Maidenhead Mum: Perfect Friday Wine, perfect on Saturdays too.

One of the things I’ve come to love about blogging is the way it helps you network with other people, and especially other Mums who have a passion for things above and beyond working the usual 9-5 in the office or being a stay at home Mum. Quite often blogging is a way that we can start to build the dream of the life we want to have. I think this is very true of Jo and I!

I first met Jo when I was dropping off my daughter at nursery, her little girl is in the class above mine and she asked me if I was ‘Maidenhead Mum’! It was quite a moment for me -my first real life bit of recognition! Not used to being recognised in the street!

Jo used to juggle an office job and being a Mum, but knew that she had a passion for wine and wanted to learn more to see if her passion could lead to a career change. After studying for a qualification in wines (WSET) she set up a blog and started writing a column for 'Life etc' magazine (amazing to learn, you can study on this subject, although its not an A-Level for sixth formers!).

Although Jo has established herself as a regular highlight on the high street at the weekends on a ‘pop-up’ stall, this was the first wine tasting event that she had organised herself and she asked me to come along and to take some photos.

The location for the wine tasting was the rather beautiful Stanlake Park. Arriving there was a bit humbling for me. It's less than 20 minutes from home, but as an ex-Londoner, I just hadn’t explored this part of the county. And it's beautiful. Admittedly the weather was perfect - glorious sunshine, crisp shadows and lots of vibrant colours. I can’t wait to go back again.

I arrived a little bit before the start of the event and had the chance to explore the grounds. It was clear that this would make a great wedding location - not only is it beautiful but there's some great wine available in the cellar shop, too. They even make their own Stanlake Cider, I’ll be back to sample that! (And no doubt the hubby will be will be along to try out their local beers from the Rebellion and Binghams brewery!)

The location for the tasting was the Events Barn, which is actually a converted coaching house - beautiful exposed bricks and high gables and the look and feel seemed to tie in really well with the 'Perfect Friday Wine' branding.

Whether it was the pull of the wine, the chance to chat to Jo and enjoy her expertise, or the lovely weather and beautiful surroundings, it was certainly a busy afternoon. Jo had a great turn out - I loved being there to see it being such a success and was happy to muck in as the queues began to form!

Some guests were very organised and were stocking up for Christmas. They placed large orders which Jo then delivers to their house for free. It was great to see how many of them wanted to stop and chat to Jo and it's clear that she has a great relationship with her customers.

A fantastic afternoon, and in between taking photos and helping out I sampled a few wines myself, although, silly me, I put down my notes and couldn't remember which ones I liked. Guess I'll just have to pop along to another wine tasting event to remind myself. Oh dear, the chores of life, eh?

Have you tried any wine from Perfect Friday Wine? I would love to hear your favourites too. Feel free to add a comment below so I know what to put on my Christmas Wishlist!

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You can see more of my photography on my photography website and blog, www.photojodie.com