May 15, 2012 | 
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Don’t forget Fathers Day on 17th June this year
Just think how much your dad does for you, how important it is to tell him you love him and how much you appreciate him. What better way that with a beautifully presented gift from our extensive range of wines, beers and spirits.
Maybe he enjoys the occassional treat of a Cuban cigar, or to experiment with cocktails. Come along and see us in good time and we may even be able to get something special in especially for you.
If you’re lost for inspiration then chat to us about your dad and we’ll put our minds to it and see what we can come up with for you.
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We’ve got a great run of events coming up at The Leamington Wine Company. Cast your eyes down this list, click for more details where prompted and see what you fancy – there really is something for everyone here.
Thursday 17th May
Aubrey Allen Summer Preview Evening
6pm to 8.30pm , Victoria House, Leamington Spa
We’ll be at the Aubrey Allen Summer Preview Evening where we’ll be showing wines to go with barbequed foods. There will be Sparkling Wines, Reds and Whites on show, all hand picked by Anita to complement summer foods.
Whether you’re planning a summer of BBQ parties and you’re looking for great value crowd pleasers, or something more refined to accompany some of your more adventurous alfresco ‘fine dining’ summer evenings, we’ll be trying our best to get every base covered.
Aubrey Allen will be showcasing the best of their summer produce and will have a BBQ on the go outside, so it promises to be a great evening. For tickets call 01926 311 208, or pop in to Aubrey Allen (opposite our shop) and they’ll see you right.
Friday 18th May
Informal in store New Zealand tasting
2pm to 6pm at our shop on Warwick Street
James and Harry of Two Rivers and Black Cottage wineries in New Zealand will be popping in to our shop for the afternoon to show some of their terrific wines. We will be sampling Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noirs and others.
Two more likeable fellows you could not hope to meet, their affable nature backed up with a passion for their wines and a deep knowledge of their craft makes them truly captivating company.
Drop in at any time to sample some of their wines and learn more about where they come from and how they are made.
Wednesday 6th June
Wine Club at Oscar’s Bistro
7.30pm onwards, Oscars Bistro, Leamington Spa
Book your table early for this ‘tour de France’ of wines in the relaxed setting of Leamington’s favourite French Restaurant. Our first two Wine Clubs at Oscars have seen us dining in style and enjoying Chilean and New Zealand wines. This third Wine Club meet will see us coming closer to home and returning to one of the classic European arenas.
Matching wines to the menu, we will try and take in as much of France as we can – not necessarily sticking to the obvious (Bordeaux/Burgundy/Rhone) but going slightly off piste perhaps to check out more of the up and coming areas such as the Languedoc for great value, and the Alsace for the resurgent interest their seems to be in some of these more Germanic varietals.
Keep an eye on our website for more details as we have them, or better still sign up to receive copies of our Newsletter and details of tastings straight to your inbox.
Thursday 28th June
Pop up Restaurant and New Zealand Tasting
7pm onwards, at ourT shop on Warwick Street
Our first ‘Pop up Restaurant’ in the shop back in January was a massive success. We convert the shop into a lovely restaurant for up to 16 people. With one beautifully dressed table, an intimate atmosphere and surrounded by the comforting presence of bottles; we promise a relaxed evening of food, wine and good company.
We will be drinking from a selection brought to us by James and Harry of Two Rivers and Black Cottage (see above – 18th May), food will be lovingly prepared and served by those masters of all things tasty, Aubrey Allen, and entertainment – well that will be down to those of us so assembled.
Great for individuals and couples alike. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t know anyone else attending. We gaurentee you’ll all be the best of friends by the time the night is out.
You will need to book early for this event as it is strictly limited numbers and promises to be an absolute blast. If you are not already on our mailing list then get on it now, as full details of this event will be mailed first to our subscribers.
We’ve just finished putting the finishing touches to the list for Friday’s tasting and have it available here for you to download now.
It’s going to be a terrific evening with many new wines and spirits available. We’ve found some lovely new producers in Chile and some fine new Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados.
Remember, there is a raffle in aid of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance with some fabulous prizes. Please bring lots of cash to help support this great cause.
We look forward to seeing you on Friday.
Tickets for our 2012 Spring Tasting are now on sale. At just £20 per ticket and with over 100 wines on show, this will be another spectacular evening for enthusiasts and newcomers alike.
Many of the wines are new to our range, having been sourced after hours of painstaking tasting by Anita and Paul, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
This year we are supporting the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and for all orders placed on the night, we will donate £10 to this great cause.
Tickets are available from our shop on Warwick Street.
Click here for more details or call 01926 888 994.
Come and join us in the beautiful surroundings of one of Leamington’s most impressive Regency buildings for an evening of great food, relaxed company and delicious whisky.
We will be dining in style with a four course meal, to include Haggis, Beef and a whisky based dessert. There will be wine with the main course and a delightful selection of whiskies to sample throughout the evening. More info appearing soon on our website.
