We've rounded up the English and Welsh wineries that have dipped their toes into the world of spirits, from Chapel Down's Bacchus gin to Albourne's vermouth, flavoured with 40 botanicals.
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The English and Welsh wine industries have grown rapidly in recent years, and so too has the range of products they offer. With today's focus on the environment and being sustainable, wineries have developed ways in which to recycle and re-use grape material leftover after pressing, using it to flavour spirits.
A total of three million vines were planted in the UK last year, following on from 1.6m in 2018 and 1m in 2017. However, as vines require time to mature, and with further time required to make and mature sparkling wine afterwards, wineries also require other ways to supplement their income.
Chapel Down, headquartered in Kent, has gone the furthest down this route, branching into spirits, beer and cider, as well as producing still and sparkling wines.
Others, however, still remain mostly devoted to wine, but also make a spirit on the side. Meanwhile, businesses such as Foxhole Spirits and Asterley Bros have made it their mission to work with vineyards, using leftover grapes and wine to produce their range of expressions.
Click through to view the UK wineries involved in spirit production.
Chapel Down
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Headquartered in Kent, Chapel Down has transformed itself over the years from solely a wine producer into a company that makes a wide range of English drinks, from gin and vodka to beer and cider.
Reflecting its winemaking origins in its branding,
it launched a gin and vodka, made with grape distillate, in 2017. Packaged in custom-made glass bottles, Chapel Down aimed to represent both distilling and winemaking, with the bottom half of the bottle finished in clear, cut-glass while the top is frosted and in the shape of a classic wine bottle.
The gin, made from Bacchus grape distillate, is priced £35 and is infused with juniper, coriander, elderflower, orris root, angelica, lavender, orange peel and lemon. The vodka, meanwhile, is made with Chardonnay grape distillate, and is described as “expressive” with “delicate citrus and floral aromas leading to a smooth, creamy palate”.
Both are grain spirits, with the grape element used as a sort of botanical.
In March last year, Chapel Down launched a third variant –
a pink gin made with Pinot Noir distillate. This was followed by a RTD launch,
comprising a canned Gin and Tonic, in May.
The final spirit in the company's range is its Lamberhurst brandy, made from Sevyal Blanc grapes grown in the Lamberhurst Estate. The spirit was distilled in 1992 by Julian Temperley in Somerset before being matured in French oak barrels for 23 years. Only 2,000 bottles were ever made, with each one now commanding a £150 price tag.
Last year, the English drinks company also opened its bar, distillery and restaurant in London's Kings Cross called the Gin Works.
Currently, the producer works with contract distillers, with the distillery at Gin Works used to produce small batch products. Mark Harvey, managing director of wines and spirits at Chapel Down, told
the drinks business back in October that the site would also be used to produce custom gins for the bars and restaurants with whom Chapel Down works.
Given that Chapel Down has opened its own brewery in Ashford, it is possible that it could bring its entire spirit production in house in the future.
Rathfinny
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Rathfinny, established in 2010 in Alfriston, released its first spirit before its first sparkling wines. Unveiled in 2016, the producer's Seven Sisters gin is made from a blend of 30% grape spirit and 70% grain spirit and infused with nine botanicals, including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, liquorice, lemon, bitter orange, angelica seed and hyssop.
The English wine producer also makes a vermouth, made from Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes grown on its estate. It is infused with botanicals such as artichoke, gentian, calamus root, wormwood, angelica and the zest of bitter orange, lemon and pink grapefruit.
Rathfinny currently makes three Sussex sparklers – the first launched in 2018 – including a blanc de blancs, a rosé and blanc de noirs. It also makes still wines under the Cradle Valley label, including a white blend made from Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc and a Pinot Noir rosé. In 2018, due to the bountiful vintage, it made its first still red Pinot Noir.
Bolney
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Like Rathfinny, Bolney Wine Estate in West Sussex also makes a gin and a vermouth. In 2018, the estate launched a rosso vermouth, distilled with botanicals grown in the vineyard hedgerows.
It is made with with sloe and elderberries, as well as Bolney’s surplus grape juice, allowing the producer to ensure that nothing is wasted during the winemaking process.
More recently, in November 2019, the winery launched its first gin, an expression flavoured with hawthorn leaves and fennel and made using grape distillate produced from press juice that was too phenolic to make wine.
The gin is also flavoured with botanicals including juniper, bay leaf, caraway, cubeb, lemon peel, grain of paradise, fennel and coriander seed.
Albourne
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Also in 2018, boutique Sussex vineyard and winery Albourne Estate
launched a vermouth.
Called ‘40’ in honour of the 40 different botanicals in the blend, the 18% ABV semi-dry vermouth was created by owner Alison Nightingale, who was keen to put an English twist on an Italian classic.
The vermouth is made from matured Albourne Estate base wines, which are blended with the botanical extract and sugar.
The result, according to Nightingale, is a “complex and elegant” drink that can be enjoyed on its own as an apéritif, with tonic, with sparkling wine or in a cocktail.
