Week in pictures

This week featuring the Fine Wine Fair, Rumfest and fooling the police – db style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showtime! After months of planning and preperation, the first-ever Fine Wine Fair finally opened its doors at Chelsea Old Town Hall on Friday, 15 October. A pair of giant nine-foot-tall bottles enticed punters in off the Kings Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside, guests had the chance to try 100s of quality wines from around the globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

db deputy editor Jane Parkinson guides guests through a range of medal winners from our Wine Innovation Awards at the Fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The historic Old Town Hall was a fittingly classy setting for the Fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hall quickly started to fill up on the first evening, with visitors having their fill of quality wines and gourmet nibbles including hams, cheeses and chocolates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wines of Germany stand was particularly popular as punters discovered the joys of Riesling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

db editor Patrick Schmitt gave a seminar on wine investment as the Fair reached its climax on Sunday, 17 October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anne Vallejo runs a crowd through a selection of wines from Marqués de Cáceres at the Fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drinks historian Jared Brown ran a masterclass on Cognac alongside his wife Anastasia Miller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

db‘s editorial assistant Rupert Millar strikes a pose, while marketing director David Hennelly realises that using a Chinese finger trap on himself probably wasn’t the wisest idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Care for a (River)dance? Gabriel Savage, db‘s senior staff writer, channels Michael Flatley as she steps into one of the ornamental shoes on this odd little monument in the town of Laguardia in Rioja, Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Pommery-based frieze by artist Kate Jenkins was displayed in a private viewing on the London Eye to mark the brand’s second year as an official Champagne sponsor of the internationally renowned Frieze Art Fair in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fantastically clear evening in London allowed for some stunning views across the capital.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As night fell, the view became even more spectacular as London’s lights illuminated landmarks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fine Wine Fair wasn’t the only show in town at the weekend. These young ladies representing Dictador at Rumfest at Kensington Olympia employed a fairly straightforward strategy to entice rum-lovers to their stand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

db‘s group commercial manager Bert Cason takes a deep breath before getting stuck into Rumfest, which this year was bigger than ever before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty of exhibitors entered into the Caribbean spirit at Rumfest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dave Broom runs visitors at the El Dorado stand through the brand’s range.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was something of a party atmosphere at this year’s show, featuring live performers and dancers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some visitors went the extra mile to ensure they truly entered into the spirit of the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not the wisest idea: db editor Patrick Schmitt regretted wearing cream trousers when practising his pigeage at Albert Bichot’s Pommard winery in Burgundy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Busby of Bancroft and Bryan Smith of Walker Wodehouse Wines realise they left the map at home on a bike safari through Rioja Alavesa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bodegas Valdivia welcomes the British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman (Jeremy’s brother), along with the new honorary Consul of Great Britain in the province of Cadiz, Lleo Alejandra Cruz-Conde.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team hits the town: db‘s Gabriel Savage sits with her touring party in Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zen master Quentin Sadler prepares to tackle the next dish at Restaurante Amelibia in Laguardia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a thoroughly unusual afternoon courtesy of Grey Goose vodka, guests at 33 Fitzroy Square in London were led on an "immersive theatre" experience that took them to early 20th century Paris, a science lab, and this rather strange room full of wheat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Chivas Regal unveiled designer Christian Lacroix’s version of its 18-year-old bottle at Quo Vadis in Soho, London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l-r Rafael Guilisasti (vice-president of Concha y Toro), Sir Alex Ferguson (manager, Manchester United FC), the President of Chile, Mr Sebastien Pinera and his wife, Cecilia Morel Montes mark the English Premier League club’s new partnership with Chilean wine brand Concha y Toro at London’s Dorchester hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With four passengers crammed onto the back seat, Patrick Schmitt was forced to duck into the footwell when the vehicle passed a police car on the heart of the Côte d’Or.

db, 18.10.2010