The week in pictures

Even @Bryn_Terfel and Uncle Br…sorry @RobBrydon are excited about Welsh Wine Week! #welshwineweek #wythnosgwincymru pic.twitter.com/QEx6PfghQi

— Welsh Wine Week (@Welsh_Wine_Week) July 7, 2020

Welsh opera star Sir Bryn Terfel and comedian Rob Brydon have recorded a promotional video in support of the upcoming Welsh Wine Week.

Welsh Wine Week, which takes place next week (27 July-2 August) has been organised by the Welsh Drinks Cluster, a Welsh government funded initiative.

The initiative has attracted vocal support from the likes of renowned bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, who in a video, revealed he had a personal connection to one winery, having been at school with the owners of Pant Du Vineyard, Richard and Iola Huws.

Now that bars and restaurants can operate in the UK, we are also delighted to hear that the world’s national wine marketing boards are running campaigns IRL again.

July has seen the return of Wines of Germany UK’s 31 Days of German Riesling. A campaign in which retailers, restaurants and bars around the UK celebrate the one and only, German Riesling.

Despite an extremely difficult time for the drinks trade, participants have been going above and beyond on creativity this year. We were directed to this rather lovely mural at Nottingham wine shop and bar, Brigitte Bordeaux, which depicts the Mosel Valley.

We’re also very excited about the drinks tourism sector starting up again.

Bombay Sapphire’s distillery in Hampshire

On Monday (20 July), it was a double-bill from spirits giant Bacardi as the doors to the Bombay Sapphire gin distillery at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire, and the Dewar’s Distillery in Aberfeldy, Scotland, reopened after months of hibernation.

At Bombay Sapphire, you can take a tour of the distillery and check out some of the botanicals in the glasshouse and drying room, or join a gin cocktail masterclass and learn from Bacardi’s in-house experts.

At Dewar’s, you can take a tour of the still-house and get a free dram at the end, or choose from two more exclusive versions. including a trip to the cask warehouse where you can sample whisky straight from the cask, or try a flight of five different scotch samples in the whisky lounge.

In marketing news, Islay’s Ardbeg whisky distillery has joined forces with presenter and barbecue enthusiast Christian Stevenson (aka DJ BBQ) on a series of virtual cooking classes.

Called The Smoke Sessions, DJ BBQ will guide people through the basics of creating smokey and flavourful barbecue dishes and whisky cocktails to serve with them on Ardbeg’s Instagram page. The drinks will be made with Ardbeg Ten, An Oa and Wee Beastie.

Stevenson will teach you how to cook “low and slow”, how to cook the perfect steak, and even how to cook fish on a whisky cask

In stash news, Boë Gin is offering colourful branded facemarks to customers and bartenders. You just have to buy the gin first.

The re-usable face mask, decorated with a floral pattern, comes with every order of full-strength flavoured gin through the Boë website.

In diverse ginnovation, Scottish spirits group Whyte & Mackay has launched a new orange and passion fruit-flavoured gin called Wildcat Passion.

To mark the launch, Wildcat Gin is giving a 70cl bottle of its new flavour to the first 500 people who pledge £15 or more to Sink The Pink’s Pink Noise project, a trust dedicated to funding LGBTQ+ creatives hit with the ongoing impact of coronavirus.

Kenny Nicholson, Head of Modern Spirits at Whyte & Mackay, said: “As we continuing to invest in innovation across our portfolio, Wildcat Passion is the latest addition to the Wildcat range, designed specifically to meet consumer demand for new, fun flavours of gin for up-tempo, after dark occasions.

“During this time of uncertainty, with the launch of Passion, we wanted to pledge our support to the LGBTQ+ community and help them continue to be their fantastic selves.

“By joining forces with our long-time friends at Sink The Pink, we’re giving people the chance to support their favourite queer artists and raise a glass to everything they do to keep the UK’s queer nightlife alive.”

Restaurant and winery workers across South Africa turned out in force to put pressure on the government to allow alcohol sales for sit-down venues on Wednesday (22 July).

Protesters took to the streets with placards that showed how many people worked in their business, and now risk losing their jobs due to the country’s extended lockdown, with the slogan #Jobssavelives.

Ross Sleet, owner of Rascallion Wines, was one of the many wine producers joining the protests in Stellenboch.

“We view the value chain of restauranteurs as part of our industry,” Sleet told the drinks business, “and that they can’t sell our product affects us as much as they are affected.”

(Photo: Alfred Thorpe from http://www.vuurtoring.net)