Gays Who Wine is working to tackle social isolation in the LGBT community by hosting regular food and wine meetups in Cardiff
Guests will enjoy three different red wines paired with artisan bread and local cheeses
A wine club for the LGBT community and allies, Gays Who Wine (GWW), is hosting an event at the Pettigrew Tea Rooms in Cardiff on 25 October.
The event offers members of the LGBT community the opportunity to meet new people over a shared love of wine and food.
The theme of the meetup is ‘Bread & Red’. Guests will sample three red wines from across Europe as well as local cheeses and artisan bread provided by master baker at the Pettigrew Tea Rooms, Dave Lemas.
Co-founders Shaun Houcke and Owen Davies started GWW in April to provide LGBT people with a safe and relaxed environment to socialise and make friends, away from gay bars and dating apps.
“Gay bars have a great place in the community but we wanted to create a calmer environment where people can actually talk and engage with each other in a meaningful way,” said Shaun.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, people identifying as LGBT are more likely to experience mental health problems due to factors including discrimination, isolation and homophobia.
A new report by the Home Office records a 23% rise in hate crimes based on sexual orientation from 2018 to 2019.
With GWW, the duo are working to tackle the issue of social isolation within the LGBT community. A proportion of the ticket price, which includes food and wine, will be donated to mental health charity Cardiff Mind.
Although created as a safe space for LGBT people, Shaun and Owen want GWW to be as inclusive as possible.
Shaun explained they have welcomed LGBT people of all ages as well as heterosexual groups at their previous events.
“It’s about bringing people together,” he said, “with no judgement on who you are, who you love or what you want to do.”
Find out more about the event and pricing.