Past events

With a solid foundation in classical music performance, Maja Wegrzynowska's passion is enabling talented musicians to play their dream instruments.  Maja is the Director of International Sales at J & A Beare, one of the leading violin dealers in the world,  where she advises musicians, collectors, investors, foundations, financial institutions and patrons of the art on the acquisition of antique instruments. She also serves as Vice President of the Beare's International Violin Society and successfully matches patrons with classical music stars. In 2019 the Royal Academy of Music elected Maja as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), an honour awarded for her significant contribution to the music industry.

Maja was a full-scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours and MA with Distinction. Winner of several scholarships and international awards, she also held the Meaker Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Music. Maja has performed at many prestigious venues including Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, St James Palace, Wigmore Hall, and Suntory Hall. She was a member of La Mer Trio, and worked with London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Contemporary Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, recorded for BBC Radio 3 and was invited to perform for King Charles III and the Queen Elizabeth II.
Maja has also completed courses at Harvard Law School Executive Education and Christie's Education.

Maja will talk to us about Antonio Stradivari and his secrets, why his instruments are highly sought after today, the intrinsic value of violins as tools for musicians as well as works of art, the growing demand for fine violins as an alternative asset class for collectors, particularly in the current uncertain times. 

Art provides balance and perspective, especially during times of economic drain and geopolitical uncertainty. Pablo Picasso said it best, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

This is a special event as Trivet has gained a one-star Michelin restaurant since we have been there. The food and wine list are incredible.

Born and raised into a winemaking family in Burgundy, Pauline has been working in the wine sector for the last 15 years both in Europe and internationally. She had experience in the market research department of the Burgundy wine office and the French Embassy, before creating her own corporate wine events and education company in Lille, France.

She moved to London in 2015 to spearhead the Wine Library of the unique and acclaimed Clerkenwell London, a multi-space design destination, before developing the concept of Fine Minds 4 Fine Wines with Nicole Rolet which led to the creation of Areni Global.

Pauline now directs all of Areni’s activities, when she is not studying for the Master of Wine exam or playing ultimate frisbee.

Pauline will lead a conversation on the theme of The Role and Place of Fine Wines in tomorrow's world. 

Main themes to be addressed:

How can viticulture help mitigate climate change?

Luxury market and Fine wine: Sustainable?

Wine Consumer: getting too old?

We will have a sit-down dinner with 6 wines starting at 6:30 pm at St Jacques restaurant.

Adriana La Lime joined Sotheby’s in 2017 and is a founding member of the Modern and Contemporary African Art department. Previously, Ms. La Lime worked in both the Client Strategy and Valuations departments at Christie’s London.

Ms. La Lime grew up in Chad, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Angola and Switzerland, and is an American/French dual national. Fluency in French and proficiency in Portuguese has allowed her to develop the market for modern and contemporary art from francophone and lusophone Africa in particular. Having worked on record-breaking sales in this category, Ms. La Lime maintains relationships with private and institutional clients alike, traveling extensively in Europe, the United States and Africa.

She holds a Master’s degree in Art, Law and Business from Glasgow University and a Bachelor’s degree in Printmaking and History of Art from the University of Virginia. Ms. La Lime completed her Master’s dissertation on the burgeoning Angolan art market and continues to further her research in the region.

Adriana will talk to us about African art, the new fashion in London and elsewhere. She will also explain how an auction house works and give us some glimpses of the future of the art market.

We will start at 18:30 (as usual), and also have a bit of a game and fun with some wines!

Place: The Institute of Directors

Wine List:

• Ca' del Console Prosecco  NV                                
• Moet & Chandon Brut Impérial NV
• Pinot Grigio, Antonio Rubini, Italy 2029
• Sauvignon Blanc, Featherdrop, Marlborough 2022     
• Pinotage, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2017         
• Montagne Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux 2018   

Marta was born in a small fishermen’s village, Vilanova i la Geltrú, in a rainy December of 1976. Since 2001 she is totally involved in Parés Baltà with the entire family, sharing the wine tasks with her sister-in-law Maria Elena. They are a good team and have many things to do in the Parés Baltà winery. Every year she’s discovering new knowledge and applying new ways of winemaking, such as fermentation in amphorae or demij ohns. Marta studied Pharmacy at Barcelona University. During her studies, she met Josep Cusiné, who would become her husband. It is in this period of her life that her passion for wine started. Josep introduced her to wine tastings, and they started traveling to different wine countries around the world. She was so interested in the wine world that she decided to study enology She studied Biodynamic Agriculture’s Master and soon became a cellar manager. They became certified by Demeter in 2013.  She is also a Sommelier. Her last studies have been WSET3 and Biodynamic Master. She is planning to study DipWSET at Weinakademie Österreich in 2022. On the other hand, she teaches biodynamic rules and philosophy in different courses and viticulture schools all over Spain and also in Barcelona University.

We will taste 6 of her wines.

