DIARY DATE LIWSF 2009 Highlights: Mission Murano

Last year thanks to the desperate ratings battle between Channel 9 and Channel 7, millions of Australians got to see GR on the telly practically every week - if not twice in time-lapse shift on two channels - so I was determined on my next trip to London to see if the taste lived up to the hype - hence Mission Murano with a mate last week during LIWSF.

Opened in 2008 Murano is a fine-dining Italian restaurant in the heart of London's Mayfair. A classically tailored interior features magnificent painted fresco and traditional blown glasswork light fittings in the Murano style setting the tone for modern cuisine with an Italian accent(reflecting the family roots of its Chef Patron Angela Hartnett) as well as all the trimmings you expect in a Gordon Ramsay establishment.

In recent years, Angela Hartnett has emerged as one of Britain’s most successful, best-loved and busiest chefs. After launching Gordon Ramsay’s Amaryllis in Scotland in 2001 and Verre by Gordon Ramsay in Dubai, she returned to England to launch Menu and The Grill Room at The Connaught in 2002. Her efforts were formally recognised in 2004 with the award of her first Michelin Star. Awarded an MBE for her service to the hospitality industry in 2007, she also opened a Florida outpost Cielo by Angela Hartnett in the Boca Raton resort in Miami, published her first book and starred in her own TV series on BBC 2 in the same twelve month period.

So much for the backstory what about the food?

Stunning, subtle, sublime or heaven on a plate just about sums it up...

Salad of scallops, celeriac purée, pickled rhubarb and Joselito ham just melted in the mouth and the signature starter: Quail agnolotti, white onion purée, braising juices, grilled foie gras was a pure symphony of colour, movement and substance for both eyes and palate. Both dishes were highlighted by the complexity of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne.

Having a bit of a sweet tooth I couldn't resist a pudding and the pistachio souffle with with warm chocolate sauce and macaroon did not disappoint. I have to confess I was persuaded to sample a grappa with my petits fours(just one of the delightful little extras thrown in!) and that was a definite mistake but somehow I fitted it all in without feeling "heavy" so I have to give this place 10 out of 10 - my favourite bits- the combination of a discreet ordinary exterior to the restaurant with floor to ceiling glass en route to the toilets - and the fact that GR lets the food do the talking not the front door - go Gordon!

DIARY DATE LIWSF 2009 Highlights: Leading Lady of Champagne celebrates 150th anniversary with cork free Champagne

First ever female to be elected Chairman of the Association Viticole Champenoise, and the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Commander of the "Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne" Champenoise by adoption(Belgian by birth) Carol Duval Leroy from Vertus, really is quite a trail blazer and the epitome of a modern day Mme Veuve Clicquot.

Carol first took the reins of Duval Leroy in 1991 after the sudden death of her husband in order to perpetuate the family business and hand it down in good health to her three children. She has since managed to successfully develop the firm into one of the biggest 100% family owned houses in Champagne - with export business representing 60% of sales and the brand present in more than 50 countries.

Innovation and education are core philosophies for this house - they produce an amazingly diverse range of Champagne styles from specific small parcels sites such as Cumieres and Clos Des Bouveries. Duval-Leroy Champagnes work closely with leading chefs and sommeliers to educate the trade and support young talent through initiatives such as "Dessert of the Year" and the trophy for "Best Young Sommelier". LIWSF 2009 witnessed the launch of their latest initiative - a tailor made opening system specifically adapted to Champagne which manages to retain the symbolic popping sound on opening. This rather non pc method of opening a bottle of Champagne combines two key benefits: easy no fuss/no danger opening and 0% risk of cork taint. Back in 2000 wine drinkers didn't want to accept metal screw caps - Duval Leroy may just be ahead of the curve on this one... Go Carol!

DIARY DATE LIWSF 2009 Highlights: Bright lights, bikinis...its Brazilian bubbles!

A trip to the most significant trade tasting event in the world's wine calendar (London International Wine Fair) is always a great opportunity to open your eyes to new wonders  - even if your speciality is just to focus on the sparkling side of life.

At this year's event at Excel I thoroughly enjoyed tasting many boutique cavas and proseccos dotted around the exhibition hall, as well as tiny production family Champagnes from the Marne Valley. England took out more than 20 awards in this year's international wine competition and relative sparkling newcomer Camel Valley in Cornwall won a gold medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards - so I can't wait to sample more British bubbles for myself during English Wine Week(24th May - 1st June)

However much to my surprise, my favourite find of this year's show was a stunning family of sparklers from BRAZIL by Vinicola Geisse. Made in the traditional methode champenoise style from chardonnay and pinot noir this trio of bubbles demonstrated attractive tropical aromas on the nose and lashings of fruit with finely balanced acidity on the palate.

Company founder Mario Geisse is a well known award winning agronomist and enologist who first came to Brazil from Chile in 1976 to set up business for Moet & Chandon. He soon saw the potential for sparkling wines in the region and is currently involved in South America's first study of micro terroir. 

