This morning I finally got to do what I have wanted to do for a very long time, and go mushroom foraging in the forest.Â*I findÂ*the philosophy around foraging for food hugely appealingÂ*but it’s alwaysÂ*seemd to be a very closely guarded secret amongst everyone I have ever met that does it.Â* I guess there is a [...]

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I took these pictures when I was in Paris in 2007.Â* I am completely obsessed with bakeries.Â* Any kind of bakery. Bakeries are my all time favourite type of food shop. Whenever I travel I seek out bakeries and can spend hours, or days looking at them (do I need help?). When I was a child [...]

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English & Welsh Wine Of The Year Competition 2010 - Results Announced: Record High For Medals

This year’s English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition results are announced today, with more medals awarded than ever before, acknowledging the consistently high quality of wines and winemaking coming from the UK.

Medals were awarded across the style categories by a judging panel of five Masters of Wine, chaired by Susan McCraith MW. The results reveal the quality of the 2009 vintage, shown particularly in the dry white and still rosé categories. As ever the sparkling wines impressed judges with their consistent quality.

A record number of entries from England and Wales were recorded, acknowledging the larger harvest of last year but also including some new wines and vineyards.

The category that stood out most for the judges was the still rosé section, where 6 Gold medals were awarded (none were gained in the 2009 competition). The hard fought trophy for this category – the Waitrose Rosé Trophy - was won by Camel Valley Fortnum & Mason Rosé 2009. This is the second successive year for Camel Valley in winning this popular award and the third time overall. An additional trophy was awarded from this category – that of for Best Unchaptalised Wine - won by Wickham Vineyard for their Row Ash Rosé NV.

Still dry white wines were a strong category, with the varietal Bacchus taking the lead on the medal board, gaining all but one of the 6 Gold medals, as well as the Trophy for best commercial production from the previous vintage – awarded to Chapel Down Bacchus 2009. The other Gold was awarded to a single varietal Madeleine Angevine, produced by Stanlake Park Wine Estate.

Within the oaked white wine category, all entries gained a medal, with the trophy for best oaked white wine awarded to Wickham Special Reserve Fumé 2009.

Red wines showed great promise this year with more medals awarded in both the Pinot Noir and other varietal categories. This year’s Red Wine Trophy was awarded to Plumpton College’s Sutherland’s Block 2009 Pinot Noir.

The Sparkling wine category proved to be as competitive as ever, with a higher number of Gold medals over last year. Wines from non classic varietal performed well alongside the classic varietal sparklers, and sparkling rosés upheld their strong performance.

The star of the show in the competition is the Gore-Browne Trophy – The Wine of the Year – which was awarded for the second year in a row to Ridgeview Wine Estate, this year for their Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2001, bottled in magnums. The wine also scooped the trophy for Best Sparkling Wine.

Another significant accolade in the competition is the McAlpine Trophy for Winemaker of the Year, awarded for a second time to Sam Lindo of Camel Valley, who first won the title in 2007.

One notable trophy in the competition, the Montagu Trophy, acknowledges a key part of any wine producing business, that of packaging and presentation. For the first time this year, this trophy has been additionally sponsored by Avery Denison, the world’s largest manufacturer of food and drink label materials. After much deliberation the trophy was awarded to Ridgeview’s Grosvenor 2001 Blanc de Blancs (magnums) – not only for the quality of design in the foil and labelling but also for its presentation in hand crafted wooded boxes, adding to the prestige of the wine and reflecting the wine estate’s identity.

There was a triumph for the dessert wine category, with a Gold medal awarded to Eglantine’s North Star 2006, produced from 100% Madeline Angevine, adding to its already impressive Gold medal gained in France in Vinalies earlier this year.

“As a panel we were all very impressed with the quality of this year’s entries,” commented Susan McCraith MW. “We were delighted to award a record number of Gold medals across all the categories. The still rosé category was the highest quality we’ve seen - truly world-class, and the red categories were the best we’ve ever tasted. The dry white wines impressed us greatly, and showed that the aromatic qualities of the grape varieties grown – particularly Bacchus – are a highly successful style here in the UK. There were some real stars in the sparkling wine categories to rival some of the best in the world. My congratulations to all entrants and winners. There is a lot to be proud about.”

Acknowledging the organisation behind the scenes of the competition, Susan added: “I’d like to personally thank Brian Shirley, Chairman of the South West Vineyards Association, and his team for putting on such a well run tasting for us in Shaftesbury. There were a lot of wines to deal with and the two days of judging went very smoothly. I would also like to thank all my fellow judges for their time and effort over the competition.”

The competition is organised by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA). Commenting on this year’s results Sian Liwicki, General Secretary of the UKVA, added: “We were delighted to see such a large number of entries, from long established vineyards and some new names on the UK wine scene too. The large number of awards reflects the quality of our industry’s wines and our growing confidence. My thanks on behalf of the UKVA go to the judges for the expertise and professionalism that they brought to the judging – we are thrilled with the results.”

The official awards ceremony for the competition will take place later in July at the House of Lords, hosted by the President of the United Kingdom Vineyards Association, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.

