Two wine casinos for Skadden in a month, in two rather wonderful settings.
Spencer House
I’ve hosted events in some beautiful London venues, but Spencer House is quite something. I was there hosting a wine casino for Skadden, bringing their Italian team together in London.
They would normally host the event in Milan, so this year they went quintessentially British, with an England versus Italy theme running through the wines.
The setting could not have been better. Spencer House was originally created as the Spencer family’s London entertaining house, and it still feels designed for a party. The historic rooms are beautiful, but the real surprise is the huge ground-floor terrace overlooking Green Park.
We had 100 people out there, although apparently it can hold up to 300. There is even a family of three foxes living in the garden, who were mooching around during the evening.
For the tasting, we put English and Italian wines head-to-head. Nyetimber went up against Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta, followed by Danbury Ridge Octagon and Antinori’s Cervaro della Sala: two brilliant Chardonnays from Essex and Umbria.
The Italians certainly knew their wine and were very loyal to the Italian bottles. It made the casino format great fun, with plenty of debate about which country had come out on top.
The service was impeccable, the terrace was gorgeous and the theme worked brilliantly for an Italian team meeting in London. Spencer House does come with a price tag, but I would absolutely recommend it for a special summer event. I’d love to use it again.
Fairmont Windsor
After hosting their Italian team at Spencer House, I was delighted to be invited back for their partnership conference at Fairmont Windsor, where 80 partners from around the world were gathering.
This time, the casino tasting fitted into the Sunday evening drinks reception, giving guests the chance to try their hand at ranking the wines before sitting down to dinner.
We had six wines to explore, three whites and three reds, with tasting cards for guests to rank them by price and earn bonus points for identifying the countries and grapes.
Of course, I offer a little guidance along the way. We look at what’s happening in the glass, the aromas you recognise and how the wine changes as you return to it. You don’t need to arrive knowing all the answers to enjoy taking part.
The winners were announced the following day, giving us a little suspense beyond the evening itself.
It meant a great deal to be asked back after the first event, and to bring the casino to another group within the firm. Thank you to the Skadden events team for having me again. Two lovely evenings, and such a pleasure to be part of both.
