Charlotte organised the annual reunion in Bournemouth, Dorset, this year, booking a large seafront Airbnb for twelve friends who had all met at Bournemouth University. They had kept this weekend going for years and usually defaulted to the same routine of bars and late nights. This time she wanted something different.
Instead of another pub crawl, she booked a private wine tasting for the Saturday evening. Four reds and four whites. Nothing complicated, just good wine and something to bring everyone together.
Gareth had joked in advance that he did not want anything that reminded him of the cheap bottles they used to drink at uni. Nick backed him up straight away.
We arrived while the group were still finishing off a long lunch and setting up for the evening. Glassware and tasting mats went out across the big dining table overlooking the sea, and once everyone had a first glass in hand, Jonny explained how it would work. No lectures, just taste, talk and decide what you actually like.
At the start, the mood was nostalgic. Stories from halls. Questionable fashion choices. Who lived with whom and who should never have shared a kitchen. The first white loosened things up, and by the second round, the competitive edge began to show.
This group knows each other well enough to be brutally honest. If someone thought a wine was average, they said so. If someone loved one, they defended it properly. The tasting activities got lively quickly, especially when scores started to matter.
Halfway through the reds, Jonny asked everyone to write down their favourite wine of the night and one word to describe why. Nothing complicated. When he read them out anonymously, three people had chosen the same Pinot Noir.
Charlotte said afterwards that was the moment the whole weekend clicked into place. The Pinot Noir quietly became the bottle of the night. Gareth tracked it down the following week and ordered a case, partly because he liked it and partly because it now carried a bit of weight for the group.
The WhatsApp chat is already moving towards next year’s reunion.
For an annual university reunion in Bournemouth, Dorset, the wine tasting worked because it gave the evening structure without taking over the weekend. Eight wines. One table. Plenty of debate. Enough time to talk properly instead of shouting across a bar.
It felt grown up, but still very much them.
Find out more about hosting your own wine tasting in Bournemouth.
