The week in pictures

Last weekend, we welcomed 1,500 members of the trade and London’s wine-loving community to our Wine & Spirits Show.

(Photo: CMS)

This week, the Court of Master Sommeliers Australia has announced the results of its Introductory and Certified Examinations.

Some 37 students secured the title of Introductory Sommelier following the exam, with 15 students named as Certified Sommeliers, according to the CMS’ website.

The 2018 Sydney Riedel Certified Sommelier Dux was awarded to Felix Auzou of Dear Saint Eloise.

(Photo: Angelus)

In Bordeaux, Château Angelus fired an extremely early starting gun on this year’s en primeur campaign with the release of its 2018 – at a cheaper price than the 2017 too.

The St Emilion grand cru classé ‘A’ released at €252 per bottle ex-négociant, 8.7% lower than the 2017 was. The average price in London will be around £3,060 for a case of 12.

The second wine, Carillon d’Angelus, was also released at €78 p/b.

Creative agency Impero has launched a new, and very jazzy, campaign for Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club rum.

On Tuesday, vodka brand Grey Goose treated bar-goers to after work drinks at The Wigmore Pub on Regent Street, then gave them an impromptu stand-up comedy performance from comedian, writer and actor, Jack Whitehall.

It was all in aid of Grey Goose’s new “global brand platform” (marketeer speak for ‘new website and brand makeover’), called Live Victoriously.

The new platform, which includes a refreshed website and an advertising partnership with the Guardian, is “an answer to consumers’ demand for more authentic and relatable luxury brands,” according to the spirit label.

A series of adverts with taglines such as ‘Live like your phone doesn’t exist,’ Live like you own the place’ and ‘Live Like the world is your stage’, will also air in the coming weeks on Sky, 4OD and Amazon streaming services.

On Wednesday, db spent the morning at London’s 67 Pall Mall learning about Sauvignon Blanc, and just how important the grape variety has become in the scientific study of terroir.

Jamie Goode and Rebecca Gibb MW gave us a run-down on the most important facts about Sauvignon Blanc plantings, and how it came to be synonymous with New Zealand’s wine industry in just over a quarter of a century.

Next, we were challenged to a blind tasting of New Zealand and Loire expressions, and told to guess which was which.

However, industry veteran Steven Spurrier, sat next to db, revealed said he already knew. “Watch them open the bottles,” he said, “you could see which ones had screwcaps.”

In Elaborate Drawn-Out Marketing news, Danish brewer Carlsberg has launched a new ad campaign, which admits its flagship lager is “probably not the best beer in the world.”

The announcement comes after Carlsberg recently launched a new Danish pilsner in the UK market. According to a survey of 160 lager drinkers in the UK carried out last December, some 59% of people preferred the taste of the new product to the brewer’s current core beer.

The brewery has recruited actor Mads Mikkelsen to head up its new campaign, extolling the premium qualities of Danish pilsners.

(Photo: Diageo)

In other beer news, Diageo-owned Guinness has joined Carlsberg in scrapping the use of plastic rings on its beer cans.

The Diageo-owned brewery’s multi-can packs will be replaced by cardboard packs, which are sustainably sourced, recyclable and fully biodegradable, according to the parent company.

Diageo will also be removing plastic packaging from multipacks of beer products including Harp and Smithwick’s.

What would you rather fight, one horse-sized sausage dog, or 50 sausage dog-sized horses?

“Let’s be having you” (Photo: Persie)

Why do we ask? Well, 50 sausage dogs from across the country were brought  to Persie Distillery (housed in a refurbished stables) to celebrate the launch of Dachshund Gin Liqueur this week.

The stables-turned-distillery in Glenshee, Scotland has teamed up with rescue charity PADS to formulate a family of ‘dog gins’ – with different styles of gin reflecting different breeds.

Persie’s latest expression, Dachshund, is a liqueur made using freshly pressed limes with fruit left over from the distillery’s Zesty Citrus Gin. The distillery said that, much like the noble sausage dog, the expression is “the perfect balance of sweet and sharp.”

It follows the launch of Labrador Gin and Spaniel Gin in 2018.

For each bottle sold, Persie Distillery donates £1 to PADS, in addition to an annual lump sum.