Alongside its still and sparkling wines, last year Albourne also
unveiled what it claims is England’s first frizzante wine made from Bacchus grapes from the 2018 vintage.
Albury
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Albury Organic Vineyard in Surrey is conveniently located right by the Silent Pool Distillery. It's only natural, therefore, that the two businesses have collaborated.
Like Rathfinny, Bolney and Albourne, it has also made a vermouth, made from a distillate of Sauvignon Blanc grapes blended with Pinot Noir and botanical infusions of herbs, spices and citrus peel. Botanicals include wormwood, cacao, coffee, vanilla, rooibos tea leaves, Albury honey, cassia bark, orange peel, nutmeg, ginger, honeybush leaf, lemon balm and meadowsweet.
Other spirits in its portfolio include Attila's Bite, named after the estate's parson russell terrier. An eau de vie de vin, the spirit was made from Seyval Blanc grapes and according to the producer, has flavours of pear and crisp grape, with a buttery finish and a hint of almond.
Finally, Albury also makes its Duke's Reserve brandy each year, using leftover pressing juice. It is named after the Duke of Northumberland, who owns the estate in Albury where the vineyard is situated. Less than 200 bottles are made each year.
Tuffon Hall
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Boutique vineyard in East Anglia, Tuffon Hall, produces a gin in addition to its still and sparkling wines.
Aptly named Tuffon Hall Grape Gin, the spirit is made using using the skins from the producer's Bacchus grapes after pressing.
Other botanicals include include juniper, coriander seed, orange zest, minneola tangelo, bay leaves, lemon zest. Priced at £39 a bottle, the gin is made in a small batch 200-litre copper pot still.
Giffords Hall
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Giffords Hall in Suffolk produces a line of four liqueurs in addition to its still and sparkling wines.
The raspberry liqueur is made with locally-grown fruit and the producer recommends serving it in a 'Suffolk Raspberry Cosmopolitan'. Also in the line-up is a limoncello, a sloe liqueur and an apple liqueur, made with 80% home-grown apples.
Each liqueur is priced at £17.50 per 35cl bottle.
Gusbourne x Asterley Bros
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South London based distillers Asterley Bros have teamed up with Kent-based Gusbourne to produce a range of vermouths.
The distiller's Dispense Amaro is based on a 17th century recipe from the London Dispensatory, combining Gusbourne Estate Pinot Noir, spirit made from molasses, and an organic neutral grain spirit.
It is flavoured with 24 botanical including English hops, orange, grapefruit, lime, vanilla, apricots, raisins, dates, basil, rosemary, kaffir lime, ginger, lemongrass, coriander, cardamom, gentian, devil’s claw, rhubarb, chickweed, hyssop, milk thistle, liquorice, myrrh and angelica.
The Estate Vermouth, also made with Gusbourne's Pinot Noir, is produced in the Italian ‘rosso’ style, and infused with 31 botanicals including orange, cacao, rosemary and wormwood.
Asterley also makes a dry vermouth, combining English white wine and grape spirit, infused with 28 botanicals including rose, cardamom, rosemary, savory, wormwood, cinchona and yarrow.
Glyndwr Vineyard
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Image: Matt Smith[/caption]
Glyndwr Vineyard, which claims to be the oldest in Wales having been established in 1979, not only makes still and sparkling wines, but also brandy.
First launched in 2017, the brandy, available in 20cl bottles for £15, and is made from the vineyard's Seyval Blanc grapes.
The grapes are then fermented and distilled before being aged in oak barrels for four years.
According to the producer, the spirit takes on "rich, peaty and earthy aromas".
At the time of its launch, Glyndwr Vineyard said it was the first brandy to be made from Welsh-grown grapes.
Bolney x Foxhole Spirits
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Launched in 2016, Foxhole specialises in making grape-based gin. Headed up by managing director and Plumpton College graduate James Oag-Cooper, the company has worked with Bolney Wine Estate since it was established. Indeed, Bolney’s managing director and head winemaker Sam Linter and her husband Graham are two of the company's directors.
The idea was to create a spirit using the waste products of winemaking, which can be as much as 30-40% of the total grape material.
Foxhole Gin, as it was subsequently called, is flavoured with botanicals including juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, liquorice root, bitter orange, fresh lemon zest, grapefruit zest and angelica seeds.
Foxhole Spirits has gone on to launch Hyke gin, made from internationally sourced table grapes and flavoured with botanicals including coriander, myrrh and rooibos.
Litmus x GinKing
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English pre-mixed drink brand Ginking is owned by wine business consultancy and production firm Litmus, which in turn is based at Denbies Wine estate in Surrey.
The product was created by John Worontschak when one night,
his wife struggled to decide between a G&T and a glass of English fizz.
Bottled at 8.5% ABV, GinKing is a blend of gin, spring water, English sparkling wine and botanicals.
It has since been launched in a number of different variants, using internationally sourced wines.
(Photo: University of Portsmouth)[/caption]
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have bottled the radioactive-free ATOMIK vodka in the hopes that it will help the affected area recover economically in the future.
