September 2, 2010
 Adam Lechmere


East Sussex winery Ridgeview took the top sparkling wine trophy at last night's Decanter World Wine Awards – to the amazement of its owners.

Ridgeview's Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2006 beat competition from five Champagnes, including the Taittinger Prélude NV, Charles Heidsieck Millésime 2000 and Thienot's Brut Rosé NV to win International Trophy for Sparkling Wine Over £10.

Founder and winemaker Mike Roberts – who had invited his entire staff to the ceremony at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden – told decanter.com they were simply not expecting to win.

'We were looking at it simply as a good night out. We'd won the Regional Trophy and had absolutely no idea we'd got the International.'

During the announcement, Roberts said, he suddenly thought, 'Bloody hell, they're going to mention the Grosvenor next.'

Ridgeview was a popular winner: the two winemakers, Roberts and his son Simon, threaded their way to the stage amidst loud applause.

Decanter's Tastings Director, Christelle Guibert, said this was an incredible home-grown success. 'What a result,' she said. 'As if further proof was ever needed, this unequivocally rubberstamps England's membership to that exclusive club of truly world class, sparkling wine producers. Up against a clutch of Champagne's finest, Ridgeview has produced a stupendous wine that defeated them all. It's a truly remarkable win.'

Ridgeview, a 5.8ha family-run estate in the Sussex Downs, usually makes five different cuvees in any one year, all named after areas of London. As well as its award-winning Grosvenor, recent blends include Bloomsbury, Cavendish, Fitzrovia and Knightsbridge.

Roberts founded Ridgeview with his wife Christine in 1995. Their daughter Tamara, their son Simon and his wife Mardi all work for the winer

Written by Gemma McKenna  
Wednesday, 01 September 20

London wine bar and merchant Vinoteca will open a second site in the capital at the end of October.

Director Charlie Young told Harpers Wine & Spirit that the new outlet in Seymour Place in Marylebone would follow the same format as the existing Farringdon venue.

The Seymour Place venue is around one third bigger than the first site, and will serve 55 covers. Young said: "Initially we had no plans to open more than one site, but people really warmed to the concept, so we saw value in doing another one.”

Vinoteca at Farringdon serves over 25 wines by the glass and over 280 wines by the bottle, all of which are on sale to take home in the wine shop. As at Farringdon, the new site has a private dining room, complete with its own kitchen.

The firm has taken on a 20-year lease at the shell site, and building work has begun inside.
Young said: "We’re pretty good at finding things at good value, and our concept, with its wooden floorbards and furniture, is quite restrained.”

The Kensington Wine Rooms in London is preparing to welcome a bigger sister with the opening of The Fulham Wine Rooms this November.

Due to open its doors on 1 November at 871-873 Fulham Road, this latest venture from co-owners Thor Gudmundsson and Richard Okroj, will be twice the size of its Kensington sibling.

The extra space will see the addition of a private room, available for private parties, tasting sessions and the venue’s own programme of wine courses, which are scheduled to begin straight after the opening.

Since its opening last year, The Kensington Wine Rooms has been at the forefront of a growing UK trend for a serious wines by-the-glass offer. A fleet of Enomatic machines not only facilitates this business model, but is also a central feature in the venue’s interior design.

While the Kensington branch already boasts 40 wines by the glass, The Fulham Wine Rooms will extend this to 48. There will also be slight variations to the wines on offer, as well as the tapas and food menus. Customers will be able to use their wine top-up cards which activate the Enomatic machines at either venue.

Okroj spoke optimistically about the choice of location, observing: "There are very few wine shops in that stretch of Fulham Road so we expect off-trade sales to do very well.”

Contemporary art fans can also enjoy The Fulham Wine Room’s collaboration with London-based Australian artist Rebecca Hossack.

Gabriel Savage, 31.08.2010

Written by Graham Holter  
Thursday, 08 July 2010
 

A new restaurant hopes to persuade diners to trade up to more exclusive wines, served from Enomatic dispensers.

The devices, which are increasingly finding favour with independent merchants like The Sampler in London, allow wine to be kept fresh as it is poured by the glass.

Tony Crolla will open Divino Enoteca in Edinburgh's Grassmarket in August and plans to offer customers up to 200 fine wines from four dispensers, selected by sommelier Sebastiano Ingaliso. Crolla describes the launch as "the most exciting new location for wine lovers in the UK".

