The week in pictures

Ferrari and Alex Borstein at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball (Photo by Matt Harbicht/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

This week in keeping up with Matteo Lunelli, the president of Trentino fizz Ferrari attended the Emmy Awards alongside the stars from the American television industry. Celebrating the sparkler’s fifth year as the official fizz of the awards, Lunelli posed with the likes of actress Alex Borstein, who picked up the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series award for her role The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 

(Photo by Matt Harbicht/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

Lunelli was also on hand to supervise pouring, while he also caught up with comedian, actor and presenter John Oliver who picked up two awards on the night and also received another nomination.

Ferrari and John Oliver at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards Governors Ball (Photo by Matt Harbicht/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

Savile Row Gin brand ambassador and investor David Gandy and Stewart Lee, CEO and founder of Savile Row Gin

Last night, British style icon and entrepreneur, David Gandy helped to launch Savile Row Gin and will now take up the role of its brand ambassador. The new gin brand will launch in retail next month in Fortnum & Mason and online.

The gin is made from 12 botanicals including kumquat with the distillation overseen by master distiller Rob Dorsett of Birmingham’s Langley Distillery.

David Gandy, brand ambassador and investor of Savile Row Gin, commented: “I look to invest in British start-ups that I believe to be of superior quality with inspirational teams. As a lover of gin, Savile Row Gin stood out from the crowd with its smoothness and flavour. I loved the fact it is a quintessentially British product, produced in the UK and curated on one of Britain’s most iconic streets, one that stands for craftsmanship and quality. I’m excited to be part of the team to help expand and grow the brand.”

Simon Cundey, managing director of Henry Poole, Savile Row Gin brand ambassador and investor David Gandy and TV presenter Nick Knowles.

Jose Cuervo hosted is sundowner circus in London in Exchange Square in Broadgate. Featuring acrobatic performances and live music, candy floss Margaritas were on pour and guests were invited to attend a number of cocktail making masterclasses throughout the evening.

The launch of a new gift box for the Pol Roger Brut took place at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s beloved home near Westerham, this week Laurent d’Harcourt (left), president of Champagne Pol Roger, and Tess Costil (middle), the designer, presented Randolph Churchill (right), great grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, with the first magnum gift box.

Costil took inspiration from Churchill’s artwork, a hobby the British statesman discovered at the age of 40. The gift box is based on one of his most famous paintings, ‘The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell’.

Head winemaker of Carmen, Emily Faulconer, was in town, presenting a masterclass at the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. Faulconer talked about the latest developments in Carmen in the sub region of Alto Jahuel and attendees tasted two vintages of top drop Carmen Gold – the 2015 and rare 1999 – side by side. Faulconer also discussed the winery’s latest project, Carmen DO, which sees it work with growers with old vineyards to shine a spotlight on underrated grape varieties.

db‘s Lucy Shaw was in the Languedoc last weekend to take part in the harvest with one of the region’s pioneers, Gérard Bertrand. Here she caught up with Vanina who helps plough the soil in the producer’s biodynamically-farmed Clos d’Ora vineyard.

Fine wine editor Rupert Millar was out at Quinta do Noval in the Douro this week to catch the beginning of the harvest. No trip to the Douro is complete without a few obligatory snaps of the ever-inspiring views.

The slow and steady tread of the team has matched the pace of the harvest so far but things are expected to speed up considerably next week. Rupert and his fellow visitors got in to help tread in one of the lagares at the end of the evening but despite their best efforts it seems the winemaker, Ausenda, thought that particular batch was more likely LBV-level than vintage.

This week it was announced that Richard, Oliver and Gregory Gladwin, the trio behind The Shed in Notting Hill and Rabbit in Chelsea, are to open their first West End site, Sussex, in Soho next month.

Named after the county they grew up in, Sussex will celebrate produce from the south-east English countryside where the boys help run their family farm, Ashurst Wood, and vineyard, Nutbourne.

In keeping with the Gladwin’s farm to fork philosophy, ingredients will be sourced directly from the family farm and local suppliers, while the wines will hail from Nutbourne alongside small grower drops from around the world.

In addition to artisan wines, Sussex will serve craft beer and seasonal cocktails.

A man who held up a joke sign asking for beer money has now raise over US$1 million for charity. Iowa State fan Carson King held up the sign which directed viewers to his account with mobile payment service Venmo, during a match on 14 September between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones.

Within hours of the broadcast, King had received over 2,000 notifications from his account. He has said he will donate the funds to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

This week in Champagne people moves it was announced that Laurent Fresnet, formerly the cellar master at Champagne Henriot, is to move to Champagne Mumm, taking over from Didier Mariotti.

The son of a Champagne grower and winemaker, Fresnet was appointed cellar master at Reims-based Champagne Henriot in 2006.

He will continue in his role at Henriot until the end of this year, moving to Pernod Ricard-owned Mumm in January.

After studying oenology, biology and biochemistry at Reims, Fresnet spent time working in New Zealand, South Africa and Portugal.

Returning to his homeland, he was a winemaker in the south of France for three years before moving back to Champagne to join producer Cazals in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for seven years. Before joining Henriot, he was the director of cooperative La Vigneronne in Vertus.

Christophe Danneaux, vice president of Pernod Ricard’s Champagne division, said: “For nearly 200 years, Maison Mumm has a passion for both the quality of its wines and innovation. We are convinced that Laurent Fresnet will perfectly fit into this philosophy.”

Taking place last Saturday, the 2019 Sonoma County Wine Auction raised a record US$6.1 million at La Crema Estate, with all proceeds from the event going to local charities.

The 40-lot auction was co-chaired by Chris Jackson of Jackson Family Estates and E&J Gallo’s Gina Gallo.

Top lot, the Fund-a-Need Paddle Raise, drew US$1,613,000 in donations from $500 to $250,000, and will help build a new Boys & Girls Club in Santa Rosa.

President Olivier Cuvelier and director Jennifer Mathieu, of the Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc, were in London on Thursday at a tasting showcasing wines from the 2017 Official Selection, which has just been announced. On also on pour were wines selected from the previous nine vintages of Crus Bourgeois Official Selections to celebrate 10 years of the system.

Forget the crown jewels, a bottle of saké, believed to be the most expensive bottle brought to the UK, is currently being guarded at London’s Sake no Hana in St James.

Tatenokawa’s 1% Yamada Nishiki, valued at £2,750, is one of just five bottles available in the UK and has been flown into London this week from Tokyo.

The bottle has been transported to the capital ahead of World Sake Day on Tuesday 1 October.

Tobias Bruweiler of the Hakkasan Group, said: “The London Japanese food and drink scene is really thriving. We’ve seen a significant spike in saké – with sales across our five sites going up 10% every year. Saké is a trend that is definitely not going away, and we are seeing more and more people happy to pay for high quality styles.”

JFOODO (Japan Food Product Overseas Promotions Center) is hosting Japan Week, a celebration which takes across London restaurants and bars from 26 September to 5 October.

Don Weaver, president of Napa icon Harlan Estate, came to the US Embassy in London on Thursday this week to present two vintages of the sought-after Cab blend, which were a decade apart (2005 and 2015), at the Collectible California tasting.

The ever-colourful chief winemaker of Yealands, Natalie Christensen, was in London last Friday to introduce her new-look wines. She stopped off at New Zealand House in London where she met New Zealand High Commissioner Sir Jerry Mateparae.