The week in pictures

The annual “Chap Olympiad” took took place in London this week, which saw hundreds of London’s most dapper ladies and gents come together to compete in a series of games and challenges, which included the formation of the “world’s first” human Champagne pyramid, an event sponsored by Charles Heidsieck.

Aude Havret, sponsorship manager at Baron Philippe de Rothschild on The Old Course in St Andrews in Scotland with a bottle of Mouton Cadet, the Official Wine Supplier to The Open which takes place this week. The winner will be awarded the highly coveted Claret Jug Trophy.

(L-R) Glenmorangie Ambassadors Tony Jacklin of England, Sir Nick Faldo of England and Getty Images photographer David Cannon of England (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Glenmorangie Ambassadors Tony Jacklin, Sir Nick Faldo and photographer David Cannon, pose on the Swilcan Bridge ahead of the 144th Open Championship at The Old Course during the Champion Golfers’ Challenge.

Hundreds of members of the wine trade gathered in central London last night for the 32nd International Wine Challenge Awards, the “oscars of the wine trade”, at the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane. Among the night’s big winners were Laithwaites Wine, who were named the IWC Merchant of the Year 2015. This year’s IWC Lifetime Achievement award went to Sylvain Pitiot, the long-standing manager and technical director of the Clos de Tart estate in the village of Morey-St-Denis in Burgundy, while Piper Heidsieck was awarded the IWC 2015 Champion of Champions Award.

Wednesday saw the launch of Humble Grape, a new wine bar and shop in Battersea Rise, Clapham. The bar has a focus on boutique wines sourced from small, “relatively unknown” vineyards across the world, which includes English sparkling wine, organic and biodynamic wine offerings from Spain and the Rhône.

Wines of Argentina’s new metal box bar, made out of an old shipping container, rolled into Manchester this week ahead of the Foodies in Tatton Park Festival. The mobile bar is the centrepiece of a campaign by Wine of Argentina to promote its wines in the UK at various events. This is the first stop on a summer that will see the bar taken to Clapham Common, Edinburgh Festival, Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival and the Rugby World Cup matches.

The mobile bar in all its glory. After its initial activity, the bar will be made available to individual brands and producers, with the intention of it becoming a communal promotional tool for the Argentine wine community.

Villa Conchi was on hand to provide thirsty golfers with a refreshing glass of Cava at the Spain Mercedes Golf Tour 2015, which was sponsored by Spanish wine group Araex. Exported by Araex, the Cava is carried by Matthew Clark in the UK.

We particularly liked Villa Conchi’s rather smart classic car.

From marshmallows with your Veuve Clicquot to nougat with Ruinart and these bite-sized treats with Taittinger, Champagne houses’ work to woo customers with luxurious morsels was on show at a sparkling wine tasting held by Matthew Clark in London. With high end Prosecco and English sparkling wine eroding Champagne’s claim on the coveted house fizz listing, expect the competition to hot up still further.

Wines of Germany have been busy promoting its “31 Days of German Riesling” this month, involving more than 120 of the UK’s top restaurants and retailers to promote the variety. This pair got into the spirit at Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen in St Paul’s in London, sporting the group’s trademark green glasses while watching Wimbledon, with a glass of Riesling of course.

As official Champagne partner to Cowdray Park Polo Club, Louis Roederer hosted guests at a day of top class polo action featuring some of the game’s biggest names for the semi-final of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup.

In between matches, an equally competitive contest took place between the UK Sommelier of the Year, Tanguy Martin of Hotel Terravina, and a small but determined girl armed with a polo stick.

db headed down to the river to test out Soho-based, pan-Indian restaurant Carom’s second summer pop-up. Located near Tower Bridge, its “spice garden” at Butlers Wharf Chophouse has been decked out in a tropical Indian theme, complete with lanterns and a quayside deck. for the summer.

From its privileged position overlooking Tower Bridge, guests were served a selection of cocktail from its menu, which includes the Bombay Spiced Manhattan Regal – made with fresh ginger and cinnamon, and the Masala Chai, created with Tanqueray gin, Assam tea, cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric. Premium Indian brand Kingfisher will also be available on tap.

Guests were treated to a selection of bites from executive Chef Vishnu Natarajan, whose menu includes hand dived king scallops roasted in shell with pepper and chilli, Tandoori salt and chilli spiced corn on the cob and Carom’s signature chicken Biryani. The pop-up will run until the end of September. 

(L-R) Rishi Ahluwalia, Jamie Drummond-Moray, Cameron Humphries, Doug White

Chilean wine producer Viña Casa Silva, official wine sponsor of the Combined Services Polo Association (CSPA), triumphed in The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst charity day’s polo match last week. The team continued its winning streak winning the Hackett Interegimental Finals Day on Sunday, 12 July, at Guards Polo Club.

Back Row: Keith Garson (Packaging & Safety Coordinator), Andy Maddock (Managing Director), Bruce Murray (Engineer). Front Row: Ross O’Hara and Peter Sharp (Caledonian Pilot Brewers).

Caledonian Brewery in Scotland unveiled its new state-of-the-art pilot brewery this week, a small batch brew system that will allow it to expand its repertoire and produce a variety of new beers. The smaller brew runs will enable the brewery to test and develop new and existing recipes without the usual constraints of minimum brew length. The most successful experimental brews being scaled up for wider production in the main Caledonian brewery. The installation follows a 12-month renovation of Caledonian’s core range, led by our flagship beer in Deuchars IPA, Flying Scotsman and Edinburgh Castle.

db’s Lucy Shaw couldn’t resist a fan girl photo after interviewing Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli at the recently opened Locanda Locatelli in Marylebone. During the interview Locatelli spoke of the trauma of a gas explosion at the restaurant days after a £1.2m refurb late last year. Luckily no one was hurt, but he lost £2,000 worth of white truffles in the blast.

db was lucky enough to be invited to M restaurant in the City to try out its new, six-course Dom Pérignon and Volzhenka Beluga tasting menu to celebrate the caviar brand’s arrival in the UK, which kicked off with a glass of DP 2004 that offered an enticing combination of power and elegance.
Then came a refreshing shot of vodka, watermelon and cucumber

Followed by a creamy duo of nutty Native oysters with Champagne foam and pickled samphire

The main event was a deliciously fresh dish of crab, cauliflower and mint prettified with a nasturtium leaf

We were delighted to be invited to the Artesian bar at The Langham hotel this week to road test its new Surrealist-inspired cocktail menu, which took a lot of twists and turns, the most curious being the what and granola-based Join the Colony, served in a giant copper ant.

Inspired by Spanish Surrealist painter Salvador Dalí’s love of long-legged creatures is the Anti Hero, a punchy combination of Tequila, Muscat and gentian, verjus, smoke and blood orange arrived in a giant silver lego elephant.

The Suspended in Time meanwhile, was just that – arriving in a perfume-scented net, Amy Hopkins from our sister title The Spirits Business was asked to slip on the sapphire ring to bring the creation to life.

And finally… Melita Kiely from The Spirits Business was encouraged to drink from the furry cup after being presented with the Your Room or Mine? which included a black fur rim scented with Hermes. Inside the cup was a smooth blend of Glenfiddich 15 Year Old, Becherovka and Pineau de Charantes,