Professor Jim Smith, at the University of Portsmouth, described the artisan vodka as one of the "most important bottle of spirits in the world."
The scientists have now presented the results of a three-year research project into the transfer of radioactivity to crops grown in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. They found some radioactivity in the grain: strontium-90 is slightly above the cautious Ukrainian limit of 20 Bq/kg.
However, because distilling reduces any impurities in the original grain, the only radioactivity the researchers could detect in the alcohol is natural Carbon-14 at the same level you would expect in any spirit drink.
They have also diluted the distilled alcohol with mineral water from the deep aquifer in Chernobyl town, 10km south of the reactor, which has similar chemistry to groundwater in the Champagne region of France - and is also free from contamination, according to the researchers.
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Professor Smith (left) hopes the vodka project will pave the way for locals to start cultivating in areas where agriculture is still prohibited. (photo: University of Portsmouth)[/caption]
Now, the team are setting up a social enterprise “The Chernobyl Spirit Company” to begin to produce and sell “ATOMIK”, a high quality home-made vodka or “moonshine”.
Smith wants to use the company to sell the vodka and give 75% of the profits back to the affected community.
The scientists said the Exclusion Zone should be kept as a wildlife reserve and not cultivated, but Smith added that agriculture is still banned in other areas where people live.
He said that 33 years on, "many abandoned areas could now be used to grow crops safely without the need for distillation."
"We aim to make a high-value product to support economic development of areas outside the main Exclusion Zone where radiation isn’t now a significant health risk.”
As reported by The Sun, the vodka mist is produced by machines created by American firm Vapshot, and costs £5 a go at UK nightclubs.
Inhaling the vaporised vodka means the alcohol enters the bloodstream more quickly that it would in its liquid form. According to The Sun, when inhaled the effects are almost instant and last for up to 20 minutes.
Vapshot claims that inhaling the mist is “a safer way” of consuming spirits, but health professionals have warned that the craze could cause serious problems.
"Alcohol entering your lungs will go straight into your bloodstream, so you could become very drunk very quickly, which could put you at all kinds of risk, including alcohol poisoning,” Andrew Misell of Alcohol Change told The Sun.
Andrew Scott-Clark, director of public health for Kent County Council, added: "Inhaling vodka vapor could be extremely harmful both for short-term and long-term health.
"It provides almost instant delivery of alcohol to the bloodstream and the brain, bypassing the metabolism, and the effects are felt very quickly.
"The increased absorption can harm the brain and is a particular hazard to young adults, because their brains have not finished developing yet."
A spokesperson for Vapshot defended the practice, stating that there is “absolutely no proof” that inhaling vaporised vodka is harmful.
"We started the project in order to produce an innovative and potentially safer way of consuming alcohol. It should not be perverted into something meant to harm as there is absolutely no proof of that,” the spokesperson said.
The complaint by a member of the public was upheld in a ruling by the Portman Group last month. It stated that M&S's Porn Star Martini in a can "contravenes the Portman Code" in that it breached section 3.2d in which an alcoholic product "suggests any association with sexual activity or sexual success".
"If you continue to allow this, it will open the floodgates to others e.g. Sex on the Beach, Slippery Nipple, Sloe Comfortable Screw, Liquid Viagra etc", the complaint noted.
The launch of the cocktail last year was met with 
The M&S Porn Star Martini RTD.[/caption]
However, the assessment panel sided with the author of the complaint. It sought legal council to determine whether Porn Star Martini could be considered the 'customary name' for the vodka-based passion fruit cocktail, finding that the term could not be considered as such.
It also stated that M&S's version did not include any Prosecco (or any sparkling wine), which is usually considered a "principle ingredient" of the cocktail. M&S's canned cocktail replaces the fizz with sparkling water.
The panel continued that other businesses, for example BBC Good Food, have replaced the term 'porn star' with 'passion fruit' in a "conscious effort to remove the phrase from the title of the cocktail".
"The panel considered that the drink could be seen by people who were not familiar with the cocktail name but would more readily associate the name with its more established definition. On the basis of the product name, the panel accordingly upheld the product under Code Rule 3.2(d)", the ruling concluded.
A M&S spokesperson confirmed that, in view of the ruling, the name of the canned cocktail would be changed.
The spokesperson said: “Porn Star Martini is a common name for a passion fruit cocktail drink. Our product launched in September 2018 and quickly became one of our most popular cocktails. However, as a Portman Group co-signatory, we respect the ruling and will be changing the name to Passion Star Martini.”
The vodka was created in response to the fact that the underdog spirit, which has long dwelt in gin’s shadow, is the top-selling spirit at the bar.
This discovery prompted the bar team to create their own expression in collaboration with The Boatyard Distillery in Ireland.
The organic vodka is made from a wheat base and benefits from the inclusion of Champagne yeast, leading to a “distinctive and flavourful” vodka with a “full-bodied finish”.
According to its makers, the expression is “highly pronounced” on the nose, with “a uniquely creamy smooth character” offering “a blend of sweet-savoury flavours and notes of beeswax”.
