as lawyer at the French Anti-Trust Authority and lectured at Nanterre University. Maria holds a LLM in European Competition Law from Paris-Assas University, and a Master degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.

Maria will be discussing

- current trajectory of temperature rise and how to measure it
- what companies are doing in terms of reducing carbon emissions and how to assess the credibility of carbon emission reduction targets
- how companies ‘hide’ their emissions (so-called orpheline emissions)

We will taste 6 wines that reflect global warming challenges.

SOLD OUT (Please contact us if you want to join)

Join us for an outdoor Opera evening in one of the most unique London summer evenings!

Holland Park Opera has contacted us for a discounted offer to spend an evening together, eating, drinking, and listening to an amazing Opera. This is a one-off, we would like to try with you. Laurence and Anne enjoy operas and we both thought it could be a nice way to celebrate the start of Summer.

Doors open at 5.30 pm and, we suggest arriving from 6.00 pm. We will meet at the entrance of Holland Park Opera to be taken to a table reserved for us. Performances start at 7.30. there is an interval at 8.30-45 pm for 30 minutes. The performance ends around 9.35 / 9.45 and we can go back to our table if we want until it closes at 11 pm. A picnic from an Italian Deli will be served. It will be a Bring Your Own (BYO) bottle.  This is meant to be more about relaxing and networking and less about speakers or wine information.

Please find below the description from Holland Park Opera:

The Barber of Seville by Rosinni is a "sparkling comedy of intrigue told with style and panache. Figaro the barber turns puppet-master as he tries to prevent Rosina’s wedding to her elderly guardian, Doctor Bartolo, and instead to cement a match between her and the young Count Almaviva, Figaro’s former and future employer. Disguises and deceptions abound as the course of true love hits the rocks. With brilliantly inventive arias and ensembles that fizz at lightning speed, Rossini’s opera serves as a tart prequel to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Paul Grant takes the title role in Cecilia Stinton’s new production of this classic bel canto comedy, conducted by Charlotte Corderoy. Elgan Llŷr Thomas and Heather Lowe play Almaviva and Rosina, with Stephen Gadd as the conniving Doctor Bartolo. There is luxury casting in the supporting cast, as operatic superstar and celebrated comedienne Janis Kelly makes her company debut in the role of Bartolo’s dust-allergic housekeeper, Berta." 

Because this is a different event from our usual ones, we have decided to put only one price for everyone, members and non-members: £96.

There are ONLY 12 seats available (or 24 if we have a lot of success) so be fast to register. As usual, a women's event only. Your family and friends are welcome!

The deadline to register is the 16th of May.

ONLY 3 TICKETS LEFT

Tamara Roberts – Ridgeview CEO Biography

Tamara Roberts is the CEO of Ridgeview Wine Estate, the international award-winning and family-run English sparkling wine producer based in Sussex. Ridgeview is proud to be a pioneering force in the English wine industry. Founded in 1995, they were one of the first wineries devoted to the production of English sparkling wine. In 2018 they became the first English winery to gain the global accolade of ‘International Winemaker of the Year’ in the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Tamara’s career began with obtaining a Degree in Law at Kings College London, she then completed her charted accountancy qualification with Price Waterhouse Coopers after which working in the London financial services industry. In 2004 Tamara took the decision to join Ridgeview to grow their family business, originally as General Manager and then promoted to CEO within 10 years in 2014. Tamara has overseen the growth of production in that time from 25,000 bottles per annum to 500,000 bottles, with plans to continue sustainable growth into the future. Tamara is responsible for the financial management of the Ridgeview as well as setting and implementing the strategy across all other areas from grape to glass.

Highly active in the English wine industry, Tamara was previously a director of the national bodies Wines GB and the Wine & Spirits trade association and now a Governor of Plumpton College which specialises in training the English Wine Industry and has a position on the Business Advisory Board of Sussex University. In 2020 she became the first English wine professional to become President of the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition.

Tamara is very respected within the local Sussex business community. As a testament to Tamara’s experience, professionalism, and reputation she was awarded ‘Sussex Businessperson of the Year in the 2018 Sussex Business Awards and the Dynamic Award in the Women in Business Dynamic Awards 2022.

With ambitious growth plans for Ridgeview, Tamara’s vision is to focus on quality and sustainability while increasing brand awareness for growth in sales, tourism, and export which currently sits at 15 countries around the globe. Under Tamara’s guidance, with her passion for sustainability Ridgeview has recently been accredited as a B Corp, at the time one of only 25 wineries in the globe. Tamara is passionate about creating an ethical and diverse workplace where people feel they belong, can develop personally and professionally, and are respected.  This also extends into client, customer and community relationships.

It will be a seated dinner, starting at 18:30 and finishing by 21:30.

Tamara will lead us in tasting 4 of her wines.

When I was 2 years old, I had my first “wine tasting” experience in Italy where my grandmother made me smell and taste a little of a sip of red wine. A few years later I found myself in Tokaj with my family where I kept sipping up the sweet wine leftovers from my parent’s glass (of course they had no idea.. but it was delicious!).

I was studying hotel management, catering, and hospitality at one of the best universities in Budapest. We all had to have 2 internships. I have done one in Cyprus and 1 in the US, in Colorado. Whilst I was in Colorado I heard about the profession of sommelier, for the first time. I was amazed by them, how much knowledge they had on not only wine, but food. 

I enrolled in the Court of Master Sommelier program and did my introductory course while I was out there for the second time in 2014. I did go back to pass my certified level to the US in 2015.

Moving back to Hungary I found myself my first Sommelier job in a 1 Michelin Star restaurant which for the year I was working at got the best restaurant in Hungary title. I enjoyed it but I barely sold anything but Hungarian wine and my passion for the world of wine just got bigger after my Certified Sommelier Exam.

