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Week in pictures: 16 – 22 March
This week saw Patrick Schmitt MW attend the launch of the Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, Louis Thomas with Umani Ronchi, Arabella Mileham with Miraval and The Wine Society, and Oz Clarke at Santa Rita.
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot’s La Grande Dame Rosé 2015, a colourful tribute to the pioneering spirit of Madame Clicquot, the ‘Grande Dame’ of Champagne was launched this week with db editor-in-chief Patrick Schmitt MW attending the event.
Featuring a blend of 90% of Pinot Noir and 10% of Chardonnay, the 2015 vintage is finished with 13% Pinot Noir red wine coming from the historical parcel ‘Clos Colin’ located in Bouzy.
Santa Rita
Wine writer and broadcaster Oz Clarke visited one of the Petite Sirah vines at the Vina Santa Rita vineyard, Alto Maipo, Chile during a recent trip.
Miraval
Arabella Mileham attended a tasting encompassing all the rosé wines of Famille Perrin. The event included La Vieille Ferme, to the Grande Marque Provence rosé wines, and showcased the two new cuvees from the rosé Champagne house, Champagne Fleur de Miraval.
It was integrated with The Art of Rosé – exhibiting art from a collaboration with UAL and combining the wines with indivdually created installations relating to each.
The Wine Society
Arabella Mileham also attended the spring and summer tasting of the Wine Society at 67 Pall Mall included the second tranche of its Generation series.
Umani Ronchi
Louis Thomas joined a tasting of Umani Ronchi’s Verdicchio with CEO Michele Bernetti at Mount Street Restaurant.
During two verticals, one consisting of Umani Ronchi’s Plenio and another of its Vecchie Vigne, the ageing potential of this fresh white variety was explored.
Italicus
Italian aperitivo brand, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto announced Brandon Stead from 45 West Gin and Cocktail Bar in Leicester as the UK winner of its Aperitivo Challenge.
Stead has secured a spot in the upcoming final in Rome, where he will compete for the global title and a trip and mentorship with Cafe La Trova by Julio Cabrera in Miami.
Brandon’s winning creation ‘Vincent and Gallo’ stunned judges with a combination of Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, homemade clarified sunflower seed orgeat, IPA, soda, and Absinthe.
Brandon Stead tells the story behind the inspiration of his artistic cocktail, stating: “I was inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s sunflowers and their connection to Italy, the beauty of nature, and believing in your work, despite what those around you are doing or saying. I loved how sunflowers rise and set with the sun, in much the same way Italicus starts with the morning harvest of Bergamot and ends in the bottle, labelled with the colour of Italian sunsets.
“Once I started making the connections between sunflowers and Italicus the cocktail just fell into place, and I couldn’t be happier with how it came out.”
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