For you & your day;
If you’re holding a shindig or 2, how about these deals;
Quality northern Italian wines from Friuli. A smooth, mellow red made from Pinot Noir, plus a bright, crisp Pinot Grigio that punches well above its price point. These wines come in 5 litre boxes and are possibly the best offer this Christmas; working out equivalent to just £5.25 a bottle.
Was £45 – Now £35 (5 litre box)
We still have good stock of the Douglas Green South African duo. A deeply coloured & rich Pinot Cinsaut blend. Or the white is a fresh, zesty Chardonnay Viognier.
6 bottles £35 (can be mixed) or £6.50 each
Gifts for friends & family;
We can gift wrap single bottles , there’s plenty of wine hampers to choose from, stocking fillers in the shape of exotic gin & spirit miniatures and rare Belgian and UK beers.
Miniatures from under a fiver – gifts from £10 – hampers from £20
Plus, why not a voucher? (credit card style, load with any amount you wish)
Gin tasting – Tuesday 5th February 2019 – 6 until 8pm – tickets £25 each
Learn more about gin. The processes. The botanicals. The history.
An introduction to wine by John Greenwold – Tuesday 19th February 2019 – – tickets £20 each
Learn and taste in a relaxed, informal environment with John; know a wine lover who’d love this?
OPENING HOURS
Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd; 11am -9pm
Sunday 23rd; 11am-3pm
Monday 24th; 11am-3pm
We’re back;
Friday 28th & Saturday 29th; 11am-9pm
Among our wide range of beers are a number of modern classics from London brewery Beavertown. Logan Plant (son of Led Zeppelin legend Robert) set the brewery up in the basement of his pub in Hackney back in 2011 and has become one of the key names in modern British brewing. The artwork on their cans are almost worth the asking price alone, but the liquid inside is almost always exceptional. Neck Oil, a 4.3% ABV Session IPA, is one of our best selling beers – and deservedly so.
But with the news that Beavertown has sold a minority share (I’ll take a stab at this and guess that means 49%) to beer giants Heineken, some drinkers have decided that any beer from Beavertown is now off the menu, reaffirming their commitment to true independent brewing. I get that point of view. We all get the final say to where our hard earned cash goes to, and if global titans Heineken aren’t your thing, that’s fine. But Beavertown claim the investment will allow them to build their dream of a new, large, interactive brewery in London called Beaverworld, thus enabling production capabilities to increase hugely. This perhaps will mean that their fantastic beers may soon be available in shops up and down the country. No bad thing. But ‘Big Beer’ strives to retain relevance in a market that continues to move towards independent breweries and more local products; perhaps swallowing up key craft brewers can enable them to shut out others? Who knows. The answer I’m still searching for is ‘who wins?’ – is it big business potentially killing off competition or the small brewer that has the opportunity to present his or her products to a much wider audience?
Last night’s New Wines Tasting was warmly received. With a good crowd in attendance, our new French wines had their first outing. The range from Villa Dria (Gascony) got a few nods – especially the Chardonnay Gros Manseng white blend & the funky, spicy Cabernet Merlot red too. Pleased to see our new Pouilly Fumé from Henry d’Assay selling well. With a £21 shelf price (£15.75 imbibers) everyone saw the value in this treat. We’ve been without a Pouilly for a little while now, but the new arrival seems to have hit the right note.
You know summer is really kicking in when the beers start upping the ‘odd’ factor. Northern Monk from Leeds do it right for a third year in a row with their Neapolitan Ice Cream Pale Ale (yep, that’s right) a creamy 6.2% delight with strawberry, chocolate & vanilla flavours really nicely balanced in the beer. 440ml can, £3.50 each.
