The week in pictures

db’s Lucy Shaw jetted off to Hong Kong this week to embark on an exploration of its restaurants and bars, starting with a stop at Jason Atherton’s Aberdeen Street Social for Jura Chardonnay, flatbreads and fried chicken.

Painting with beetroot, spinach and tomato flavoured butter at Hong Kong’s new high-end Spanish resto Vasco.

Perfume-inspired cocktails are all the rage in Hong Kong. This serve is inspired by Penhaligon’s Vaara scent featuring vodka, Tasmanian honey, rose water, lemongrass and rose syrup.

“Ginphomaniac” bartender Juan, of Gintonería Ping Pong, is on a mission to turn Hong Kong into a city of G&T sippers.

Posing outside Jason Atherton’s Spanish gaff in Hong Kong – Ham & Sherry.

Truffle madness at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong.

Mark de Vere (above) led a seminar on Californian wine in London on Monday this week. Entitled “Then and Now”, de Vere compared longstanding producers such as Robert Mondavi and Ridge Vineyards alongside some of the new players such as Copain and Buccella.

The President of Marqués de Murrieta, Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, was awarded Best Entrepreneur of the Year by Spanish magazine Actualidad Económica at a ceremony in Rioja on 5 March for his work at the iconic Spanish winery. Next year marks a milestone for Murrieta with the release of Castillo Ygay Blanco 1986. There will be a series of events to mark this release, alongside the 2007 Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial.

Back in England, the Queen officially named the new cruise ship Britannia in Southampton on Tuesday using a bottle of English sparkling wine to toast the occasion. Four nebuchadnezzars (the equivalent of 20 bottles) of Wiston Estate Brut NV were commissioned for the naming ceremony, one of which was smashed on the bow to officially launch the ship.

After seven months of preparation Skin Côntact, the UK wine trade’s only charity covers band, finally took the stage at Vinopolis to raise funds for Wine Relief – the wine trade’s fundraising initiative to support Comic Relief. The one-off gig saw 300 tickets and more than 800 raffle tickets sold raising more than £10,000 for the charity.

Waitrose’s Anne Jones impresses the UK wine trade with her powerful singing voice, and Joe Wadsack (below) put in a similarly impressive performance later on at the event.

Diageo announced the first five bartenders to make it through to the UK final of its Reserve World Class bartending competition. Finalists included from London Luca Corradini (American Bar at The Savoy), Tim Laferla (Red Bar at Bam-Bou) and Kyle Wilkinson (Blind Pig). Jon Hughes (Bramble Bar in Edinburgh) and Jamie Jones (No Fixed Abode in Manchester), also made the cut. All five bartenders will proceed to the next stage of the competition held at Drummuir Castle in Scotland this June. An additional five semi-finalists will be announced in April.

The harvest is well underway in New Zealand with workers across the country hard at work in the vineyards, including these pickers at Dog Point Wines in Marlborough. The New Zealand Cellar is collating the action online using the #NZV2015 and via its Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages.

A beautiful sunset over the wine vats at Giesen Wines in Marlborough.

Charlotte Symington alongside some of the last bottles worldwide of Cockburn’s vintage Port from the nineteenth century – including the last ever bottle of the 1863 (pictured below), which was tasted on Tuesday this week in London. Charlotte is the first member of the fifth generation of Symingtons to enter the family business, and now works in London as Port brand manager for the firm at its UK importer and distributor John E Fells. Charlotte is also the first woman to work for the business.

Staff at the Glenturret Distillery, Scotland’s oldest distillery and home of The Famous Grouse Experience, proved they know how to have fun donning the obligatory red noses to host a tasting masterclass on YouTube to raise money for this year’s Comic Relief charity appeal. The tasting was hosted by distillery general manager Stuart Cassells and resident whisky expert Lucy Whitehall. You can watch their shenanigans here. 

(L-R) Bree Louise licensee Craig Douglas pulls a pint with witch girl Bethany Cammack and Moorhouse’s MD David Grant.

The “Pendle Witches” beers of Moorhouse’s Brewery in Lancashire attempted to weave their spell on cask ale enthusiasts in London this week at at showcase event at the Bree Louise Ale, Cider and Pie House in Euston. Managing director David Grant said: “We have seen a real surge in our sales during the past year with our witch ales particularly beguiling the southern drinker as we reach out to publicans round London and the south east.”