The bottle boasts a matte black label with a crimson embossed design that complements the bar’s Art Deco interiors and bartenders’ black and red blazers.
The 43% ABV vodka is designed to be enjoyed in classic cocktails like the Martini, as well as straight up. The team are also developing an unconventional highball serve for it.
“The aim was to create an expression that fulfils vodka’s potential. We have taken what is often an underrated spirit and created a vodka that we hope will surprise our guests.
“Flavoured vodkas are going to be a thing of the past and will be replaced by vodkas with flavour,” said The Beaufort Bar’s head bartender, Elon Soddu.
The new 30% abv liqueur is a citrus-based variant containing orange, lemon grapefruit and bergamot that is based on the brand’s 34 x distilled vodka.
Mathias Tönnesson, chief spirit officer & CEO at Purity Distillery, said low abv was a big trend with consumer research showing women in particularly were interested in lower abv drinks.
Although a vodka needs to be over 40% abv in the US or over 37.5% abv in the EU to be termed ‘vodka’, Tonnesson said consumers would tend to view the new liqueur as a 30% vodka with flavour.
“There really is not such a big difference in taste profile between 30-40% if you have a flavour in there - and 30% abv is more or less the standard for low abv in the US,” he told db.
“It can be served as both a mixed drink, with Champagne, Prosecco or served as a spritz with mineral water or tonic, or can be drunk on the rocks - but in a 50-50 spritz, you come down to about 15% abv in your cocktail,” he added.
Pressure from gin
The company is also branching into gin for the first time, with the launch of three gins, a London Dry Gin, an Old Tom and a Navy Strength gin. The gins are based on its award-winning 34 x distilled vodka but will include an Scandi twist by using Arctic lingonberries and blueberries as botanicals.
Tönnesson explained that although its vodka sales had been strong on the back of growing interest in premium and organic product and the company had seen its best sales in the US in the last year, the growth of gin in the market was prompting vodka producers to be more imaginative.
“Still vodka is a big chuck in the market, but in Stockholm or Copenhagen or Spain, gin – especially craft gin - has a big following, which is a big trend in the market,” he said.
“So we’re launching three variations of gin based on our award winning vodka, which are being released as a direct result of the pressure we see of gin in the market place. It’s a natural thing for us to do – it’s quite easy for us to make a good tasting gin.”
All four products will be rolled out in Europe at the end of the fourth quarter, with the US following shortly afterwards.
(Photo: Rebel Distillers/Instagram)[/caption]
Rebel Distillers has launched a limited edition Bone Vodka in the UK, European Union and Australia to celebrate the release of Doom Eternal, the latest addition to the blockbuster Doom video game franchise.
Doom is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was first released worldwide on Microsoft Windows in 1993. The latest game in the series is due to launch worldwide on 22 November.
The first batches of the bone vodka will be released towards the end of September.
It is "a world of flames and demons, a barbecue pit of action," according to Rebel Distillers, which has sourced cow bones from London-based butcher The Ginger Pig to make the vodka.
The company, which was founded by a group of bar owners, already has a line of two super premium gins, 88 Gin and Jillions Gin, a super premium vodka, 88 Vodka and three “uniquely flavoured” Agaves, but G&I Spirit’s Gina Duke told db the company was looking to diversify and broaden its range.
“We’re looking to expand to 45 skus, over the next four to five years, with some Cognacs and some really nice super-premium Mexican rums, rather than Caribbean ones,” she explained.
The company is currently developing a chocolate cream, a strawberry cream tequila and a coffee latte cream tequila under its Mis Amigos brand which will be coming out in the next six weeks, with a russet apple gin, an Essex Tiptree strawberry gin and a strawberry vodka due to be added in the new year.
Duke explained that while people might try some of the “weird and wonderful flavours” on the market, not many people tended to go back for a second shot or bottle.
“So we’re looking to do something that’s super premium, that’s smooth when it’s being consumed, and has delicate flavours,” she said. “People are buying less but better quality, and having an enhanced experience when they go out. “
“We’re cocktail people and we run bars, where you’ve got to have the skill to adjust drinks to suit your customers - makes it sweeter, drier, make it an explosion when it hits your mouth.”
Turnover was already rising by around 35% a month, she added.
“The interesting thing is that gin is still showing significant increases across the whole market, and although some companies are starting to get hit by people moving to different spirits – from vodka to gin for example - we’re seeing significant strength and month-on-month increases in vodka as well,” she said. "It may be because we're super premium - I think that over the next two to three years, the standard or general pour will disappear, and the premium will become the standard pour – you can see that already all the way through the trade.”
Having first revealed plans for the project
The site of Penderyn's new distillery in Llandudno.[/caption]
"We believe the distillery will allow us to introduce unique and innovative single malt whiskies, distilled in north Wales, as well as providing an attraction that will complement the already vibrant and diverse tourism scene in north Wales, and contribute towards extending the visitor season further.
"With our funding package now in place, we will be developing our proposals further over the coming months and engaging with stakeholders and the local community as we prepare our planning application.
