The week in pictures

Kicking off this week’s celebrity news, King and Queen Beckham celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary the only way they know how — spending over £2,000 on French wine.

The pair were dining at three Michelin-starred Epicure in Paris to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary on 4 July, and decided to share a 1990 Bordeaux from Chateau Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac which can cost over £1,500.

(photo: Instagram)

They also tucked into a 2009 white Burgundy from produced by Domaine Leflaive. The wine has been known to sell for around £450 per bottle, according to WineSearcher.

“Scotchy Scotch Scotch, there it goes down, down into my belly!”

When Nicole came to work today she didn’t realise she’d be taking a Hollywood movie star on tour!!! Delighted to show Will Ferrell around our wee distillery today! 🤩🥃🎬 pic.twitter.com/kwbj2rrVrL

— Tomatin Whisky (@Tomatin1897) June 29, 2018

Also in Celebs with Refined Palettes, a tour guide at Highland whisky distillery Tomatin got more than she bargained for last Friday when Anchorman star Will Ferrell popped in for a surprise visit.

Ferrel was in the neighbourhood on a golfing holiday but stopped by to share a dram, before he was given a complimentary bottle of 18-year-old single malt. Is Ferrell planning to follow fellow actor Matthew McConaughey’s footsteps in partnering with a whiskey/y label? His Anchorman alter-ego would be up for it.

Who remembers Chico off of the X Factor? Nice guy.

Things got a little wild in Islington on Thursday night when the drinks business went to the launch of new tiki bar on the block Laki Kane. Our man Chico made up some of the celeb numbers.

Laki Kane has some interesting ideas. Taking the craft movement to its logical extreme, the upstairs area is home to around a dozen miniature distillers designed for rum-making masterclasses. Guests can take a miniature of their own blend home with them, and the bar is working on its own signature rum which they’re planning to get out in high-end retailers within the next few years.

Anyway five cocktails and two shots of rum each later, we ended up partying with Chico. For longer than we care to admit.

db was lucky enough to be invited to the first day of Wimbledon by its official Champagne supplier, Lanson, where we enjoyed copious flutes of fizz in the scorching sunshine with fellow wine writers Will Lyons (left) and Ollie Smith (right), and Lanson UK’s managing director Paul Beavis (centre).

Joining us at the Lanson marquee was tennis ace Tim Henman, pictured here chatting to Lanson’s PR supremo Penny McDonald.

We were also joined by media heavyweights Huw Edwards of BBC News, Sky News’ Kay Burley and the ever effervescent Nick Ferrari of LBC.

Managing to look ice cool in the searing heat was fashion designer Oswald Boateng, who rocked up to the Lanson marquee in a sharp racing green suit, no doubt designed by his fair hands.

Sitting down to a lavish lunch, we were treated to copious glasses of Lanson Extra Age from magnum, which slipped down like silk.

Meanwhile, Lanson Rosé proved the perfect pairing for strawberries and cream.

db’s Lucy Shaw couldn’t resist a quick pic by the Wimbledon sign…

During lunch she chatted to Lanson’s lovely chef de cave, Hervé Dantan, about the magic and mystery of biodynamics.

We somehow found time to squeeze in a spot of tennis on court number one, where we enjoyed a tense game between towering Canadian Milos Raonic and brave Brit Liam Broady.

We were also treated to a sensational showdown between Serena Williams and Arantxa Rus from The Netherlands, which saw a fighting fit Serena emerge triumphant.

Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh launched his Singani 63 brand – a Muscat of Alexandria-based spirit made in Bolivia – in the UK this week at Flemings hotel in Mayfair. Soderbergh fell for the Bolivian spirit 11 years ago while shooting the film Che in Bolivia with Benicio del Toro. Teaming up with Casa Real, a Tarija-based distillery, the result is Singani 63 – named after his year of birth.

Top US bartenders Ivy Mix of New York City’s Leyenda and Alex Day of Denver’s Death & Co, were on hand at the event at Flemings in Mayfair, to prove singani’s versatility.

Mix’s Point Being cocktail, a blend of Singani 63, rye whiskey, Massenez plum brandy, Moscatel and aromatic bitters, was a smooth hitter, while Day’s The Bounce House starred Singani 63, gin, dry vermouth, Amaro Nonino, pineapple gum syrup, fresh lemon juice and a fresh peach garnish.

The celebrity shenanigans continued this week at the launch of TWG Tea’s new tea salon in Leicester Square, which was attended by Love Island stars Eval Booker and Zara McDermott. Founded in Singapore, TWG Tea offers over 800 varieties from all of the world’s tea producing regions.

Also in attendance was Sophie Ellis-Bextor (right) who wowed the crowd with a DJ set  – it was murder on the dance floor.

