The week in pictures

Selfridges has unveiled its famous Christmas window this week, which features a giant Armand de Brignac Gold bottle. The Armand de Briganc Dynastie will also be available at the Selfridges “One & Only” Christmas gift shop, for one-of-a-kind presents.

Louisa Rose, chief winemaker of Yalumba in the Barossa Valley, and wine writer Stephen Brook, raise a glass of Viognier at Tom’s Kitchen in Chelsea during a tasting of Yalumba’s Viognier range, including a vertical of top wine, The Virgiious Viognier going back to 2003. Rose has high hopes for the wine, and is aiming to get it into the Langton’s Classification.

db’s Lucy Shaw was lucky enough to interview charming and irreverent actor Sam Neill at Quo Vadis this week, stopping in the suggestively-titled Petting Room for a spot of chess. During the interview, Neill spoke of his vineyard venture – Two Paddocks in Central Otago, New Zealand, his love of “heartbreaking” Pinot Noir and the similarities between filmmaking and winemaking. You can see the full video interview here.

We hope wine writer and TV star Peter Richards MW won’t mind us printing this brilliant pic posted on his Twitter account taken while filming Halloween-themed wine slot for Saturday Kitchen.

To encourage people to take action on climate change, legendary fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood hosted an evening of climate revolution poems and readings to an invited audience at Keats House this week – the former residence of celebrated British poet John Keats, with West Sussex-based sparkling wine estate Nyetimber providing the fizz – modelled here by Nyetimber’s marketing manager, Christian Holthausen.

Guiding db through Sam Neill’s trio of Two Paddocks Pinots was Negociants UK’s new marketing and PR manager, Alex Layton. Beginning with the flagship Two Paddocks 2010, we moved on to the elegant and delicate First Paddock single vineyard Pinot and ended on the powerful and dark fruited The Last Chance. All three wines will now be distributed in the UK by Negociants.

Daniel Pi, chief winemaker of Trapiche in Mendoza, popped into db Towers this week to host a tasting of his new Estacion 1883 range, top-end Iscay, and a duo of single vineyard Malbecs, which he hopes will help send out the message that the grape is more than just a one-trick pony, showing off different characteristics depending on where in Argentina it is planted.

Never one to turn down an invite to try out a new drinking den, db headed to the launch of Le Cellar bar at Galvin Bistrot de Luxe in Baker Street this week to road test its cocktail list.

Among the liquid highlights at Le Cellar bar were a lighter twist on a Negroni and after-dinner tipple, the Amaretto Espresso Martini, which send db out into a rainy Tuesday night with a spring in our step.

Having just touched down from New York, Ruinart’s chef de caves, Frédéric Panaïotis, nipped into the db office to talk us through his latest launch: Ruinart Rosé 2002, before heading to Jason Atherton’s hotly-tipped new restaurant, Berners Tavern, at the London Edition hotel for lunch, where Ruinart Brut NV is the house pour.

It might look like an average night out in Jerez, but this photo was snapped in central London last night at the press launch of shiny new Sherry shack, Drakes Tabanco – the first place in the capital to serve Sherry in the traditional way, straight from the barrel with a venencia. On pour in this picture is Fernando de Castilla Palo Cortado, which paired sensationally with a dish of braised pig’s cheeks and mash in an oloroso sauce – olé!

Head of the Plumpton College Wine Department, Chris Foss takes part in the harvest at the college’s vineyards. Just over halfway through the college has already picked in excess of 14 tonnes and told db that “this promises to be the largest (and possibly the best) vintage ever for Plumpton College.”

George Sandeman presents a 1937 bottled Sandeman Goldon Oloroso Sherry to Robert and Robyn Wilson. The Sherry was bottled at the company’s St Swithins Lane London cellars and was moved as part of the process of converting the cellar to a World War II air-raid shelter. The bottle was returned “home” this week after more than 70 years in the US.

This week the Zonin family and Associazione Italiana Sommelier Roma welcomed 360 guests, including sommeliers, restaurateurs, press and wine lovers to the “Gianni Zonin Day”, a tasting of Casa Vinicola Zonin’s fine wines, which was held in Rome this week.

New Zealand winery Vidal’s winemaker Hugh Crichton and his team after an impressive night at New Zealand’s annual Hawkes Bay A&P Wine Awards. Vidal was named Winery of the Year, and also received Reserve Champion Wine of Show, Champion Wine of Show, the Chardonnay Trophy and the Syrah Trophy.

Cocktails from the Ketel One Martini Trolley, which were created especially for London’s Home House club are prepared ahead of a special tour of the house this week.

The event saw a cocktail created in each bar at Home House with demonstrations from Ketel One’s new brand ambassador David Beatty and the club’s bar manager Mauro Frisulli.