The Llandudno project will be based in the Old Board School building, in what are currently council offices, on Lloyd Street.
Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: "I’m delighted that we’ve been able to offer support for this exciting development for one of Wales’ iconic brand names. It’s our priority to develop innovative, all-weather attractions for Wales – this development will be an added attraction for Llandudno and north Wales.
"The new Visitor centre and Distillery will also shine a light on Wales’ fantastic produce and and will add to the cluster of excellent north Wales producers."
Penderyn announced this month that it was partnering with Halewood Wines & Spirits 
Russians consume an average of just under 12 litres of pure alcohol each year, WHO said. While this is still a higher figure than the global average, a substantial decrease in consumption has meant that the country's residents are living longer.
Male life expectancy hit a low of 56 in the 1990s, according to WHO, but has recovered significantly since people started drinking less. Life expectancy increased in 2018 to 68 years for men and 78 years for women.
The total rate of consumption per person fell by 43% between 2003 and 2016, with a 40% decline in recorded consumption and a 48% decline in unrecorded consumption.
Between 2003 and 2018, all-cause mortality dropped by 39% in men and by 36% in women, according to the report. The most substantial drops were observed in alcohol poisoning mortality, with a 73% decline in men and a 78% decline in women. Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease fell by 22% in men and by 24% in women. It also added that mortality from suicides dropped by 62% in men and by 61% in women.
The WHO credits Russian president Vladimir Putin for initiatives such as “restrictions on alcohol sales & promotion of healthy lifestyles, as well as excises on wine, beer and spirits.
Men in Russia drink almost three times as much as women, according to the organisation's report, with men consuming just over 30 litres of alcohol annually. When it comes to types of alcohol, spirits and beer are the most popular, each making up 39% of total consumption.
The report, which was published on Tuesday, said that Russia "has long been considered one of the heaviest-drinking countries in the world," adding that in the 1990s and early 2000s, research suggested that one in every two men of working age would die prematurely because of alcohol.
It said the decline in drinking over the course of the 21st Century could be attributed to "staggered implementation of alcohol policies".
Under Vladimir Putin, the government has implemented a number of anti-alcohol policies, including a ban on shops selling any alcohol after 11pm, increases in the minimum retail price of spirits and an advertising blackout.
However,Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, is also one of the most influential anti-alcohol policymakers in the country's recent history. In 2011, Medvenev signed a bill that meant that beer would be officially recognised as an alcoholic beverage in Russia. Until then, anything with an ABV below 10% was considered a foodstuff.
He also oversaw the implementation of a 200% tax hike on beer which came to effect in 2013.
The Old Orkney ‘0.0.’ Real Liqueur Whisky from Stromness Distillery won £4,000 at auction (Photo: Whisky.Auction)[/caption]
First off, an "extremely rare" miniature bottle of whisky sold for £4,000 at auction on Wednesday.
The Scotch itself – a miniature bottle of Old Orkney 'O.O.' Real Liqueur Whisky – was bottled in the 1920s to 1930s, but the seller didn't realise how valuable it was until he put it up for sale on Whisky.Auction.
It formed part of an 84 bottle-strong collection, which the seller originally bought at auction for just £100.
Then last night (Thursday 24 October), a bottle of 60 year-old 1926 Macallan sold for a new world record price of £1.5 million at Sotheby’s in London.
Offered with a pre-sale estimate of £350,000-450,000 at Sotheby’s sale in London Olympia today (24 October), the final hammer price is almost three times higher than the initial valuation.
In music-meets-fizz, American rock icon Lenny Kravitz has teamed up with Dom Pérignon to create three limited edition bottles at his Kravitz Design studio.
This year, Kravitz has also designed a limited edition gift box, candelabra box and table-bar to go with the new releases.
On Wednesday, db caught up with the winemakers, marketing and sales directors of some of Argentina's biggest wineries at the Barullo Sessions tasting in Clerkenwell, London.
The likes of Catena Zapata, Bodegas Norton and Viñalba were all in attendance, showing attendees from the trade and consumers alike the new directions they're taking wine wine production in Mendoza.
A fair few estates in the region are starting to pay closer attention to terroir. One of these is Bodegas Staphyle, which has just launched a brand new Malbec made with grapes grown in Potrerillos is a district in Mendoza.
David Bonomi of Bodega Norton and Per Se gave a masterclass in London on the subject of changing winemaking in Argentina and a deep dive into Cabernet Franc.
Not everyone believes sub-regions are the way forward for Argentina's winemakers. Diane Fabre of Viñalba told db that it is still too soon to start using microclimates as a sales tool to attract consumers.
"We still have quite a lot of space to grow with Mendoza," she said.
A drinks brand seems to have replaced perfume as the celebrity sideline of choice. The latest star to delve into the drinks world is British model and businessman David Gandy (right), who has partnered with publisher Stewart Lee on Savile Row Gin, which is made at Langley Distillery in the midlands and shines a light on kumquat as a botanical.
db's Lucy Shaw had the enviable task of interviewing the pair at historic tailor Henry Poole (a favourite of Churchill) on Savile Row where David gave her is best blue steel for the camera.
