The week in pictures

Cointreau announced Francesco Rossetto’s “Incointreauvertible Fizz” as the winning serve of its recent competition to re-create the Cointreau Fizz which was first sited in Jean Lupoiu’s Cocktails Book 1948. Held at the iconic Rivoli Bar at The Ritz, Rossetto picked up the prize, which includes a trip to Angers in France, the home of Cointreau. His cocktail will also feature on the Rivoli’s menu from 1 March.

Scotland’s “first craft beer and curry bar” was launched in Edinburgh this week offering a menu of 10 craft keg beers, three craft cask beers, over 20 bottled craft beers and 21 contemporary Indian dishes. A craft beer destination “with a twist”, VDeep is a partnership partnership between celebrity chef, comedian and 2009 runner-up on Celebrity Master Chef Hardeep Singh Kohli and the team behind the craft beer kitchen Vintage Leith.

db popped down to plush Peruvian restaurant Coya on Wednesday for the re-launch of its basement Pisco bar. Serves included the La Capitàna, made with barrel aged Pisco 1615 Quebranta with cinnamon and orange infused with Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters, and the Mescalita, comprised Del Maguey Cream de Mezcal, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, lime juice, pineapple, agave nectar and Creole bitters. A section of the restaurant’s new cocktail menu is titled “Espirito de Pisco” which showcases its pisco-based drinks.

A collection of senior buyers from around the world gathered in Paris last week to taste entries for this year’s tasting of Vin de France wines, organised by ANIVIN de France. Created in 2010, this year has seen the category embraced by a number of major French producers, including Gerard Bertrand and Boisset.

With its flexibility for blends across different grape varieties, regions and even vintages, Vin de France also permits some creative branding such as this medal winning Sauvignon Blanc.

Kiara Scott, Logan Jooste, Wade Sander, Mahalia Matshete, Clayton Christians, Rudger van Wyk, Ricardo Cloete & Rose Kruger

The Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme has enrolled its first viticulture intern alongside three new winemaking protégés for 2015. A mentorship scheme for upcoming winemakers, this year’s intake brings the total number of interns who have participated in the programme since its inception in 2006 to 17. Four protégés who completed the programme at the end of last year have all started their careers as assistant winemakers at prominent cellars. Heinrich Kulsen has joined Nederburg; Philani Shongwe works at Springfontein near Stanford; Thornton Pillay joined the KWV cellar in Paarl; and Chandre Petersen is at Spier in Stellenbosch.

Fortnum & Mason has opened its Champagne Bar at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, next door to the group’s store which opened in October last year. High-flying travellers will be able to sample a range of fresh, seasonal food and drink including charcuterie plates, hams, caviars and smoked salmon, alongside an extensive collection of Champagnes, wines and sherries.

The Zaha Hadid designed Magazine restaurant at the Serpentine Gallery played host to an eye-opening dinner on Monday night showcasing the talent of five of Austria’s rising star chefs in a bid to prove there is far more to Austrian cuisine than wiener schnitzel and Sacher-torte.

But man cannot live on food alone, so the five different dishes were paired with a quintet of Austrian wines from some of the country’s standout producers, including a punchy, perfumed St. Laurent from Weingut Grassl, presented by winemaker Philipp Grassl, which tasted like the love child of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Rhône Syrah.

The standout dish of the night for us was this intricate starter combining Alpine char, a sourdough croquant, Kamtal verjus, samphire and horseradish.

The David and Goliath of Austrian wine – Willi Klinger, managing director of the Austrian Wine board and Bernhard Ott of Weingut Ott discuss Ott’s 2009 Gruner Veltliner.

The wine was paired with baked fennel served with caviar and “glacial ice”.

London’s first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Tamarind in Mayfair, launched its first ever tasting menu this week. The six-coure Taste of Tamarind takes diners on a tour of northwest India, which is known for its lighter touch than the spicy south and creamy flavours.

The evening kicked off with a street food favourite, Chana Chaat, which combines chickpeas with yoghurt, cumin, coriander and tamarind sauce.

Giusti export director Sebastiano Bonomo pours the producer’s Brut Prosecco from DOCG Asolo alongside its flagship Umberto I Merlot-Cab red blend at the Vinoteca Italian wine tasting at London’s Ironmongers’ Hall on Wednesday.