Slideshow

The week in pictures

04 August 2017 By Phoebe French

Astoria, the official partner of the Tour de Pologne, was on the podium again this year. Marking the second year of its sponsorship of the event, the Italian producer created a special bottle, with colours and symbols that represent the different stages.

Hampshire vineyard Jenkyn Place unveiled the new 2013 vintage of its Brut Cuvée this week. Simon and Camilla Bladon (pictured) also revealed the new bottle design and rebranding. The event also included a vertical tasting of the producer’s Brut Cuvée from 2006 to 2013.

The Langham Wine Estate in Dorset officially opened it’s new kitchen, The Vineyard Café, with over 200 guests in attendance. Head up by Andrew James Catering, visitors were treated to seasonal dishes paired with glasses of the local fizz. The Vineyard Café is open Monday – Saturday, 12-5pm throughout August.

Langham also unveiled three new wines: Classic Cuvée 2014, Rosé 2014 and Blancs de Blancs 2014 which are now available either direct from the winery itself, or at Marks & Spencer from £24.

Langham also wins the prize for the best winery dog this week – congratulations to Jarvis!

Licencees Mark Anderson and his wife Sarah.

Mark Anderson of the Ruddington Arms has taken on a second site with Star Pubs & Bars, The White Lion in Bingham. A £180k investment by Anderson and Star Pubs & Bars is being spent upgrading the pub inside. The pub will be pouring craft beer such as Shipyard American Ale, Theakstons IPA, Orchard Thieves Cider, whilst keeping Fosters and John Smiths. There will also be a range of 10 gins including the local Redsmith gin.

Independent retailer Newcomer Wines in Dalston teamed up with Wines of Germany and Wine & Vinyl last month to host the afterparty to the annual 31 Days of Riesling event – a month-long celebration of German Riesling. The team put on an evening of wine and music mashups for Riesling enthusiasts and visiting winemakers, including Clemens Busch, Thorsten Mehlseimer, Bianka & Daniel Schmitt, and Andreas Schumann of Weingut Odinstal.

On the decks was Rob Butler from Be With Records, with supporting sets from Ben Adamo from Fujiya & Miyagi and Sister Ray DJs.

db‘s Phoebe French headed to Neverland for a promotional event for Belgian cider company Stassen, owned by Heineken.

Stassen, which has been sold in Sainsbury’s stores in the UK for the past two years, is due to be stocked by Marks & Spencer this September. The sparkling cider is made using ‘Champagne yeast’ and comes in Champagne-style 750ml bottles. Currently there are three products in the range: brut, rosé and grand cru.