He added: "Divino Enoteca will be the first place in Scotland to offer wine lovers the chance to sample some rare wines thanks to the Enomatic technology.

"It means that people who may have always wanted to try a rare vintage, but who have been denied because of the cost of a full bottle or difficulty in sourcing the wine, can now do so."

The restaurant aims to combine contemporary and traditional features, and is set in a building with original oak flooring and stone walls. There is an enclosed courtyard in the style of a summer Italian garden.
A 14-seater wine education room will host tasting sessions and courses, Crolla said.

Written by Laura Clark   
Tuesday, 20 July 2010


The government has confirmed that the Home Office will take over responsibility for the Licensing Act 2003, which regulates the sale of alcohol in England and Wales.

The move shifts responsibility away from the Department for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.

The decision has been expected since the coalition government was reformed and will bring together the responsibilities for tackling alcohol harm. These have been a long standing responsibility of the Home Office and will now incorporate the separate function for ensuring the effective functioning of the Act, which had been the responsibility of DCOMS.

 The Association of Convenience Stores welcomed the move. Chief executive James Lowman said: "For some time now the Home Office has been taking a leading role in alcohol policy, so this merely confirms their primacy in these areas. We have built strong relationships with Home Office ministers and officials and will continue to make the case for a fair licensing system that supports responsible businesses and tackles problem premises."

The government has set out plans to change some of the rules related to alcohol licensing in its Programme for Government document. A consultation is expected on these issues at the end of the month.

Written by Carol Emmas    
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 


UK drinkers are going for quality not quantity, when drinking out, but are trading down at home, according to recent research.

Trade analyst, Datamonitor has found that consumers are refusing to let economic worries influence their favourite tipple when out with family and friends in pubs and restaurants.

In fact the research shows, they'd prefer to drink less of a premium branded drink than risk being seen to trade down. Yet once they're back at home, they're happier to drink lower cost alcohol.

Richard Parker, senior consumer insights analyst at Datamonitor said: "It's typical keeping up with the Jones' behaviour just exaggerated during the recession. In a significant number of cases people are actually trading-up, so rather than drinking two or three bottles of house wine with a meal, they're splurging on one top-end bottle."

As a result, Parker said people will start to trade-up to new products and experiment and the market will see those products that have spent money on innovation do well.

"Although people are sticking with quality, they're drinking less impacting on the bottom-line of the industry. Companies that have introduced offers and cut their prices will struggle to maintain a reputation for being a premium product. As a result people will start to trade-up to new products and experiment. So we can expect to see those products that have spent money on innovation do well."

Written by Carol Emmas   
Tuesday, 18 May 2010


Producers need to be made more aware of wine faults that can occur at the time of bottling, says the global director of NomaSense Business, at enclosures producer Nomacorc.

"Many winemakers and producers blame wine faults on the enclosures, whether that be cork or screwcap," said Olav Aagaard at the LIWF today. "But what is quite often overlooked is the amount of oxygen that is left in the bottle before the bottle is sealed, which can can cause inconsistencies and oxidisation."

Nomacorc has produced an electronic device, called the NomaSense that measures the amount of oxygen contained in each bottle in order to deliver consistant oxygen management across a vintage.

Aagaard added, producers who change from cork to screwcap without proper advice do not realise the implications that changing their packaging may have on the liquid inside.

Written by Carol Emmas   
Monday, 17 May 2010


Research carried out by the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences ISVV, has shown that wine oxidises in plastic bottles after six months.

The study took place after red and white Bordeaux wine, was packed into several different materials and stored in laboratory conditions while researchers analysed the levels of gases contained in the wine, along with its taste and colour intensity at regular intervals over a period of a year.

It revealed that white wines stored in the bag-in-box, single-layer PET and small multi-layer PET showed signs of oxidising after six months. Some initial signs were beginning to emerge in the red wine, but further study is required.

Rémy Ghidossi, lecturer at the ISVV, said: "A lot of contradictory information has been circulating in recent months regarding different packaging solutions suitable for wines. It is now necessary to establish the truth, based on scientific information and quantitative data, to determine the legitimacy of each package, as its main function is to preserve the flavour and characteristics of its content.

Read the full results here.

July 2010


Wine Buyers in the USA can now access bottles of wine from a vending machine that checks the drivers licence, photo and submits you to a breath test. Read full article HERE.