Week in pictures

 Julia Harding MW introduces her selection of 50 Great Portuguese Wines, in which she chose to focus exclusively on the country’s indigenous grape varieties.

Harvey Nichols turned its fifth floor al fresco area into the Chase Terrace for the summer season, complete with Chase Marmalade Vodka and carrot juice cocktails, recorded bird song and pumped in citrus smells courtesy of Penhaligon’s.

 db spotted this elegant canine gracing the entrance at Château d’Ollières in Provence, and we wondered, why the long face?

 Later that day, db was treated to a tour of the impressive Château Beaulieu in Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, complete with Italian gardens, abundant rose arches, Venetian chandeliers and a jacuzzi on the roof!

db‘s Lucy Shaw and The Wine Bird – Helena Nicklin, model the lastest vintages of Domaines Ott Château de Selle and Clos Mireille at the estate in Côtes de Provence.

Pernod Ricard UK cyclists head off to cycle 570 miles from The Glenlivet distillery in Speyside, Scotland to the Beefeater distillery in Kennington, London. The cycle is to raise funds for The Benevolent and the company are led by Simon Thomas, current chair of The Benevolent.

  db clocked this colourful creature during the tour of Château Beaulieu – which St Estéphe property does it remind you of?

A masterclass gets underway at last month’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific.

 The Shaker & Company has launched a Summer Sports bar at their Hampstead Road venue. Perfect for a cocktail and perfect to watch the rest of Euro 2012. 

 Jean Claude Neu, cellar master of Château d’Esclans, the Sacha Lichine-owned estate in Côtes de Provence, road tests the latest vintage of top cuvée Garrus.

 A double magnum of Dow’s 1977. Three hundred of these have been put up for sale exclusively in Hong Kong by Symington Family Estates as part of the drive to push Port in the east.

Extremadura-born, London-based chef José Pizarro buddies up with Isaac Fernandez Montaña of Bodegas Neo in Ribera del Duero during a Spanish feast at Pizarro organised by Bancroft Wines. 

 A gangly spider by the late Louise Bourgeois dominates the entrance at Château La Coste in Provence, dotted with impressive art work and architecture from the likes of Frank Ghery, Andy Goldsworthy, Sean Skully, Richard Serra and Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

The weather’s no better in Hong Kong. A rainy day outside the Exhibition Centre as db and the trade arrived in time for the rainy season.

db headed to the crazy, cavernous Shaka Zulu in Camden to check out its new meat cocktail menu, which included a Bacon Bloody Mary and the Meatequita (pictured), a mixture of Tequila Reposado, chorizo, smoked sea salt, balsamic vinegar and Port – strangely moreish.

Bottles of Domaines Ott Blanc de Blancs line the wall of the estate’s entrance. The wine – now a blend of Semillon and Rolle, was originally semi-sparkling and made from Ugni Blanc. At one point in the domaine’s history, more white wine was produced at the estate than its now iconic rosé.

Caroline de Roussy de Sales of Château de La Chaize in Brouilly about to lead db through a tasting of her wines at Vinexpo.