She couldn't resist grabbing her own photo with Gandy, who, after appearing in an advert for Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue fragrance shot in Capri in 2007 by Mario Testino, has gone on to become one of the most famous and successful male models in the world.
Earlier that day Lucy headed to Spring at Somerset House, run by Skye Gyngell, who was this week voted the Ayala SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year, for a lovely lunch hosted by Clarence Dillon Wines, led by effervescent managing director, Gerard Blanloeil. We love it when a wine label matches our surroundings...
Also on hand to talk us through the wines was Clarence Dillon's operational director, Nathalie Bassot, who explained that the Clarendelle wine brand came about in 2005 to offer consumers more affordable expressions of Bordeaux that are ready to drink – first growth Haut-Brion also falls under the Clarence Dillon umbrella.
Over lunch we tried an array of Clarendelle wines including the zippy, Semillon-led Clarendelle Blanc and 2016 red expressions from St-Emilion and the Médoc daringly paired with wild halibut.
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Poet laureate Simon Armitage signs his butt of Sherry in Jerez[/caption]
In a tradition dating back to the 17th century, Yorkshire-born Simon Armitage was given a butt of Sherry to celebrate his appointment as poet laureate this week.
Armitage is the 21st poet laureate in the UK. Traditionally, the poet laureate was rewarded with a small stipend and a butt of Sherry (known as a ‘sack’) by the monarch of the day.
Armitage travelled to Jerez to choose and sign his Sherry barrel, bequeathed to him by the Consejo Regulador de los Vinos de Jerez y Manzanilla (CRDO).
“I’m honoured to accept the kind offer of the Sherry in keeping with the long tradition of the office of the poet laureate,” he said.
“Like laureates before me, I hope to put the bottles to good use as gifts or to raise money in the name of poetry, but look forward to enjoying the odd tipple myself."
On Wednesday, spirits label Martini hosted an aperitivo evening with TV presenter, restaurateur, and foodie it-girl, Laura Jackson, at Radio Alice in Hoxton.
The evening celebrated the launch of the MARTINI x Laura Jackson bespoke aperitivo menu, which will be available to enjoy at Radio Alice from now until the end of November.
Each dish has been carefully curated by Laura and the chefs at Radio Alice to pair with MARTINI Fiero & Tonic – the perfect Italian aperitivo accompaniment.
Jackson herself is one half of the Jackson & Levine supper club brand she formed with Alice Levine in 2013.
In 'denial', we may be in the belly of autumn, but Mexican beer brand Sol is keeping Londoners' vitamin D topped up with a pop-up bar where "the sun never sets".
Open to consumers from Thursday 24 to Saturday 26th October in Shoreditch, The Sol Bar is decked out with special sun lamps that give the optimal amount of sunlight in a day, stimulating the release of serotonin and allowing them to enjoy the benefits of the sun, along with the scents, sounds and warm breeze of the summer air.
There's free beer and cocktails, too.
Meanwhile, vodka brand Reyka is embracing the change of weather, and has now set up the "world's first" bar on a glacier, taking experiential PR stunts to a whole new level. Literally.
The brand, which is owned by William Grant & Sons, claims to source water from the glacier for the vodka's production. Langjökull, the nearest glacier to the capital city of Reykjavik, is the second largest ice cap in Iceland, at 935 square kilometres. At its highest point it sits 1,450m above sea level.
News of the adventurous pop-up was 
Kicking off the week in style, db's editor, Lucy Shaw, headed to Flor in Borough Market to lunch with chef turned winemaker Maria Sinskey of Robert Sinskey Vineyards in California's Napa Valley. Joined by Freya Miller of Pol Roger Portfolio, during lunch the trio enjoyed a bottle of Sinskey's sink contact Pinot Gris, which paired seamlessly with a variety of dishes, including purple sprouting broccoli tempura with bergamot.
"When people hear the word 'Napa' they think of big bold reds but we're the opposite. We always have food in mind when we create our wines and are very hands off in the winery. We want to create lower alcohol, high acid aromatic wines you want to drink more than a glass of," Sinskey said.
Cloudy Bay's winemaker, Daniel Sorrell, was in town this week to launch the 2019 vintage of the iconic New Zealand Sauvignon. During a tasting of the newbie and two older vintages Sorrell revealed that he 
Also in east London, The Alchemist, famed for its theatrical cocktails, has hired professional tea-leaf reader Gail Hart to host sessions every Wednesday evening for six weeks, reading leaves and making predictions as we head into 2020.
The sessions will be available to book from 7pm – 9pm and will be £15 for the Deja Brew cocktail and a full 15 minutes reading with Gail (can be booked in groups).
After three days of cocktail and coffee contests and challenges, a duo from Australia have been named winner of Licor 43’s Bartenders & Baristas Challenge.
