The week in pictures

New Zealand winery Invivo has won the support of UK chat show host Graham Norton – who has become on of the first to invest in its crowdfunding equity initiative to raise NZD$2million to fund the winery’s further growth. Since launching in 2008, Invivo has become one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing wine brands with Norton known to be a fan of its Sauvignon Blanc, routinely sipping a glass while hosting the Graham Norton Show.

(R-L) Ian Ward, commercial marketing manager, Genevieve Upton, NPD manager, and Simon Yates, assistant head brewer at Banks’s Brewery

Journalists piled into the White Horse in Parson’s Green in London on Wednesday to get a taste of Marston’s 2015 Revisionist and Single Hop ranges. The Revisionist range features new and exotic flavours including a ruby liquorice smoked beer, juniper pale ale and Sardinian bock.

Matthew Clark hosted its annual tasting at Tobacco Dock in east London this week Matthew Clark #WhyWeLoveWine. The event included a new “Generator Bar”, styled to look like a bar, where on-trade experts were on hand to give tips on building a commercial wine list. Masterclasses were hosted by the likes of Adam Pawlowski MS of Northcote Hotel and MW duo Peter Richards and Susie Barrie.

Diana Molè receiving her award. Credit: Teixeira William

Artist Diana Molè took home the top prize in a competition to design a label for a bottle of Bisol Prosecco, in partnership with the Affordable Art Fair in Milan. Molé’s design was chosen out of 300 entrants and will be featured on Bisol’s Talento Spumante Metodo Classico Brut.

The wine critic and founder of the Wine Advocat Robert Parker, and Eduardo Chadwick, President and owner of Vinea Sena at the Saatchi Gallery.

Eduardo Chardwick poses for a snap with wine critic Robert Parker at the Wine Advocate’s Icon Wines of the World event at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London – which included four vintages from his Sena winery in Chile.

Mark Moriarty from The Culinary Counter crowned UK & Ireland Winner of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 Competition

Mark Moriarty from The Culinary Counter has been named the best emerging chef talent from the UK & Ireland in the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 competition, held at Harrods of London. Moriarty is one of 20 global finalists, whittled down from 3,620 chefs across 191 countries, and will represent the UK & Ireland in the final showdown at Expo Milan in June 2015.

Moriarty’s winning dish of celeriac baked in barley and fermented hay with cured and smoked celeriac impressed the judges, who included Clare Smyth MBE, chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Atul Kochhar, chef patron at Benares, Dan Doherty, executive chef at Duck & Waffle and Oliver Dunne, owner of Bon Appétit.

Javier Ausas, chief winemaker of Vega Sicilia, was in town this week to present the latest vintages of his wines to the trade at an en primeur tasting hosted by Fields, Morris & Verdin. Among the wines on pour was Unico 2007, which Ausas described as a “miracle” due to the difficulty of the weather conditions that year.

 The full fleet at the FMV tasting

We were lucky enough to be invited to Wolfgang Puck’s super swish steakhouse Cut at 45 Park Lane this week to a wine lunch hosted by The Wine Treasury for Daniel Baron, chief winemaker at Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars in California. During the lunch, Baron spoke of a turning of the tide, and that consumers were falling back in love with Merlot after the negative “Sideways effect”.

Among the dishes we were treated to was wagyu sashimi salad with spicy radishes that showed off the silky texture of the meat perfectly.

On the left, Daniel Baron raises a glass with wine writer and educator Peter McCombie MW, which were theatrically poured from snake-thin Riedel decanters. Over lunch, Baron spoke of his belief that the quality of a red wine can be determined by the quality of the grape skins.

Then it was on to diner deluxe Bob Bob Ricard with John Franklin of Mentzendoff to try the recently released 2007 vintage of Ayala Blanc de Blancs, which we had to buzz for, naturally.

The lively, elegant Champagne proved a wonderful companion for a decadent dish of lemon sole goujons, minted peas and French fries.

Foie gras was served disguised as moss-covered rocks at Ametsa in London on Monday to complement a range of top-end Cavas for the “Cava London Experience”. Hosting the event was both chairman of DO Cava, Pedro Bonet Ferrer, and Spanish chef Elena Arzak from Ametsa’s sister restaurant in Spain – San Sebastian’s three Michelin starred Arzak.

Alvaro Palacios (centre) celebrated his Decanter Man of the Year Award last night with a lavish dinner at Mayfair’s Beaumont Hotel, where he treated guests to La Faraona and L’Ermita, both from the 2010 vintage. Alvaro is flanked by his great friend Peter Sisseck, the man behind Dominio de Pingus, and his younger brother, who is also a winemaker, and works for the family business.