#WeekInPictures: from Michoacán to Mount Etna
This week brought mezcal to Soho, Fondillón to Alicante and pre-phylloxera vines to the slopes of Etna.
Zacal x Dram Bar, Soho
In Soho, Dram Bar and Zacal Mezcal hosted a three-floor Day After the Dead celebration. Edinburgh’s Panda & Sons mixed Zacal cocktails with their trademark experimental flair, while founders poured tastings from Michoacán, where the spirit was born and where Día de los Muertos remains sacred.
Alicante, historic capital of Mediterranean wine
Alicante marked its year as European Capital of Gastronomy with an international conference celebrating its millennia-old wine culture. Tastings led by Sarah Jane Evans MW, Beth Willard and Ferran Centelles traced the history of Mediterranean winemaking, culminating in a rare Fondillón flight at the Co-Cathedral of St Nicholas.
Cuatro Rayas celebrates 90 years
Bodega Cuatro Rayas inaugurated its new €6 million winery in La Seca, reinforcing its leadership within Rueda DO. The opening, attended by Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, celebrated the cooperative’s enduring role in quality, sustainability and innovation.
Sherry Supper Club at Loto
José Pizarro and Ben Lippet hosted an intimate Sherry Supper Club at Loto, pairing dishes with bottles from Bodegas Osborne and Estévez. Guests dined with Carmen Aumesquet of the Jerez Manzanilla Council, exploring Sherry’s range from fino to PX in true Andalusian spirit.
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Slovakia in a Glass, London
The Slovak Embassy hosted Slovakia in a Glass, where more than 100 professionals tasted over 120 wines. The line-up showed a confident new era for Slovak winemaking, marked by freshness, diversity and precision.
Sapling Spirits in Puglia
Sapling Spirits gathered Italian journalists at Masseria Secolario to explore their sustainable ethos and plant olive trees to combat the Xylella fastidiosa blight. Foraged ingredients later appeared on the evening’s menu, taking the idea of field-to-table literally.
Bijou in New Zealand
Eight years on, Bijou Wines has gone global, now shining from 40 billboards across New Zealand. The Languedoc label, one of the UK’s fastest-growing premium wine brands, continues to show the region’s rising potential.
Pietradolce on Etna
We visited Pietradolce on Etna’s north-eastern slopes, just after the harvest was safely brought in, where pre-phylloxera vines over a century old drive their roots through ash and basalt. Founded in 2005 by Michele Faro and his family, the estate channels the volcano’s restless energy into wines of remarkable precision and grace.
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#WeekInPictures: from supermarket snacks to Scotch firs
