History of The Charles Hastings Wine Club

 

The Charles Hastings Wine Club (CHWC) was founded in 1959 by the Council of the British Medical Association (BMA).  Originally it was named the Hastings Wine Club, in honour of Charles Hastings, who had established in Worcester a medical society which is regarded as being the origin of the BMA.  Geographical confusion led to its renaming a few years later, with the permission of Charles Hastings' descendants.

 

The creation of the CHWC must be set into its historical context.  Wine was much less widely consumed in Britain, retailers of quality wines were rare outside large conurbations, advice on wine buying was difficult to obtain, there were very few vineyards in Britain and wine tourism was non-existent.  It seems that the main reason for the BMA to establish a wine club was to improve recruitment and retention.

 

Throughout its existence the CHWC has focussed on education as a primary purpose, setting wines in their geographical, geological, climatic, gastronomic, cultural and historical context, promoting wines of quality over wines in quantity.  In the early years tastings, at multiple BMA meetings, were the principal focus, with a main tour most, but not all, years, and only rarely other events.  The first annual dinner was held in 1985, with the programme of events expanding since the mid-1990s, with now four events nearly every year and stand-alone tastings only every few years. Virtual wine tastings held over Zoom during lockdown restraints of the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic proved extremely popular.

 

The CHWC has always needed a strong relationship with a wine supplier.  The supplier has changed several times over the years, but there has been an excellent relationship with Tanners, Britain’s best large independent wine merchant, since 2011.

 

The CHWC’s relationship with the BMA was, however, often far from smooth.  Only a few years after the CHWC was established controversy about a supplier led to calls for it to be closed, but after further attempts to close it in the early 1980s a vote in favour of retention at the BMA’s Annual Representative Meeting allowed stability for about twenty years before further problems arose.  The situation was resolved when the Charles Hastings Wine Club became independent of the BMA in June 2014.

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