Member Article

Ainsty Inns Leads Celebrations During National Wine Week

Yorkshire’s award-winning pub group, Ainsty Inns, is gearing up for a week of sophisticated celebration to commemorate the 5th annual National Wine Week this week.

National Wine Week runs from Monday 30 November – 6 December and is intended to help make consumers more ‘wine wise’.

After its flagship inn, The Chequers Inn - Bilton-in-Ainsty, was crowned Britain’s ‘Best Wine Bar/Pub’ at the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s Great British Pub Awards in September; Ainsty Inns has become an authority on wine and hopes to make its customers more knowledgeable and aware of diverse and exceptional wines.

The pub group, which also operates The Swan & Talbot in Wetherby and the Beehive in Thorner, claimed national recognition for its wine list by offering its customers an accessible and uncomplicated wine selection.

From magical Merlot to silky Sauvignon - the pubs will be offering customers tasting tips, recommendations on wine and will be providing pairings for its locally sourced food menu during National Wine Week.

Ainsty Inns conducted a survey earlier this year to evaluate the public’s knowledge on wine and food pairing which revealed that 43 per cent of people weren’t confident at pairing wine with food, whilst only 12 per cent said they were very confident.

As a result of the survey Ainsty Inns is now sharing its culinary expertise with ‘Wine and Dine’ a downloadable pocket wine and food pairing guide devised to educate people on the best wines to complement the flavours of their food available via the Ainsty Inns website. Created by the Ainsty Inns executive chefs, the guide contains eight key wine matching tips in order to get the best out of their foods.

Ainsty Inn’s The Beehive and The Chequers Inn also host monthly wine dinners, each taking a different international theme. These events feature a four-course meal, each paired with a different wine, and accompanied by a discussion from wine expert, Gary Smulders, from Hallgarten Druitt & Novum Wines. Ainsty’s final wine dinner of the year will be held at The Chequers Inn on 17 December.

Plans to build upon Ainsty Inns’ wine credentials have been laid out with the planned launch of a wine club where customers will be able to purchase wines by the case and view tasting and buying tips on a dedicated YouTube channel.

The Chequers Inn works closely with wine suppliers including Hallgarten Druitt Wines and Yorkshire Vintners to offer wines that complement its food offering.

Tom Throup, General Manager of The Chequers Inn said: “National Wine Week is an event which everyone at Ainsty looks forward to throughout the year. It marks the start of the festive period and offers customers the chance to try some first-class wines.

“We are hoping to share some of our expertise and encourage anyone who is interested in wine, be they a novice or an expert, to stop by and sample our fine selection!”

Ainsty Inns has invested in staff training to ensure its employees gain WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) training, enabling them to inform customers on how to select affordable but refined wines based on their palate, rather than just price.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Acceleris .