The winning cocktail, made by Jessie Williamson from Blackout Paddington and Millie Tang from The Gresham in Brisband, was called “Island Hopper”: a mix of 20 ml Licor 43 Original, 20 ml espresso coffee , 15 ml Coconut & pandan syrup, 10 ml Fernet Branca, 1 dash Angostura bitters, and finished with a splash of cava and nutmeg.
In harvest news, Bluebell Vineyard in Sussex got its grape picking under way this week, and sent over some atmospheric shots of the team at work.
Founded in 2005, Bluebell is a family-run vineyard specialising in sparkling wine.
And finally... db's resident art lover, Lucy Shaw, was delighted to be invited to St James's Court, part of the Taj hotel group, to an art and food pairing dinner hosted by Bernadette Murphy, author of Van Gogh's Ear.
During the dinner Bernadatte talked through the major events in Van Gogh's life, including a brief spell of flat sharing with Paul Gauguin at his little yellow house in Arles. Among the dishes we tried were this tuna tartare dish with mushroom cappuccino in a hat tip to Van Gogh's obsession with Japanese prints. Another dish, a blueberry granita with apple jelly, reflected Van Gogh's arrival in Provence during a rare moment of snow.
Among the wines on pour was this Merlot dominant Côtes de Bordeaux from Château de Ricard, a plush drop full of blackberries and spice.
(Photo: Air Co.)[/caption]
The spirit made from air contains "no impurities, no carbohydrates, no sugar," and "no gluten," and is carbon negative, according to Air Co, a "technology and lifestyle company" in New York, US.
Stafford Sheehan, an electrochemist and co-founder of the project, said his technology is "inspired by photosynthesis" in nature, and uses "carbon dioxide and water along with electricity to create alcohol."
"[Plants] take up water, and they use energy in the form of sunlight to make things like sugars and to make other higher-value hydrocarbons, with oxygen as the sole by-product. Same thing with our process: The only by-product is oxygen."
The company captures CO2 emissions from nearby factories to make the spirit, which will be listed at Michelin-starred restaurants in New York such as Eleven Madison Park and Gramercy Tavern.
Sheenan, a chemical physics PhD from Yale University, and fellow founder Gregory Constantine, a former marketing lead at Diageo-owned vodka brand Smirnoff, met during a Forbes Under 30 Summit in 2017, and bonded over their desire to develop a value-driven startup.
"On the side I was working on carbon dioxide conversion and, when we met, I wanted to get more into fighting climate change on a bigger scale than tinkering in a laboratory," Sheenan told Forbes.
As well as harnessing carbon emissions from local factories (including some distillers), the startup's technology is also solar-powered. The pair have kept distribution local to minimise their own carbon emissions, and claim theirs is the first "carbon negative" vodka as a result.
Actress Kate Hudson is the latest celebrity to enter the drinks industry[/caption]
Distilled seven times in small batches in Santa Barbara, Hudson describes the spirit as “insanely smooth and clean”, and recommends using it in classic vodka cocktails like the Martini.
Named after the New York street where Hudson once lived and entertained friends, the California-born actress was inspired to create her own vodka after researching the spirit and finding out that very few vodka brands have a woman at the helm.
“After a particularly long day I decided to host an impromptu cocktail party with my closest friends. As I prepared to whip up a batch of Dirty Martinis I surveyed my bar, but I wasn’t 100% happy with my options.
“Then I wondered, ‘are any of these vodkas founded by women?’ I did some research and they weren’t. So I decided to make my own just the way I like it,” Hudson said.
“I have always found the spirits industry fascinating. The creative side of me thought it would be a fun challenge to develop a vodka for my palate in a beautiful package that I would love to have on my bar and share with friends.
“The businesswoman in me is now looking forward to the challenge of building a brand in an entirely new industry,” she added.
King St. has gone on sale in California and will soon be available at select retailers inNew York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island with an RRP of $24.99.
The brand was co-founded by Hudson and drinks developer David Kanbar, co-creator of the hugely successful Skinnygirl drinks brand and former executive vice president of Skyy Spirits.
The daughter of actress Goldie Hawn, among Hudson’s film credits are Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and You, Me and Dupree. In addition to acting she has written two lifestyle books.
Hudson joins an ever-growing list of celebrities with drinks brands. Her competition in the vodka sphere includes actor Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka, singer P Diddy’s Cîroc brand and fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s eponymous vodka.
Bacardi first invested in Stillhouse back in 2014. Now the company has acquired the distiller, meaning the brand will be brought "fully into the Bacardi portfolio". The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Stillhouse will now be headed up by Peter Carr, who is currently president of Bacardi North America.
Brad Beckerman, founder and CEO of Stillhouse, will be stepping down from his current role "to pursue other opportunities".
He said in a statement: “I am proud that my vision for Stillhouse will be taken to the next level by industry leader Bacardi.”
A spokesperson for Bacardi added: “We are pleased to have come to a mutual agreement as we have always admired the Stillhouse brand for its innovation, disruption of categories, and marketing ingenuity. We believe in the brand’s growth potential and are excited to continue the pioneering vision that the founder set for Stillhouse.”