Price: £145  includes dinner and a glass of 6 wines from Marta's estate in Penedes - registration on the website only 14 Seats available. 2 TICKETS LEFT

If you cannot register in the physical event, you can register for the online version and listen:

To join without wines and dinner for the online event: £10 to transfer to our account
Account
The London Women and Wine Club
Natwest
Sort Code: 502101
Account: 31022634
Quote: Marta and your first name

Dame Amelia and healthcare research

Dame Amelia is a governor of the Wellcome Trust Board since 2019 and also chairs the Audit & Risk and Remuneration Committees there. 

The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Sir Henry Wellcome to fund research to improve human and animal health.  The aim of the Trust is to "support science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone", with a financial endowment of more than £36 billion in 2021 and is funding leading research in healthcare. It spent £1.2 billion on charitable activities to improve health through science in 2020/21 and plans to spend £16 billion over the next ten years.  Amelia will talk to us about some of the emerging areas that the Wellcome Trust is focusing on.

Dame Amelia is Lead Director of State Street Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts.   She was a Non-Executive Director and then Chairman of Kinnevik AB in Stockholm from 2011 – 2021 and of the Guardian Media Group plc from 2007 – 2013.  She  worked for Morgan Stanley for 20 years, joining in London in 1987 and becoming Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman of the European, Middle East and Africa operations in 2002. Dame Amelia started her career at the US law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, first in New York and then in Paris.

Dame Amelia is the Chairman of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a Governor of the Wellcome Trust and a Trustee of Project HOPE UK. Until recently, she was Chairman of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments, a Non-Executive member of the Board of HM Treasury, Chairman of The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation, Deputy Chairman and a Governor of the London Business School and a Commissioner of the UK-US Fulbright Commission.  She also has been a member of the Court of the Bank of England and Deputy Chairman of the National Portrait Gallery. 

Dame Amelia was appointed a Commander of The Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen’s 2018 Birthday Honours List, an honour solely in the gift of the Queen. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and a CBE in 2002, in both cases for services to the financial services industry. She received The Prince of Wales’s Ambassador Award in 2004. 

Dame Amelia, a British and American citizen, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in 1956. She has a degree in History from Wellesley (1978) and a law degree from the University of Virginia (1983).  She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1984.

Dame Amelia is a keen fly fisherman, hiker, sailor and lavender farmer in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons in Wales.  She is a member of the Somerset Club (Boston), the Manchester Yacht Club (USA), Oswalds (London) and the Reform Club (London).

Please join us for a wonderful evening at Pitzhanger Manor and gardens with some English wines and canapes, some beautiful art and a short talk with Clare Gough, the Director. We will be starting at 18:30 at the Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery.

Pitzhanger Manor is an English country villa famous as the home of influential neoclassical architect, Sir John Soane. Built between 1800 and 1804 and sitting in its original parkland, the Regency Manor is a rare and spectacular example of a building designed, built and lived in by Sir John Soane himself. We are choosing English wines in honour of Sir John Soane. Beautifully restored to Soane’s original designs, Pitzhanger now houses an art gallery and is only 9 minutes by direct train from London Paddington.

Clare Gough, after working as a consultant at McKinsey, moved to the art world, initially as New Media Director at the National Gallery retail trading arm,  before being invited to work for the Director of the National Gallery and becoming its Director of Communications.  She then took on the challenge of leading the conservation  and re-launch of Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, opening in 2019 with an acclaimed exhibition by Anish Kapoor.  She has also held non-executive charity Board roles and was formerly a Trustee of the Museum of the Home. 

Clare will give a private view of Pitzhanger’s latest exhibition by rising star Royal Academician, Rana Begum RA, as well as give an insight into the eccentricity of the architecture of Sir John Soane, and the fun of marrying his Regency style with Rana’s striking contemporary art.  She will also say a few words about transitioning career from the commercial world to the arts, and the challenges and opportunities of running an arts organisation in the current environment.

We will have the honour to welcome Fiona Duckett, Managing Director at The Winery Hundred Hills and Hundred Hills Vineyards. (https://hundredhills.wine/ ). She will be present  to show us her delicious wines and answer any questions you may have, so don’t miss out!

Before breaking for the summer, join Laurence and Anne in 67 Pall Mall to enjoy a few drinks, nibbles and talk!

Limited Places: 15

Event cancelled but Anne will be in 67 if anyone fancy a drink

This event is now being held at Eataly. It is definitely worth a visit if you have never been. Located in the City, it contains lots of Italian foods and wines (so you can also stock up after the event if you want).  I could spend hours there! We will have a private area reserved for us, so that we can listen to Diva and enjoy nice food with our Proseccos.

Villa Sandi is a successful example of that special bond that exists between art and agriculture that characterized the Venetian landscape of past centuries. The link between the magnificence of Venice and the countryside, in the area also described as “Garden of Venice”. It is located in the heart of the Prosecco region, The winery owns estates in all the different Prosecco appellations, from the wider DOC area to the Asolo DOCG gentle hillsides, from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG steep slopes to the special cru of Cartizze in Valdobbiadene.

