The week in pictures

Bulldog Gin threw itself into London Cocktail Week last week by hosting a bike polo, with six trade teams taking part. Imbibe magazine’s team came out on top beating Team Campari in a tense final. Anshuman Vohra, founder and CEO of Bulldog, presented the winning team with their prize of three Bulldog branded Brompton Bikes and cocktail kits.

No Bulldog gin event would be complete without its obligatory mascot. The brand was celebrating its Bulldog challenge, which took place during London Cocktail week and featured a bicycle polo tournament open to members of the trade, copious G&Ts and Drizzle’s Reviver cocktails.

Stunt pilot, Richard Goodwin, is claiming a world first after he performed a so-called ‘knife-edge manoeuvre’, which has never been attempted before. He used the wingtips of his Pitts Special plane, which were just feet from the ground, to cut a ribbon tied between two hot air balloons, including Champagne Taittinger’s eye-catching red and yellow balloon. This impressive feat took place at Gloucester Airport.

(L-R) Antonia Romeo, the Consul General, and Frazer Thompson, Chapel Down CEO

English wine producer Chapel Down celebrated its Stateside launch with a party at the residence of the New York British Consul General in New York on. Hosted by Frazer Thompson, Chapel Down CEO, and Antonia Romeo, the Consul General, guests enjoyed Chapel Down Three Graces 2010 against a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. It follows Chapel Down’s announcement last month of a partnership with US-based wine and spirit company, ABCK Corp, with 10,000 bottles planned to be distributed from September until the end of the year.

A match made in wine and meat heaven – this week night Sean Cannon, of Cannon & Cannon, and Wim Truter, Head Winemaker at KWV, joined forces to provide a master class of pairings of British charcuterie with new wines from KWV’s Vinecrafter and Classic Collection ranges for guests at Cannon & Cannon’s headquarters in Borough Market.

Kicking off the week in style we whooshed up The Shard to the Shangri-La hotel for the launch of Cristal 2009. To commemorate the event, the Champagne’s UK agent Maison Marques et Domaines commissioned British new media artist Aphra Shemza, which takes its inspiration from the tiny bubbles found in a glass of Cristal. Housed in a glass box, the work is particularly impressive when viewed from above.

In addition to contemporary art, the launch also featured lashings of Cristal 2009, a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, which charmed with notes of honeysuckle and hazelnuts. Built to last, it also delivers immediate pleasure now, making it hard for collectors to patiently wait for it to hits its peak.

And that wasn’t enough excitement, the Cristal launch coincided with the unveiling of a shiny new wine wall at the Shangri-La balancing bottles of Cristal cocooned in their renowned orange wrappers.

The following day we got our high altitude Champagne fix on the 45th floor of the Heron Tower at fusion restaurant Sushisamba where we were greeted by an ebullient Alice Paillard, the youngest daughter of Bruno Paillard, founder of his eponymous Champagne brand. db was gutted to discover that we left the restaurant moment before Justin Bieber arrived with his entourage.

During the evening we slurped our way through a number of sparklers in the Paillard range, including Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée disgorged last October and served in magnum, which paired wonderfully with the fusion food. Our standout wine of the night however was the recently released 2006 Blanc de Blancs, which showed surprising power and body for a Chardonnay solo act.

Among the dishes we devoured at Sushisamba were (left-right): kanpachi tiradito with yuzu and truffle oil; tuna pomegranate leche de tigre; crispy yellowtail taquitos with avocado and shichimi mayo; and moqueca mista, a creamy coconut broth of jumbo shrimp, sea bass, mussels and clams.

Sushisamba’s signature fiery tree on an icy night