The week in pictures

In honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations this weekend, Pimm’s has made this replica of Buckingham Palace out of jelly, complete with jelly corgis. The metre long wobbly replica weighing 35kg was made with Pimm’s No.1 Cup and Champagne and will take centre stage at The Patron’s Lunch on The Mall on Sunday. It took a team of three jelly artists 200 hours to create the edible landmark from a model of the famous façade, which was turned into a mould.

Spotted on Twitter, Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher with a bottle of Frescobaldi’s Leonia Pomino Brut – an Italian sparkler made in the traditional method hailing form Pomino Bianco DOC in Tuscany.

the drinks business’ panel of expert judges is today tasting through hundreds of sparkling wines as part of its inaugural Global Sparkling Wine Masters – which will judge both sparkling and semi-sparkling wines made in a wide variety of styles from across the world. The team will be sipping sparklers all day at the Cambridge Street Kitchen in Pimlico.

Sogrape’s chief winemaker Luis Sottomayor was in London on Wednesday to present the first UK vertical tasting of the group’s premium Quinta da Leda range from the Douro, which is part of its Casa Ferreirinha brand. The tasting took place at M restaurant in Victoria and included key vintages from Quinta da Leda’s history. Among the bottles on pour was the 1997, which was the first vintage, and the 2014 which is the latest wine and is due for release in October this year.

On Wednesday Bibendum PLB welcomed The Ningxia Delegation from the Ningxia region in China, led by deputy director general Cao Kai Long, to their offices in Primrose Hill. The visit followed Bibendum PLB’s decision to develop its Chinese wine portfolio. Lenz Moser, fifth from the right, is the chief winemaker for the first wines that will be added to the group’s portfolio from Chateau Changyu Moser in Ningxia.

Pascal Prudhomme, managing director of Champagne de Castelnau, presented the brand¹s new expression in London yesterday: a prestige cuvée called Hors Categorie. The Champagne has been launched to mark the house’s centenary this year. Just 3,500 numbered bottles have been made and are now available in France and a number of export markets, including the UK. The blend of Hors Catégorie is 55% Pinot Noir, 28% Pinot Meunier and 17% Chardonnay, selected from 15 base wines from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages.

Jérémie Beyou yesterday won the one-handed transat from New-York to Les Sables d’Olonne in France. Champagne de Castelnau is supporting him and his team.

(L-R) Pascal Vinet, head of patrons, VNF, with Laurent and Catherine Delaunay.

Burgundian négociant Badet Clément celebrated its 20th anniversary last week, which coincided with the official inauguration of its new winery in the village of Monze in the Aude department of the Languedoc-Roussillon. At the event, Badet Clément announced that it would be joining the ‘Club des Entreprises Mécènes du Canal du Midi’ and becoming a patron of the ‘Replanting of the Canal du Midi’ – a programme working to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site from further erosion.

Built in the 17th century, the Canal du Midi links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean, but is currently under threat from a microscopic mushroom which attacks the Plane trees which line its banks and give it its distinct character. Since 2011, over 2,200 trees been planted on the banks of the canal to replace the Plane trees that have had to be chopped down.

“We’ve been welcomed in the Languedoc-Roussillon region with such generosity and acceptance since we first arrived 20 years ago, and we want to return some of this generosity now by playing an active role in the preservation and the promotion of our beautiful adopted region and its rich cultural heritage by supporting this important programme,” said Laurent Delaunay, president of Badet Clément.

db headed down to the official launch of the Bloomsbury Club Bar at the Bloomsbury Hotel in London last week. Set in the literary heart of London, the bar takes inspiration from the 1920’s and 1930’s, with its menu a celebration of the golden age of cocktails featuring a “strong, seductive mix of forgotten classics and innovative new creations”.

