Archives

January 2010

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Happy New Year
Happy New Year to all Club Vino friends. We hope 2010 will be a happy, prosperous and healthy time for you, wherever you are. We'd like to thank you again for all your support throughout 2009. It has been a difficult year, and we're glad that many of you have continued to enjoy our unique range of Vino wines, both direct from us as well as in Geoff's Pebblebed Tasting Cellar. Here's to the new year and to happy (and warmer) times ahead.

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Prosecco Bisol sparkling wines now in
Just in time for New Year's Eve celebrations, I've just taken delivery of a fresh shipment of sparkling wines made by our friend Gianluca Bisol in the wine hills of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, north of Venice. There is no shortage of Prosecco washing about these days, but Gianluca's wines, all made entirely from the Bisol family's own grapes, certainly rank among the finest.

Prosecco Bisol Jeio is our most popular sparkling wine; with its soft, appley fruit and creamy character it is just so easy and enjoyable to drink, any time of day or night. Prosecco Bisol Jeio n/v £11.90 (Club Vino price £10.90)

We also have an exciting, brand new wine: Desiderio Jeio Cuvée Rosé, a delightful, beautiful pink sparkler, made, unusually, from the Bisol family's own plantings of Pinot Noir with a little bit of Merlot - in its beautifully dressed bottle, this is a very classy pink sparkler indeed. Desiderio Jeio Cuvée Rosé n/v £12.90 (Club Vino price £11.90)

Finally, we have just a few magnums of Prosecco Bisol Crede, one of the family's 'cru' wines, made from selected Prosecco grapes with a little Pinot Bianco: this is a richer, fuller style of Prosecco, more complex, sophisticated with floral hints underlying a long minerally finish. Prosecco Bisol Crede n/v Magnum £30 (Club Vino price £27)

These three are all great sparkling wines either to celebrate the New Year, or simply to enjoy at time of day, night or year, whenever you feel that drinking bubbles will lend a moment a particular sense exhilaration and excitement.

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Cocktail ideas
If you'd really like to get your New Year's festivities off to a sparkling start, may I suggest two Venetian cocktails for you to try.

Spritz
The Venetian's favorite spritz (pronounced 'sprees') is so easy to make: in a flute or wine glass, add a finger or two of either Campari or non-alcoholic Aperol, then double the amount of Prosecco Bisol Jeio, and then top up with soda water or sparkling water. Garnish with a twist of lemon or orange. This makes a reasonably long aperitivo cocktail, and the bitter of the Campari, the sparkle of the Prosecco, and the twist of citrus seems to add just the right bittersweet note to end of year festivities.

Bellini
Yes, I know, white peaches are not in season at this time of year - that's why, at the Danieli, where they make Bellinis only with fresh seasonal fruit, they will be serving Mimosas instead (Prosecco and freshly squeezed blood orange juice). I've enjoyed Prosecco cocktails made from any variety of fruits throughout the year. But quite frankly, for my taste, nothing can quite match a Bellini.

Therefore, I'm delighted that for parties and special occasions, we've managed to track down a source of pure white peach juice that is really good, convenient to use, and which makes the (almost) perfect Bellini. It's mainly for professional bar and cocktail use, and comes in 1kg foiled wrapped packets with a pouring spout. We have small quantities available at £10 per packet (this amount will be more than sufficient for a large party and can be used to make a variety of different cocktails).

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Vino Kitchen Italian Table dates for January and February
The next Vino Kitchen Italian Table dates are Wednesday January 20th and Wednesday February 24th.

To warm us up in the depths of winter, January's evening will have a Sicilian theme.

Cost for 3-course meal is £15 for Club Vino members and £18.50 for non-members.

If you would like to join us, please book as early as possible (email marc@vino.co.uk or telephone 01392 873778).

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Club Vino and Friends of Pebblebed renewals
The annual renewals for membership of Club Vino and Friends of Pebblebed are now due. Geoff and I hope that you value the benefits of being part of our wine communities. The modest membership fee will quickly be recouped with wine purchases over the coming holidays, and with the members' costs to events such as our Vino Kitchen Italian Table events. Other advantages are the private members tasting and parties that we do from time to time, happenings in the Pebblebed vineyard, and a possible trip in 2010 to the wine country. It has been a few years now since we last made a Club Vino trip to Italy, and should there be sufficient interest, we will be looking to do this in the coming year.

Download the Vino/Pebblebed membership application/renewal form here.

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at our coming events.

Note: For anyone who has joined Club Vino or Friends of Pebblebed in 2009, your membership will be extended until November 2010.

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Happy New Year to all and we look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Marc and Kim