Trophy winners for 2009:
The Gore-Browne Trophy
The Wine of the Year
Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2001 (magnum)
Winemaker: Michael and Simon Roberts

The Jack Ward Memorial Salver
Best large production wine from the previous year (2009)
Chapel Down Bacchus 2009
Winemaker: Owen Elias

The Wine Guild Trophy
Best wine from any other year (NOT 2009)
(NB: this trophy relates normally to large production (over 1,500l),
although in the case of sweet wines this applies to 500l or more)
Eglantine North Star 2006
Winemaker: Tony Skuriat

The President’s Trophy
Best small production wine (<1,500 litres)
Plumpton College Sutherland’s Block Pinot Noir 2009
Winemaker: Peter Morgan

The Dudley Quirk Memorial Trophy
Best large production wine (over 10,000 litres)
Sharpham Estate Selection 2009
Winemaker: Duncan Schwab

The Vintners’ Trophy
Best sparkling wine
Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2001 (magnum)
Winemaker: Michael and Simon Roberts

The Bernard Theobald Trophy
Best red wine
Plumpton College Sutherland’s Block Pinot Noir 2009
Winemaker: Peter Morgan

The McNie Trophy
Best oaked white wine
Wickham Special Release Fumé 2009
Winemaker: William Biddulph

The McAlpine Winemaker of the Year Trophy
Sam Lindo
Camel Valley Vineyard

The Montagu Trophy (sponsored by Avery Dennison)
The best presented wine
Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2001 (magnum)

The Tom Day Trophy
Best single varietal wine
Eglantine North Star 2006
Winemaker: Tony Skuriat

The Waitrose Rosé Trophy
Best still rosé wine
Camel Valley Fortnum & Mason Rosé 2009
Winemaker: Sam Lindo

The Berwick Trophy
Best large production unchaptalised still wine
Wickham Row Ash Rosé NV
Winemaker: William Biddulph

26 Gold medals
65 Silver medals
92 Bronze medals
23 Highly Commended were awarded
231 entries

The judging panel were: Susan McCraith MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Maggie
McNie MW, David Bird MW and Julian Brind MW.

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Following on from its highly successful pop up wine bar at the Streatham food festival in May, wine importer Hix & Buck is to repeat the exercise at the Streatham Festival, with another Parisienne style pop up wine bar and shop. The one night event will be held at The Festival Shop, 132 Streatham Hill (near the old Megabowl), London SW2 4RS on Thursday 8th July between 4 – 11pm.

Customers will be able to taste, drink by the glass or bottle, or buy for the home Hix & Buck’s exclusive new range of award winning wines. These include the Mas d’Intras Syrah which has just been presented with a 2010 Decanter World Wine Award by a judging panel consisting of more than 50 top sommeliers and Masters of Wine from all over the world. Also on offer will be the Brut Rosé Methode Traditionelle which was served on The F Word and its Sparkling XO Methode Traditionelle made with 1% cognac which was named No.4 on Channel 4’s top 10 Christmas drinks:

channel4.com/food/features/top-10s/top-10-christmas-drinks-09- 11-03_p_4.html

Tickets cost £3 in advance or £5 on the door and include tasting a selection of 2 sparkling wines, 1 white, 1 rose and 1 red.

The head chef of nearby Perfect Blend café/bar/restaurant will be on site serving their Perfect Burgers (beef and vegetarian), freshly prepared by their head chef and barbecued on site at £5.00

Pretty much every day ofÂ*the weekÂ*I eat half a cup of All Bran (low GI) with Skim milk for breakfast.Â* Washed down with green tea.Â* I like the routine and feel lighter and healthier for it. On week ends I may break out into a poached egg on rye toast, and if there is a [...]

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Low alcohol industry says emergency budget is opportunity to give people a reason to drink responsibly.

The Chancellor’s emergency budget is in danger of encouraging people to drink wine with higher levels of alcohol and ignore the less alcoholic
brands.

According to a leading wine industry expert, this month’s budget provides George Osborne with an opportunity to significantly reduce Britain’s
consumption of alcohol – particularly among middle class wine drinkers - and encourage people to drink more responsibly.

That’s according to Tony Dann, a long-time campaigner for low-level alcohol wine consumption and Chairman of Sovio Wines. His company’s analysis of
current UK taxation on alcohol highlights an imbalance in the way wine is taxed.

“The current system allows tax on a unit of alcohol to be lower in wines which have a higher overall alcohol content,” says Dann.

“For example, 7% abv wine is charged twice as much duty per unit of alcohol as 14% abv wine.

“This means under the existing tax regime, there is no financial incentive for consumers to buy lower alcohol wine.”

Dann says any plans by the Chancellor to change tax on alcoholic drinks in his budget presents a huge opportunity to raise revenue and create a more
responsible drinking culture in this country.

Dann is writing to the Chancellor urging him introduce a fairer system of tax on alcohol allowing Brits the opportunity to pay less for lower-alcohol
wine.

According to Dann, although excessive consumption of alcohol is a problem in the UK there are many people who live in a wine drinking culture who are
demanding their favourite wines but with lower alcohol content. The levels of alcohol in wine has been steadily increasing for the past three decades.

