The Week in Pictures

It’s not often you get to have dinner with a Spice Girl, but that’s exactly what happened to Daisy Jones, publisher of our sister title The Spirits Business, this week. The dinner in question, held at Q Grill in Camden, was to celebrate the launch of Cleo Rocos’ Tequila, Aqua Riva, in the US.

No shrinking violet, Rocos (centre) was keen to introduce Daisy to some of her other celebrity chums, including her squeeze for the evening, comedian Keith Lemon.

After three years of patiently waiting, grapes are finally flourishing on a tiny vine in the garden of db’s deputy editor Lucy Shaw’s mum’s house in Surrey. Unfortunately they are only table grapes, so no wine will be made this year…

Laurent d’Harcourt shows The Duke of Cambridge a bottle of Pol Roger 1914, known as the ladies vintage, to be sold at Bonham’s on 1 October to raise funds for The Imperial War Museum for refurbishment of its 1914 galleries.

The long-awaited return of whiskey production to Tullamore became a significant step closer with the installation of the custom-made Tullamore Distillery Spirit Safe.  The symbolic and functional heart of a distillery, the installation of the Spirit Safe is a major milestone in bringing Tullamore D.E.W. production back to its hometown.  The first spirit will flow from the new €35m distillery in mid-September, exactly 60 years after the closure of the original distillery.

Formula 1 racing driver Felipe Massa popped into popped into the World Duty Free store in Barcelona this week to surprise fans ahead of the Italian grand prix in Monza next month. Massa’s team, Williams, is sponsored by Italian vermouth brand Martini. 

It’s another tough day on the job for actor Jude Law, shot here during filming of a new short, The Gentleman’s Wager, for Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky directed by Ridley Scott’s son Jake.

Sorting is underway at London’s first urban winery, London Cru in Earl’s Court, run by winemaker Gavin Monery

To celebrate Chilgrove gin’s entry into the UK on-trade, the brand has created the Autumn Chillgrove Fizz, featuring Chilgrove gin, English sparkling wine, pink grapefruit juice and lemon juice, garnished with a twist of orange peel.

We love this innovative wine bottle design for Blood of Grapes spied doing the rounds on Twitter this week

And finally… staff at Borough Wines have found an innovative use for their unwanted wine boxes.