Heading up the bar will be bar manager Brian Calleja, formerly of Les Deux Salons, Threadneedle Hotel and L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the bar and restaurant industry. Its signature cocktail will be the Gin and Milk – a blend of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin with full cream and sugar gomme – which is rumoured to have been the late Queen Mother’s favourite drink. The bar will also boast a selection of premium spirits, including over 60 different whiskies from around the world and a cigar menu with drink pairings, provided by the world-renowned importers, Hunters and Frankau.

Named on-trade supplier of the year at this year’s Drinks Business Awards, Liberty Wines’ Piedmont tasting was held in the opulent surroundings of Dartmouth House in Mayfair, and featured wines 50 wines from the 2012 vintage followed by a decadent lunch of truffle ravioli.

Among the producers in attendance was Franco Conterno of Poderi Aldo Conterno, who poured a range of wines from the estate, including top drop Gran Bussia.

Also making a cameo was the ebullient Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra, who treated db to a full tasting of his range, including a refreshing and dangerously drinkable Moscato poured by Liberty’s Regine Lee (left).

Ahead of the final of the UK round of this year’s Diageo World Class competition, finalists and Diageo brand ambassadors descended on mass of the Mondrian hotel on the Southbank to settle their pre-final nerves. The evening began with cocktails at Dandelyan that included a Ketel One Martini with milk vermouth and Don Julio Blanco with heritage citrus, kombu, and sparkling verjus. Proceedings ended on a classical note with a rich, intense Old Fashioned.

After cocktails at Dandelyan, the night carried on with a decadent dinner at Sea Containers restaurant within the Mondrian that included burrata with heirloom tomatoes, kale & cavolo nero salad, roasted sea bream, smoked corn fed chicken and smoked haddock carpaccio.

Scotch whisky producer The Glenlivet launched its new limited edition ‘Cipher’ at Blacks Club Soho. Guests were challenged with finding clues to a combination to “escape the room”. These clues were the first part of the guest’s journey to deciphering the secret tasting notes of The Glenlivet Cipher. Have a go at decoding the tasting notes of the whisky yourself at Cipher.theglenlivet.com.

(L-R) Annabel Keech, Martyna Fiedorczuk, Laurent Lacassagne (Chivas Brothers CEO) and Olivia Perrott

Scotch whisky and premium gin producer Chivas Brothers got into the spirit of National Volunteers Week 2016 by supporting community projects across the UK. The activity formed part of Responsib’ALL Day, a global day of action hosted annually by its parent company Pernod Ricard. Chivas Brothers’ 1,600 employees dedicated thousands of hours to causes by undertaking activities to support and develop their local communities. The focus is on creating or renewing convivial spaces for residents.

“This year, we focused on supporting the communities where we have a presence, helping to create and renew convivial spaces for residents. Responsib’ALL Day has coincided with National Volunteers Week, giving us even more motivation to show our support for a number of fantastic local projects,” said Laurent Lacassagne, chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers.

Cuban bartender Amaury Cepeda, from Taberna Yayabu Bar in Cuba, picked up the coveted champion’s trophy at the 11th biannual Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix, one of the longest running and largest cocktail-making challenges in the world. Amaury beat bartenders from over 40 countries in a two-day finale in Havana, Cuba, cementing his place as one of the top rum mixologists in the world.

L- R: Peter Prescott, Jo Bradford, Angie Davey and Henrik Riis, director of Eyestorm.

Lutyens Restaurant and Wine Bar hosted a launch event to mark the launch of its continued partnership with contemporary online art gallery, Eyestorm, having commissioned experimental artist Jo Bradford to produce three exclusive “wine-inspired artworks; ‘Elements with Syrah’, ‘Elements with Malbec’ and ‘Elements with Provence Rosé’. Lutyens has been working with Eyestorm to create signed and numbered limited edition prints to be displayed in their Fleet Street restaurant, wine bar and members club since 2013.

Bradford’s three wine-inspired ‘photograms’ were produced in a darkroom by shining light directly onto light sensitive paper without the use of a camera – often referred to as ‘cameraless photography’ or ‘painting with light’.