Booze & Books with Helen Lederer, Honey Spencer, and Aleesha Hansel

Join the legendary actor and writer Helen Lederer and wine experts Honey Spencer and Aleesha Hansell for an evening of wine, laughter and comedy revelations. We'll be learning about natural wines, doing plenty of wine tasting and hearing about our guests' journeys with the good stuff in the joyful surroundings of Kemptown's Arcobaleno bar. 

Tuesday 18 June | 7.30-9.30pm
Arcobaleno Brighton, 120 George's Road, BN2 1EA

Helen Lederer is a British comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s and went on to star in the hit BBC series Absolutely Fabulous. She has an extensive portfolio that includes writing and performing her own material, not only as a stand-up comedian but also as a comedy novelist and writer for various publications. She set up Comedy Women In Print Prize in 2018 to celebrate witty women’s writing and create a platform for women’s wit. Her new memoir, Not That I'm Bitter, explores a time when "women didn’t do comedy unless they were fat, or an impressionist, or enabled by a man".

Honey Spencer has worked around the globe at world-renowned venues including Sager and Wilde in London, 10 William Street in Sydney and NOMA Mexico, and used to be wine director for Studio PASKIN, where she curated and executed the wine list for restaurants such as The Palomar, The Barbary, and 1* Michelin restaurant, Evelyn’s Table. She is co-owner and sommelier at her own restaurant – Sune in Hackney – which she opened with her partner last year. Honey is a fierce advocate for sustainability within the wine industry. Her book Natural Wine, No Drama was published in April 2024. 

Aleesha Hansel is the resident wine expert on ITV's Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh and can also be found discussing drinks on BBC Radio. She is a writer, judge and broadcaster. She writes about wine and drinks through the prism of food, travel, culture and lifestyle for publications such as Tatler, Decanter, Ocado Life Magazine, The Independent and National Geographic Traveller. She was the inaugural winner of the Louis Roederer BAME Bursary and was shortlisted for the IWSC Wine Communicator of the Year 2022. She is a patron of the Drinks Trust and was recently announced as the wine ambassador for Ocado, and an ambassador for The Fairtrade Foundation. Aleesha is currently writing her first book about the anthropology of drinks.