The Villa is a Palladian-style masterpiece dating back to 1622.

Devoted to wine culture for many generations, the Moretti Polegato family, owner of the villa, have fostered this ancient tradition by making Villa Sandi the headquarters of the winery, and by promoting grape growing in the area on a modern basis. The wines have won many awards under the guidance of Giancarlo Moretti Polegato and Villa Sandi is renowned as an excellence in the Prosecco region.

Diva represents the third generation of the Moretti Polegato family and will be talking to us about the wines of the estate and the unique terroirs of the many Prosecco appellations. We will be sampling Prosecco and pairing some nibbles from probably the best place to get Italian food in London, Eataly.

Prosecco DOC Il Fresco Treviso Brut

Prosecco DOC Rosè Millesimato Brut 2021

Prosecco DOCG Valdobbiadene Millesimato Brut 2021

Prosecco DOCG Superiore Asolo Biodiversity Brut

Valdobbiadene Superiore Cartizze La Rivetta Brut 2021

The event will start at 18:30 at Eataly, 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3YD

Price wines and food included: 130£

Please register on the website - A FEW TICKETS LEFT

Please come and taste Dawn's two latest sparkling wines at 67 Pall Mall on 6th May at 18:30 

SOLD OUT

Many of our members have had the pleasure to enjoy some of Dawn Jones-Cooper's great wines.  Dawn is the owner and winemaker at Château de Monfaucon Chateau and works incredibly hard to produce wines that are widely admired for their purity, elegance and the joy they procure.

Dawn will be introducing two wines : the sparkling 2018 blend (her regular blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Muscadelle) and also a brand new cuvee, totally unique in Bordeaux  a100% Sauvignon Blanc sparkling.

This will be limited to 20 people maximum, will take place at 67 Pall Mall at 18:30 on 6th May and will include 2 glasses (1 of each sparkling wine). The cost is only to reimburse Dawn and will be 20£/person.

Please sign up asap before the places go!

In the words of another fan

"In a wine trade that is often still dominated by middle aged men in pink chinos, it's massively important that we make every effort to champion 'inspirational women in wine.  I've met incredible people with incredible stories, but few can rival Dawn Jones-Cooper, owner and winemaker at Château de Monfaucon.

First up, she's a fantastic winemaker.  Her commitment to organics and biodynamic principles have helped her extract the maximum flavour out of her vines and into the bottles.  I loved the wines before I met her.  That's important to say before you start hearing about the person and the journey behind them.

Dawn is a force of nature.  I met her first in her salon in Mayfair.  That's right, you heard it, Dawn was (and still is) one of the finest hair stylists in London.  But a late night dare from husband Jay started a journey that saw her complete some of the WSET courses, and took her to Plumpton College to study as a Viticulturist and winemaker.  The couple then sold up in London to buy Château de Monfaucon, a wine estate in Entre-Deux-Mers in Bordeaux with huge potential, but in need of no small amount of TLC.

There is nothing to be done on that estate that Dawn will not have a go at herself.  Initially seen by many locals as a curiosity, this 'crazy English woman' has forged a solid reputation within her community and the wider wine world as one of the winemakers to watch.  Her very first vintage scooped medals at the prestigious Decanter Wine Awards and she's never looked back.

The best thing for us is that there's a very simple way of showing our support.  It involves a glass, a corkscrew, and buying a bottle of her brilliant wine."

Mike Turner, The Buyer, April 2020"

FULLY BOOKED - This event is now closed-

After 25 years in senior roles in government service both overseas and in the U.K., and currently as a Senior Advisor to Boards of global businesses, Sarah will consider how and why intelligence has an important relevance in contributing to Board decision making and strategic planning.  She will demystify some of the tropes of the intelligence world and share some cases to illustrate the power of intelligence.  

A former senior British government official with more than 25 years of experience in national security and intelligence matters in the UK and overseas, Sarah assists companies, family offices and HNW clients on operational, reputational and investment risk matters worldwide. She brings significant expertise in conducting complex, multi-jurisdictional anti-bribery and corruption investigations, asset-tracing and recovery, and provides litigation support for international arbitration and disputes revolving around political, regulatory or integrity issues.

Over the past three decades, Sarah has served as a trusted adviser to Board-level clients on their strategies in the Middle East, Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa. She advises clients in the infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, financial services, energy, and technology sectors on entering or operating in high-risk emerging markets. Sarah also specialises in terrorist financing, piracy and maritime security issues and previously served as Lloyds of London’s senior adviser on piracy.

Prior to joining StoneTurn, Sarah was a Managing Director in the investigations and strategic intelligence practice of a global advisory firm. After leaving government service, Sarah held senior advisory roles in the business intelligence and risk management practices of several private professional services firms. She was previously Chairman, now Council member, of the Risk & Security Management Forum (RSMF) in the UK.

We will be having a full dinner and tasting 6 wines at the Lansdowne Club on March 16th, starting at 18:30.

Wine Theme tbc.