Places are limited so snap up your tickets early for what promises to be one of the most relaxed and enjoyable evenings dining in town this season.
M E N U
Amuse Bouche
Cock a Leekie Soup
Starter
Haggis and Neeps
Main Course
Blade of Aubrey’s Beef with Garlic Mash, Seasonal Veg
and a Shallot and Red Wine Sauce
Cheese
Isle of Mull Cheddar
Dessert
Dark Chocolate and Whisky Torte with Drambuie Cream
Coffee and Shortbread
Come and join us in the shop on Saturday 10th December for a wee dram to warm your cockles and gladden your heart.
We will have Stan Reed of Scottish Whisky specialists Gordon and Macphail with us for the afternoon and he will have a few bottles open and available for tasting. Stan will be able to talk you through different types of whisky and answer any questions you may have.
If you’re thinking of buying a whisky as a gift for someone this Christmas then this is definitely a day to pop in and pick the brain of our ‘resident for one afternoon only’ expert.
Nothing formal, no tickets, no charge, no obligation. A smile for Stan, who’s giving up his afternoon, would be welcome but isn’t mandatory.
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With our Christmas tasting coming fast upon us, we are pleased to let you all know that we have finalised and published the tasting list for the evening.
We’ve been working hard on this year’s Christmas Tasting, listening to what you all want at the moment and listening hard to the trade in terms of what is great tasting and great value.
We are really ringing the changes and have put together a very exciting list for tomorrow which we think you are going to love.
We’ve got loads of new goodies in there for you to explore (including a sensational White from Japan, Billi Billi – a cracking Shiraz at great value, and a couple of new sweeties for the season); we have old favourites too but in new vintages and we have some exceptional value offers too.
With just over 24 hours to go, we really wanted to give you sneak preview of the list, so that you can get as excited ahead of tomorrow as we are.
Our November column in Warwickshire Life is all about Whisky. As the nights draw in and the fires are stoked, there is nothing finer to give solace of an evening than a small nip of a decent whisky.
For November’s issue of Warwickshire Life, Anita met up with Jean-Luc Theibault, co-founder of the Whisky Social Network Connosr.com to sample three very different whiskies. You can read all about it here.
Though the Whisky is generally most closely associated with Scotland it is made, both traditionally and more recently, all around the world.
Scottish Whisky, or “Scotch”, comes either as Single Malt or Blended. Single Malt Whiskies are made by a single distiller, using barley which has been germinated, which turns the starch in the grain into sugar, which then provides the necessary energy for fermentation.
Single Malt is aged in barrells, the longer in barrell the more comlex and rich the whisky and (unfortunately) the pricer too. The barrells also impart flavour from the wood and from whatever may have been stored in them previously. Many distillers like to enhance the character of their whiskies by choosing to age it in either Sherry barrells or Port barrells, for example.
Blended Whisky is made from grain whisky (the barley is not malted first) and then blended with a variety of malt whiskies to produce a balanced and consistent product.
As I mentioned, Whisky does not just come from Scotland, most noteabley for us in the UK it is also a very tradional drink in Ireland (where it is spelled Whiskey), where it is grain whiskey all the way.
Jack Daniels and Coke is a very popular pairing, though many who drink it may not realise that they are drinking whisky. American Bourbon has a strong and rich heritage and Jack Daniels is just the tip of the iceberg. There are very strong rules in the American Bourbon Industry, and one of them is that each barrell (or ‘cask’) can only be filled once and not reused. These casks are made from American Oak and once they have been used for Bourbon they often make their way over to the UK where they are prized by some distillers as a choice of Barrell in which to age (or ‘finish’) their own whisky.
More recent additions to the Whisky industry are in Wales withThe Penderyn Distillery, England and The English Whisky Company, India where Amrut is made and Japan whose Hibiki, Yamazaki and Hakushu have all become iconic whiskies.
Our Annual Christmas Tasting will, once again, be a splendid event. Taking place on Friday 25th November at the Royal Pump Rooms, we will have over 100 wines on show from around the world.
There will be ten tables, each with a different expert on hand tto guide you through the wines on show.
Not content with just tasting wine, there will be a selection of spirits available too, again with expert advice on hand. We are also pleased to be welcoming Aubrey Allen back to this annual event where they will be showcasing a range of festive foods for you to try.
Tickets are available from our shop on Warwick Street. At just £20 each they represent great value for such a terrific night out. 10% discount on orders placed on the night and your ticket includes a £10 voucher for orders over £50.
Come and join us for this ever popular annual Leamington event.
From unavowed Champagne snobs to cheerful pleasure seeking weekend drinkers, we all agree that sparkling wines can be given that extra little kick with the judicial addition of something different.
We’ve all heard of the French drink Kir Royal, that is the addition of Creme de Cassis to sparkling wine, but what else can be added to give you something interesting for a summer’s evening?