Szentkiralyi Orsi, who is an Advanced Sommelier, reached out, not even knowing me. We met and had tastings together, and she said I have a talent and would love to help me, I shall come to London as if I ever want to become a Master Sommelier one day I should be studying in London.

So, I did. I had nobody I knew but Orsi in this country. When I moved to London, it was a huge shock and the most difficult time of my life. I started working in a 2 Michelin Star restaurant called The Greenhouse. Long days, lots of hours, not much social life did not help to feel better, but I had one aim, I wanted to be an Advanced sommelier. Eventually, the same friend, Orsi told me about 67 Pall Mall and sent my CV to Ronan Sayburn MS, who has given me a chance, so I started there in 2018 as a Junior Sommelier.

It was really heaven in terms of wine selection, clientele and I realized I still have so much to learn, but I was in the best place I could be as many Advanced Sommeliers, Master Sommelier & Master of Wine candidates were working there that time and who then helped me to grow. A couple of years later I took the Advanced sommelier exam. I passed for the first time, and I was on a high! Those 5 days of classes and examinations have been the most difficult days of my life in terms of studies and having my university diploma after this I can say was a walk in the park!

I decided I would like to and hopefully will become the first Hungarian woman Master Sommelier which I am still studying for. I have now left the floor – I needed a bit more balance and a routine, however, I still do some shifts in the Chiltern Firehouse next to my main job at BB&R. where I work as a Senior Events Executive.

The more I know, the more I think I do not know, and that makes me grateful. To me, wine is not an alcoholic drink. It is history, family, story, climate, geography and so much more. I do get emotional when drinking a special bottle which does not have to be expensive but that reminds me of the struggle of the vintage, or the story of the winemaker of perhaps a memory I shared with a loved one.

It has been difficult to live in a country where I had to build relationships, stand strong, and get to higher positions without much support from friends and family as they are far away. However, it made me stronger and I got to know and meet so many legends in the world of wine and have been mentored by such amazing people 

Come and join Zsofi at Berry Bros for a unique journey, tasting carefully selected wines in a very special environment (the cellars there are amazing and a "must" if you have never been).

We will have a seated dinner and taste 6 wines. We start at 18:30 and will be finished by 21:30.

We have only 3 spaces remaining.

Event Fully booked.

Sarah Vandendriessche, Winemaker for Elizabeth Spencer, oversees the daily and seasonal aspects of viticulture and winemaking, regularly walking the vineyard sites, and engaging in thoughtful, open, active dialogue with our renowned growers. During the growing season, she works even more closely with their growers on best practices and goals for grape quality, grape maturity, and harvest dates to ensure the finest and best quality fruit for Elizabeth Spencer wines. “It’s not just about winemaking,” said Sarah. “It’s about relationships. What we do is built on the trust of the farmers growing the grapes.” An action person, Sarah is similarly hands-on in the winery, tasting wines from barrels, managing all wine movements, rackings, bottlings, and, of course, the controlled chaos of harvest and crush. “I conceptualize the wine and do blending trials so the wines manifest our vision,” she explained. “We continue to make wines of restraint and elegance, in the taste profile and style we’ve established.” A native of New Orleans, food, music and wine are part of Sarah’s cultural heritage. She also has a science background in microbiology and describes her approach to winemaking as holistic. “At Elizabeth Spencer, we look at winemaking from a macro viewpoint, how living organisms interact with their environment,” she explained. “There is an unpredictability and magic in winemaking—how the grapes, yeasts, bacteria and other soil microorganisms interact with one another. I constantly taste the wines, we don’t just rely on chemistry.” 

Sarah will be in person in London and will lead us to an informal tasting accompanied by lovely tapas.

We will start at 18:30 with a drink as ususal and then Sarah will present from 19:00 and we will finish by 21:30 latest

Fully subscribed- no tickets left

Baroness Moyo of Knightsbridge is a member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords. She is a principal of Versaca Investments - a family office focused on growth investing globally. She also serves on a number of global corporate boards including Chevron, Conde Nast, and the Oxford University Endowment investment committee.

Her areas of interest are in capital allocation, risk, and ESG matters. Dambisa is the author of five bestselling books on global macroeconomy and geopolitics. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Oxford University and a Master’s degree from Harvard University.

Dambisa has written many books, including  "How Boards Work" written in 2021. As she has been on several Boards, she can share insights about their inner workings, what Boards are meant to do, and how the Board members behave. 

The event includes a copy of her book as well as a sit-down dinner with wines.

FULLY BOOKED

Trisha de Borchgrave was born in Paris, France, to an American interior designer mother and a Belgian journalist father. 

Raised in Mallorca, Spain, she was educated at London’s Francis Holland, Clarence Gate, with a BA in French and History of Art from Bristol University.

She ran her own interior design and decorative art business for eighteen years, first in Oxford and later in Washington DC. 

She switched to becoming a fine art artist with exhibitions in Europe and the US until she switched again to writing in 2015.

Today she is a current affairs writer, published in print and online media, including Chatham House International Affairs Magazine, The World Today, Arab News, Tortoise Media, Huffington Post, ABC Spain and The Big Smoke Australia/US, The Independent, Vogue Magazine.

She lives in London with her husband and has two grown daughters.

Trisha has published extensively for diverse sources of media; her interviews with women experts in their fields - with a Taliban negotiator, a nuclear investigator in Ukraine, a corruption expert in Afghanistan, and an Asian transgender digital minister, among others - reveal that women's thinking is heroic and innately connected to the impact that their work has on the broader world, with surprising insights.

We will have a sit-down dinner with 5 wines, starting at 18:30 on Wednesday 11th of October.