Dann says it is all about finding ways to make levels increase choice not diminish it.

“Most people do not change their behaviour because they are told it’s good for them,” says Dann. “They need an incentive, and here’s a golden
opportunity for the government to provide that incentive by altering tax levels in favour at low-alcohol options.”

Sovio Wines produces a full flavoured, reduced alcohol lighter style wine and its best seller, which is available through the Tesco supermarket
chain, is Sovio Sparkling White Zinfandel, a 5.5% abv wine which does in fact benefit from a duty break.

:plate: :wine:

Komati Foods on Lower Main Road in Observatory have been around for a while and seriously haveÂ*the best nuts in town.Â* All the nuts are sourced fromÂ*top suppliers and roasted on the premises.Â* You can choose to buy them raw or roasted and in different pack sizes, sugar, yoghurt or wasabi coated. We are talking [...]

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Sebastien Robuchon, nephew of Joël Robuchon, the man described as “The Chef of the Century” has just celebrated his first year running the kitchens at Pantai Lima Estate, Bali.

Robuchon specialises in French cooking and “cuisine actuelle”, as well as contemporary Asian fusion.

Before joining Pantai Lima in May 2009, he worked in Montreal, the capital of francophone Canada.

He spent his apprenticeship working at his uncle’s side and has continued a close relationship with the dishes that have made the Robuchon name famous among the cognoscenti.

During his first year at Pantai Lima, Robuchon created, inter alia, "tarte au chocolat", the famous chocolate tart that is now his signature dish, mushroom cappuccino and also his own version of the Nasi Goreng, a famous Indonesian dish.

Sebastien Robuchon’s arrival at Pantai Lima brought additional lustre to a property that has rapidly gained the reputation for being the best of the best in Bali ultra luxury beachfront villas.

Pantai Lima is an exclusive estate of super luxury villas built right on the Bali beachfront at Pererenan, an unspoiled fishing community, a short drive north of Seminyak, Bali’s centre of sophisticated shopping, restaurants and nightlife.

Each of Pantai Lima’s five luxury beachfront villas – Waringin, Melissa, Sound of the Sea, Ambra, and Mary – is individually architecturally-designed and completely different one-from-another.

They are all truly spacious, beautifully appointed and completely private. Gardens and pools are satisfyingly vast.

A delicious mix of food and travel await visitors to next week’s Taste of London festival (June 17-20) as a corner of Regent’s Park is enveloped by distinctly Welsh flavours.

Wales is the ideal destination for food loving travellers, with accommodation and menus to suit every pocket and palate, and this
irresistible blend will be highlighted during the four day event – London’s largest restaurant festival and which features some of the capital’s top restaurants, celebrity chefs, and food and drink from across Britain.

Many of the food and drink producers featured on the Welsh Assembly Government’s Wales the True Taste stand have close links with tourism, combining delectable dishes with visitor attractions, cafés, restaurants, or accommodation.

Indeed Rhossilli Bay on the Gower Peninsular has just been voted the Best UK Beach and recently Best Picnic Spot in the UK by the British Guild of Travel Writers as part of Red Tractor Week, and is home to the highly popular True Taste Award-winning Gower Cottage Brownies.

Among the Welsh producers taking part which has a tourism link is the Blaenafon Cheddar Company Ltd, which combines award-winning cheesemaking with food tours. Last year the company, which is situated in a World heritage Site and whose Pwll Mawr cheese is matured at the bottom of the mine shaft at the Big Pit Museum, won a silver Wales the True Taste Food & Drink Award in the Food Tourism Destination category.

True Taste Award-winning Denbighshire yogurt producer, Llaeth y Llan – the Village Dairy – which is celebrating 25 years in business will be promoting its yogurts as well as farmstay holidays.

Also exhibiting its producer and tourism credentials will be award-winning Monmouthshire vineyard Ancre Hill Estates which produces a range of wines and conducts vineyard tours; and the Welsh Cider & Perry Society which will be highlighting producers and festivals.

The Welsh companies featured during the four days are drawn from some of the most beautiful and historic parts of Wales. The ancient North Wales coastal town of Abergele is home to another True Taste winner, The Pudding Compartment; while on Anglesey can be found toffee vodka producer, Toffoc.

Elwy Valley Lamb, another True Taste winner and supplier to a number of top London restaurants, is located near the historic castle town of Denbigh and close to the town of St Asaph and its cathedral.

Organic milk co-operative and True Taste winner Calon Wen, draws its membership from farms across Wales, and multiple True Taste Award-winning cheese producer Caws Cenarth situated near the famous Cenarth waterfalls has a visitor centre and café.

Visitors to the Wales the True Taste stand at Taste of London will be invited to test their foodie credentials and knowledge of Welsh food and tourism with the interactive True Taste Trivia Quiz.

Held at regular intervals each day, the Quiz includes blind tastings, pictures and props with each winner receiving a copy of Colin Pressdee’s ‘Food Wales – An Eating Out Guide’. Also, at the end of the four days the names of each day’s the top scorer will be placed in a draw, with the chance for one to win a weekend stay at the Welsh Rarebits hotel of their choice.