The week in pictures

The week kicked off to an early start with a visit to the 30th annual NATYS (New Acts of The Year) in London on Sunday. Sponsored by Roberson Wine, the show celebrates new comedy acts all vying to be Top of the Bill.

Previous new acts have gone to become comedy legends, including Russell Brand, Harry Hill and Henning Wehn.  This year, it was the brilliant Sindhi Vee, Rasputin’s Lunchbox (particularly their song about shopping in Aldi), whip-smart Geordie Lauren Patterson, and Rahul Kholi, who went on to win the show – tickled our funny bones (you heard it here first).

Sam Neill and Ben Glover, chair of Pinot Noir NZ 2017 and winemaker at Zephyr in Marlborough.

Pinot Noir NZ 2017, a three day event featuring tastings and talks focusing on “New Zealand’s most compelling red grape variety,” took place this week on the Wellington waterfront, New Zealand. 115 of New Zealand’s Pinot producers made the journey to Wellington, representing 7 of the country’s wine regions.

Speaking before the event, actor and winery owner Sam Neill commented that “it’s wonderful to be back in Wellington for Pinot Noir NZ 2017 – a must for New Zealand’s wine industry and anyone involved in producing, selling or writing about Pinot Noir.”

“I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Pinot affiliated friends from all over the world – always a colourful mix of fellow farmers, aficionados’ and revellers. It’s wine we’re celebrating, so there’s a tendency to have some fun along the way.”

This year’s Millésime Bio took place this week in Marseille, a new location for this year. Founded in 1993 by the winemakers of the trade association Sudvinbio, Millésime Bio is an organic wine trade show featuring 900 estates from 16 countries.

Pictured above are the Vinadeis team, exhibiting both their own wine and also that of several organic producers from the main wine regions of the South of France: Bordeaux, Provence and the Rhône Valley. Also pictured is Robert Eden, CEO of Les Artisans Bio, an organisation that believes the Languedoc is in a position to become a world leader in the production and quality of organic wine.

Luc Belaire kept guests well watered at Grammy-nominated musician Rick Ross’s lavish birthday celebrations. On offer at Ross’s 109-room estate were Belaire’s Rosé and Luxe. The party had a line of vintage and sports cars leading to the entrance, whilst the garden room [pictured] was festooned with florals hanging from the 30 foot ceilings.

The star of the show, however, was the 2018 Ferrari 488 Spider, gifted to Ross by Luc Belaire, his favourite drink brand.

YG, Jeesy, Rick Ross and Usher.

Rick Ross celebrated his birthday with a masquerade ball themed soirée attracting some famous faces including YG, Jeesy, Usher, The Dream, Big Boi, Jeezy, DeJ Loaf, Meek Mill, Wale, Currency and Young Dolph.

Peter Gordon of Providores fame says a few words about Maria José Sevilla at her leaving party on Monday this week, following her decision to step down as director of Foods & Wines from Spain after 17 years.

The event was staged at Iberica in Victoria, where Maria José’s contribution to the development of Spanish wine and food in the UK was celebrated along with her past and present staff of Wines from Spain in London.

Earlier this week db headed over to Lindley Hall in Westminster where Hallgarten Druitt and Novum was holding its annual portfolio tasting. As well as trying some great wines from the likes of Argentine producer Zorzal (its eggcellent Eggo range) and Samantha O’Keefe’s Lismore from South Africa (she was previewing her delicious new Pinot Noir), we spoke at length with Gaia Wines founder Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (pictured left with Konstas Arvanitakis of Alpha Estae) on the subject of volcanic wines.

Paraskevopoulos’s Santorini winery (he also co-owns one in Nemea in northern Greece) produces some of the most distinctive, minerally white wine in the world from the volcanic island’s native Assyrtiko grape. For db‘s special feature on volcanic wines, be sure to check out the March issue of the magazine.

Thursday brought a wonderful claret-based dinner at 3 St James Street in London courtesy of Berry Bros and Saint-Estèphe fourth growth Château Lafon-Rochet. Here estate owner Basile Tesseron poses in front of a vertical of Lafon-Rochet 2006-2016 in Berry Bros’ impressive tasting room.

Accompanying the dinner were, among others, these three charmers – Lafon-Rochet 1955, 1996 and 2009.

To celebrate the success of La La Land, which has been nominated for a record 14 Oscars, Bar 45 at 45 Park Lane has created a cocktail inspired by the film. Dubbed the La La Land 89, to honour the 89th year of the Oscars, the cocktail combines aged rum, red vermouth, cherry liqueur, Italian bitters and elderflower foam. A sprinkling of stardust comes via a fleck of gold leaf placed on top.

Not to be outdone, Erik Lorincz of The American Bar at The Savoy, has also created its own La La Land-inspired tipple. Called City of Stars after one of the songs in the film, it features Grey Goose vodka, mastiha, lemon juice, roasted sunflower honey, egg white and a matcha tea topping.

db headed to Italian newbie Veneta in trendy new dining mecca St James’s Market this week, the latest venture of Simon Mullins, who brought us Salt Yard, Opera Tavern, Dehesa and Ember Yard. Won over by its Venetian charms, you can read our full review here.

Above are some of the standout dishes we enjoyed, including raw red prawns with rosemary and lemon; burrata and ricotta ravioli with porcini and hazelnuts; chicken braised in almond milk with Medjool dates and saffron; and creamy polenta with Parmesan and girolles.

The wines at Veneta shine a light on the north of Italy, taking in Trentino, Alto Adige, Lombardy, Piedmont and the Veneto. Among the delicious drops we tried were a traditional method sparkling Nebbiolo rosé from Piedmont that left us craving sunshine and a picnic blanket, and a breathtakingly beautiful Barbaresco that sang with notes of cherry, raspberry, earth, roses and liquorice.

The decadence continued at seafood shack Bonnie Gull, which has just opened a sister site in Soho to complement the Fitzrovia original. The on-trend site is formed of a long bar, Palomar style, and serves flaggingly fresh seafood like chargrilled Dorset cuttlefish with chilli, garlic and squid ink; and Manx queen scallops with black pudding and green apple. A large chunk of the wines are biodynamic – among our favourites was a salty Grillo from Il Folle.

And finally… we ended the week in style with a Peruvian feast at Casita Andina, the third in Martin Morales’ stable, which also includes Ceviche in Soho and Andina in Shoreditch. The fun kicked off with a wonderfully tart cherry-infused Pisco Sour and nibbles like unctuous pork croquettes, crunchy cassavas chips and a wonderfully textured blood orange salad with lemon and thyme yoghurt.