Wine production started in Brazil as early as 1875 when Italian immigrants settled in the most southerly state, Rio Grande do Sul, just north of the border with Uruguay, but the industry really got going in the mid 80s. Vinicola Geisse is situated in the Pinto Bandeira region in the district of Bento Goncalves. Cave Giesse Brut (70% chardonnay/30% pinot noir, 2 yrs on lees) won a gold medal for sparkling wine a Vinalies France 2009.

My personal favourite amongst the Brazilian cuvees on show was the sleek and feminine Cave Giesse Rose Brut(100% pinot noir aged 3 years, 8gml). This wine showed persistent intense small bubbles, fabulous red summer fruits and well balanced lingering acidity. FYI Cave Giesse is currently looking for a UK importer.

Champagne market carnage but British entrepreneurship still sparkles

Since January more than 280,000 people in Britain have lost their jobs - the biggest rise in 28 years - which has sent unemployment soaring to 2.2 million (worst unemployment figure since 1996). So its not surprising that Champagne shipments to the UK fell 50% in January and February,  however industry leaders are confident Britain will remain the world's no 1 market for Champagne.

One young British entrepreneur - a second year undergraduate studying geography at Exeter University who started his first business at age 17, recently branched out into Champagne and he's already doing his bit to prove that you can grow a new business during the credit crunch.

Tom Ellis, 20, is the sole UK importer of Cote Des Blancs Grower Champagne House Leroux Mineau. Vineyards are spread across Oger, Mesnil Sur Oger, Avize, Bergeres, Vertus & Grauves and Tom's battle cry is "Grand Cru Champagne at credit crunch prices". He's just launched a website www.lmchampagne.co.uk in time for the summer season and expects to treble Champagne shipments by 2010.

“Grand Cru represents exclusive quality as only 8% of all Champagnes can classify themselves as Grand Cru. There are only 17 villages that exist where the soil and climate is capable of producing grapes that can produce Grand Cru Champagne. I saw this as an opportunity to bring the finest Champagne to the UK market at the best possible prices, direct to my customers’ door. With Leroux-Mineau I can do exactly that”

London to toast opening of 2012 Olympics with its very own wine

London's first commercial vineyard since medieval times was hand planted last week with 1,500 Bacchus vines located Forty Hall Organic Farm in the London borough of Enfield.

'Bacchus is ideally suited to cool climate wine production and produces a crisp, light white wine with Sauvignon characteristics of gooseberry and fresh grass. It's a perfect wine for summer picnics,' said Sarah Vaughan-Roberts, the vineyard manager. Vaughan-Roberts hopes that the free-draining, gravelly soil at Forty Hall will become the 'terroir' of London wines.

Forty Hall will be a range of still and sparkling wines sold directly to consumers within a ten mile radius of the vineyard and all profits will go towards promoting sustainable urban agriculture in the local area.

For just £25 you can sponsor a vine and in return get a free bottle from the first vintage!

UK Winery of the Year Nyetimber's British Bubbles served to VIPs at G20 summit

Yesterday there was a very special Sunday Lunch courtesy of Kim and Andrew in Sydney, so I just had to crack open one of my few remaining bottles of Nyetimber classic cuvee 1996 thats been hiding deep in my cellar...

Masters of wine Serena Sutcliffe and Jancis Robinson have both raved about this particular English rose:100% methode Champenoise Chardonnay from the rolling hills of Sussex, which according to reputable sources such as The Guardian, The Daily Mail and Which? Magazine has been known to beat the real French Champagne in blind taste offs. The Queen served it at her 50th jubilee, Tony Blair loved to show it off at 10 Downing St and most recently it's sibling the 1998 Blanc de Blancs shone at the G20 Summit.

From the heart of the English Downs, Nyetimber continues to build upon its reputation as the premium English sparkling wine to rival Champagne. In recent years Nyetimber has been selectively acquiring additional viticultural land, using meticulous selection criteria to identify sites that could match or exceed the exceptional quality of their existing property. To date Nyetimber has 260 acres planted with the three Champagne varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier creating one of the largest vineyards in the UK. The winemaking team led by Cherie Spriggs continues to uphold the very high standards established from the earliest Nyetimber vintages based on traditional Champagne methods including the ageing of all wines on lees for a minimum of three years and in some cases even longer prior to disgorging. In recognition of this high quality, Nyetimber Classic Cuvée has won the Yarden Trophy at the IWSC for the best sparkling wine in the world on two occasions. Eric Heerema, new owner of Nyetimber is delighted that Nyetimber is listed at leading restaurants, including Le Gavroche, Gordon Ramsay, Petrus, Orrery, Umu, The Ivy and The Dorchester, among many others.

Personally I have been a big fan of this house since I first tasted Nyetimber next to the duck pond with owner Andy Hill in 2004 . So I'm just delighted that I will get a chance to taste the latest vintages from Nyetimber, and other leading British Bubbles such as RidgeView and Camel Valley first hand during English Wine Week at the end of May... Bubbly Blighty here I come!!!