In a fun-filled week, we also headed to Monica Galetti’s Mere in Fitzrovia, where the MasterChef presenter and culinary whiz was on hand to pose for pictures with her sommelier husband David Galetti in between whipping up divine dishes like sea bream oka with coconut and burnt lemon; scallops with roasted almonds and salsify; and béchamel agnolotti with glazed chicken and a Marmite emulsion.

The dinner was hosted by the affable Nigel Greening of Felton Road in Central Otago, who talked us through his incredible New Zealand Pinots, a mouthwatering off dry Riesling and a pair of creamy, mineral Chardonnays.

Among the wine highlights of the night was a magnum of Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir 2015 from Central Otago, which boasted notes of cinnamon, spice, crushed herbs and sensuous red fruit.

We also headed to Max Graham’s beautiful Bar Douro in Flat Iron Square this week, where we were treaded to a vertical tasting of Churchills Port, hosted by Max’s father and owner of Churchills, Johnnie Graham.

During the evening we slurped our way through 11 vintages from the Port house, which was founded in 1981, making it one of the newest kids on the block in the Douro Valley. The star of the show was the 1991 vintage, which was perfectly poised between youth and maturity, and offered delightful notes of coffee, cherry and mint and had a sublime, nutty finish.

During the evening Johnnie talked us through the history of the Port house and the thinking behind when to declare a vintage or not. Churchill’s declares an average of three vintages per decade, the most recent being the highly acclaimed 2016 vintage.

Meanwhile in Manchester, Patrón Tequila collaborated with flash beer house Albert Schloss to host the official after party for Wednesday’s Nile Rogers and Chic gig in Manchester.

Although Nile Rodgers wasn’t in attendance, members of Chic put on a great live performance.

The Pol Roger UK team were out in full force at Imbibe Live this week, where they were joined by musician Lewis Floyd Henry, who performed on the Pol Roger stand with Jimi Hendrix levels of swagger.

It’s been a good week for producers in two of Europe’s lesser-known wine-growing regions. First up, the Chaîne des Puys — a strip of some 80 volcanoes home to ta number of appellations which form part of the Puy de Dôme IGP, has been granted a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list, an accreditation which will drive footfall and tourism in the area.

The combination of granitic soils, as well as a vineyard elevation of around 350-550m, make the region well suited to producing cool-climate-style Pinot Noir. More importantly, however, the mountains are stunning.

Meanwhile in Austria, southern wine region Steiermark (Styria) will be allowed to introduce the DAC system to its three growing regions from the 2018 vintage onwards.

Steiermark will henceforth have three new Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DACs) – a classification system roughly analogous with AOC/DOC elsewhere in Europe – bringing the total in the country to 13.

Prospective WSET students: take note.

L-R: Rich Woods (Sushisamba), Alex Woolley (Hawksmoor Knightsbridge), Davide Leanza (Punch Rooms at The Edition Hotel), Sergio Leanza, James Hopkins (London Cocktail Club) and Max Venning (Three Sheets | Bar Three)

In drinks-meets-cycling news, six bartenders from London’s most-instagrammed drinking holes have been drafted for a cycling competition in Italy, all part of drinks giant Martini’s La Classica race.

This year marks La Classica’s 50th Birthday, and to honour the milestone Rich Woods (Sushisamba), Alex Woolley (Hawksmoor Knightsbridge), Davide Leanza (Punch Rooms at The Edition Hotel), Sergio Leanza, James Hopkins (London Cocktail Club) and Max Venning (Three Sheets | Bar Three) are jetting off to Turin this September to ride through the stunning Piedmont landscape with fellow mixologists from around the world. Well, it’s a living.

Trevor Hanover, Michael Hanover, Paul Doran and Eldon Robson.

In decidedly less glamorous drinking news, North East drinks giants Hanover Dairies and Fentimans, makers of premium mixers and soft drinks, successfully completed their 300-mile bike ride ‘The Big Cycle’. The epic journey, which took seven days, has so far raised an impressive £23,000 for Rainbow Trust, which supports families with a seriously ill child.

Rainbow Trust Patron Trevor Hanover, owner of Hanover Dairies and fellow cyclists Michael Hanover, Paul Doran and Eldon Robson, owner of Fentimans, finished their journey at Rainbow Trust’s Leatherhead headquarters in Cleeve Road.

In protegé news, Michel Roux Jr.’s cheffing daughter Emily is to open her first restaurant in west London this year. Caractère in Notting Hill will be a joint venture with her husband Diego Ferrari, the head chef of Le Gavroche.

Given Ferrari and Roux’s roots, Caractère will take inspiration from French and Italian cooking. The corner 2,500sq ft site will be in illustrious culinary company, sharing a neighbourhood with The Ledbury, Core by Clare Smyth and 108 Garage.