The week in pictures

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/Piper Heidsieck)

Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar-winner, was served Piper Heidsieck Champagne as he attended the 88th Annual Academy Awards Governors Ball at Hollywood & Highland Center on Sunday in Hollywood, California.

(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/Piper Heidsieck)

Meanwhile, Alicia Vikander, winner of Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl, sips the Champagne as she waits for her trophy to be engraved.

Wine distributor Bibendum held its London customer tasting in the OXO2 building on the Southbank on Tuesday.

The wine seller reported visitor numbers up by 30% on last year’s event.

Meanwhile, Jenkyn Place in Hampshire this week hosted a trade tasting which included a vertical tasting of their Jenkyn Place Brut Cuvee (2006-2010), with owner Simon Bladon and winemaker Dermot Sugrue (pictured).

Dundee looks set to ride the craft beer wave as planning permission was this week granted to 71 Brewing for the creation of a 2,400L-capacity brewery in the heart of the city.

The architects behind 71 Brewing are Duncan Alexander and Mark Griffiths, and the pair have secured over £650,000 in funding to enable them to convert a 7,200sq ft industrial warehouse on Bellfield Street in the centre into the city’s first brewery for nearly 50 years.

Bellini Canella was officially launched by The Bottle Drinks Company and For The Love of Wine this week.

Guests got to taste Italy’s original bottled Bellini which comes from the Canella property near Venice and is composed of two parts Prosecco, one part fresh white peach juice and a few drops of wild raspberry.

At the Brit Awards last week, wine brand Frontera had a booth with a caricaturist drawing guests in the style of the Lira popular, a Chilean traditional style of art.

A qvevri, a Georgian winemaking vessel, was unveiled as a permanent display at the United Nation’s Geneva headquarters this week.

An example of the large clay pot, which has been used for winemaking in the Caucasian country for thousands of years, was placed in the courtyard of the UN offices to mark the organisation’s 70^th anniversary.

Craft brewer and bar chain Brewdog is accepting grapefruits as currency in its venues to celebrate the launch of its new draught beer.

The Scottish-based company is launching the fruity scheme across its UK bars for today only (Friday 4 March), allowing customers to trade a grapefruit for half of its new Elvis Juice citrus IPA.

Thibault Liger-Belair of Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, and Edouard Parinet of Chateau du Moulin-á-Vent, both located in Beaujolais’ Moulin-à-Vent appellation, travelled to London on Monday to host a tasting with Flint Wines dedicated to exploring the region’s terroir.

The pair presented a vertical tasting of their wines dating back to 2009, with a focus on highlighting the region’s ability to produce aged Beaujolais wines. Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair’s Moulin-á-Vent Les Vignes Centenaires is only made in the best vintages, with just 450 magnums produced. This wine, according to Liger-Belair, should be kept for at least 10 years before drinking. During the tasting Liger-Belair, rather daringly, showcased a 1954 Fleurie, which, despite its advancing years, was surprisingly fresh displaying iron-like mineral notes.

On Monday it was off to The Savoy to test out its latest London-inspired cocktail menu, all of which take inspiration from the city’s lesser-known tales. A highlight was Pickering Place (£50) – a two-drink sharing cocktail named after the last known London site for a duel – which is served alongside a short silent film. Cocktail one, The Elegant, is made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Cocchi Rosa, Campari, lemon juice, egg white, saffron syrup and Champagne, while cocktail two, The Bold, features Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, Fernet Branca Menta, Byrrh, sugar syrup and coffee.

On Tuesday db was whisked away on a whistlestop tour of Pol Roger in Epernay, Champagne. Sadly the weather was not much better than England, as we surveyed Epernay from a chilly vineyard in Aÿ.

Going deep into Pol Roger’s cellars, we were given a rare insight into the world of riddling. Pascal is one of just 12 riddlers in Champagne, and one of four at Pol Roger, who hand turn 50 to 60,000 bottles of Champagne a day to steadily move its sediment to the top of the bottle. While this job is being taken over by mechanical gyro palettes, Pol Roger hopes to keep the tradition alive for as long as possible.

We were particularly entranced by the bottling line’s “dancing bottles”, which proved strangely hypnotic, during a behind-the-scenes tour of Pol Roger’s production facilities. Here, the dosage is being mixed with the just-disgorged Champagne.

Given its longstanding relationship with former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, signs of Pol Roger’s strong connection with the UK, which is its biggest market, are evident through its maison. db was lucky to be able to taste through a selection of its Champagnes, including its blanc de blanc 2008, recently launched 2008 vintage rosé Champagne and flagship Sir Winston Churchill cuvée. 

Perusing its commemorative memorabilia db spied this snapshot of the food and drink served at the wedding reception of the duke and Duchess of Cambridge following their royal wedding in 2011. Pol Roger’s special reserve NV Champagne in magnum was the order of the day, with 25 cases apparently delivered to the palace in secret via black bin liners prior to the big event.