The week in pictures

This cracker of a picture was released ahead of this week’s BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen. Actor and winemaker Sam Neill, of the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago, gets top marks for his knitted dinosaur effort.

Hundreds of wine lovers flocked to Winchester to sample hundreds of wines at the Winchester Wine Festival, hosted by MW power couple Susie Barrie and Peter Richards.

For £25 visitors could sip their way through hundreds of wines produced by local winemakers from Hampshire to prestigious global brands. The event is due to take place again in 2015.

Veronique Drouhin was in London this week to introduce the 2013 vintage from Burgundian producer Joseph Drouhin. Despite acknowledging the major impact of both couleur and hailstorms on quantity, she praised the wines for offering “beautiful definition”, adding: “you can really see through to the terroir.”

db was invited to sample CA Grand Crus’ 2012 vintage at a press tasting at the Five Fields restaurant in Sloane Square on Thursday. On the menu were these deliciously velvety Orkney scallops with pistachio and cauliflower, which were served with a glass of Le Sec de Rayne Vigneau, Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2013.

CA Grands Crus currently owns six estates in Bordeaux, including 1er grand cru classé Chateau de Rayne Vigneau. Highlights of the evening included a magnum of Chateau Meyney, Saint Estephe 2000, however db’s personal favourite was Château Grand-Puy Ducasse’s, Pauillac 2006.

Top F1 drivers Mika Häkkinen, Jenson Button, and Kevin Magnussen lent their support to Johnnie Walker’s festive “never drink and drive” campaign as part of its global responsible drinking programme, Join the Pact, this week. The trio demonstrated their driving skills before giving rides to select competition winners in a Johnnie Walker branded Caparo T1 supercar and two McLaren MP4-650S sports cars.

The glitzy event was attended by director general delegate Julie Campos of Nicolas Feuillatte.

With Christmas party season in full swing Nicolas Feuillatte joined in the festivities hosting its annual bash last week. The annual event’s theme saw X’Ploration by Nicolas Feuillatte take centre stage with the range including Brut Grande Reserve limited edition, Brut Chardonnay Vintage 2006, Palmes d’Or Brut Vintage 2004 and Brut Rosé non-vintage on pour.

Construction began this week on a £100 million distillery and visitor’s centre for Edrington’s The Macallan whisky in Speyside, Scotland. The distillery, which will have the capacity to produce 15 million litres of whisky each year and has been designed to blend into the countryside with a “rolling roofscape”, is due to open to the public in the spring of 2017.

Thwaites Brewery ushered in the festive season by switching on its Yuletide star with the help of its newest shire horse, Star. The tradition has been honoured for more than 25 years and for many marks the official start of the holiday season. Three-year-old Star joined the Thwaites’ stable earlier this year and will join the brewery’s current horses, Wainwright and Bomber, at events in the New Year.

Tom Warner and Sion Edwards of Warner Edwards rhubarb gin welcomed the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, David Laing, and the Duke of Kent to their distillery in Harrington this week. The Lord Lieutenant and The Duke Were shown around the distillery by the brand’s founders, Tom and Sion, and met their infamous copper pot still, Curiosity.

(L-R) Simon Stannard (WSTA), Bérenger Piras (Enotria), Richard Jones (Reh Kendermann), Steffen Schindler (DWI), Susanna Forbes (Imbibe), Nicky Forrest (Wines of Germany UK), James Booth (New Generation Wines), Nigel Blundell (ABS Wine Agencies), Mike Ritchie (Copestick Murray), Xenia Irwin (Waitrose)

Members of the trade gathered at the Antique Wine Company in London last week for a Wines of Germany importer’s meeting, with several donning the organisation’s rather fetching green shades.

Sherry shack Tio Pepe launched its festive fino and popcorn matching menu this month having teamed up with gourmet popcorn specialists Pop,of Notting Hill. Believed to be the first menu of its kind, foodies can head to London, Leeds, Cardiff and Bournemouth over the festive period to enjoy a glass of chilled Tio Pepe with a portion of unusually flavoured popcorns including pigs in blankets, roast turkey with stuffing and blue cheese.

Joan Visa-Tor, owner of Casa Beal in Andorra was snapped this week by Colin Hampden-White during a trip to the estate organised by the International Federation of Wine and Spirit Journalists and Writers (FIJEV).

As part of Harrods Stelle di Stelle pop-up series sponsored by Acqua Panna, db was treated to a night of cooking from the team at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Tuscany, headed up by French born Annie Féolde, the first woman to be awarded three Michelin stars in Italy.

Among the delicious dishes was a poached egg blanketed in Alba white truffle served with an Italian cheese fondue.

If Twitter is anything to go by, wineries are already getting into the festive spirit.

The start of December can only mean one thing – the chance to open the first few doors of the Master of Malt whisky advent calendar. Behind door number one was none other than David Beckham’s Haig Club.

Pernod Ricard’s swanky new offices in Chiswick were turned into a winter wonderland for its Christmas bash.

Rather than telling us what we were drinking, we were asked to guess. It transpired that the flappingly fresh first course, sea bream ceviche, was paired with Brancott Estate Sauvignon Gris.

Walking in a winter wonderland

Keen to carry on the party, after the Pernod bash we hoofed it to Copa de Cava in Blackfriars for a tutorial on top drop Gramona led by the estate’s export manager Jenny van Lieshout. Among the food pairings for the Cavas were squid ink risotto, ham and cheese croquetas and pork shoulder with pearl barley.

And finally… Harvey Nichols’ wine and spirits buyer Ivan Dixon (right) is introduced to the joys of Gramona by Copa de Cava’s general manager Rafael da Souza.