The statement also noted that Beckerman had dismissed a lawsuit which he filed against Bacardi in March.
"No payment, settlement or concession of any kind was made by Bacardi or any other party. The acquisition was consummated on the same terms proposed by Bacardi prior to the commencement of the litigation," the statement noted.
Beckerman 
Tipplesworth was founded in 2013 by Frankie Snobel; who herself has a decade of experience working at cocktail bars and events worldwide.
The company's Espresso Martini and Passion Fruit Martini cocktails are currently available on tap in around 100 bars, pubs and restaurants across GB, with the number set to increase significantly through the festive season.
The company already partners with Diageo to sell draught cocktails in the UK using proprietary technology, placing the spirits giant's brands like Smirnoff front and centre on keg branding.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Snobel will join the Diageo GB team.
Diageo said that 9 million consumers now drink cocktails across 42,000 outlets in Great Britain, according to data from CGA.
Snobel said Diageo "couldn't be a better" fit as a parent company for Tipplesworth.
"I’m thrilled to be joining Diageo," she said, "there couldn't be a better place for us to continue growing the draft cocktail business to the next level."
Melissa Wisdom, commercial director for Diageo's on-trade business, said the rising popularity of draught cocktails in UK bars is "one of the trends driving spirits growth and this acquisition means we can now bring great quality ‘on tap’ cocktails to consumers in the on-trade across the country."
Diageo has been trialling draught cocktails in the UK for close to a decade. It launched a dispense system for on-tap mojitos made with Smirnoff vodka in 500 pubs around the UK in 2011.
(Photo: StarPix, David Allocca)[/caption]
First up was actor-turned spirits entrepreneur Kate Hudson hosted an intimate cocktail hour for press followed by a private dinner to celebrate the launch of her vodka brand, King St.
Hudson mingled with guests as they tried the vodka, which is heavily advertised as being "gluten free"* and even got behind the bar to mix up her favourite cocktail – a dirty martini.
*all vodka is gluten free, by virtue of the distillation process.
On Wednesday, db threw the party of the year in London to celebrate our 10th annual Green Awards.
[caption id="attachment_471550" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Small Beer Co. were over the moon after winning the Water Management Award for a brewery.[/caption]
This year’s Green Awards ceremony, it's safe to say, was special. The Club at the Ivy was more packed out than ever before, with distillers, winemakers, logistics experts, retailers, drinks giants and small brewers all coming out in force to recognise the strides being taken to clean up the drinks industry.
Our awards are still the only set of industry gongs dedicated exclusively to the eco-conscious side of the drinks industry.
We posted the results of the awards yesterday, which you can read in full 
Thursday, (5 December) saw the Wakefield Summer House of Shiraz in Sydney, with an array of VIP guests including; model Samantha Harris, actor and presenter Darren McMullen, Miss Universe Australia 2012 Renae Ayris, reality star Melissa Lucarelli and MasterChef Australia 2019 winner Larissa Takchi.
The Circle of Wine Writers 2019 Christmas Party took place on Monday evening, hosted by New Zealand Winegrowers at New Zealand House in London. Amongst the festive crowd were Oz Clarke and PR Louise Hill, seen here with Yealands, one of the night's wine sponsors.
In political spirits, Glenfarclas Distillery has sold a cask of Scotch filled by Conservative MP Ken Clarke 25 years ago for £40,000.
The Sherry Hogshead cask, which was sold at the Glenfarclas Distillery shop in Speyside, was filled in May 1994, when Clarke was still Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The cask was laid down at Glenfarclas Distillery, and Clarke pledged that the single malt would remain untouched until a Conservative MP won back the seat of Moray, the home of the Glenfarclas distillery.
When the constituency of Moray returned to the Conservatives, Clarke returned to the distillery and the cask was bottled. 275 bottles of this very special release were available, raising a grand total of £40,000 for The Salvation Army.
John Grant, fifth generation family member and current Chairman of Glenfarclas, together with The Right Honourable Ken Clarke, presented the cheque to The Salvation Army at The Caledonian Club on 2 December.
In more pricey Scotch news, a 4ft 9ins tall, 105.3-litre bottle of Tomintoul whisky, believed to be among the world's largest, is going up for auction, and is expected to fetch more than £15,000.
Due to be sold by auctioneer Just Whisky, the bottle of 14-year-old Tomintoul, which contains 5,250 drams, is predicted to break a number of records.
Weighing in at over 180 kilos, the specially-commissioned bottle holds the equivalent of 150 standard 70cl bottles.
Bottled at 46% ABV in 2009, it has a huge cork, oversized label and needed a team of 14 people to help fill and seal it.
And in yet more expensive whiskies, a private 3,900 bottle collection, thought to be the largest to be sold at auction with several bottles valued at over £1 million, will go under the hammer next year at Perthshire-based Whisky Auctioneer.
It is collectively estimated to achieve an auction price of between £7 and £8 million.
In fizzy treats, we've come to the last leg of Champagne house Bollinger's culinary campaign with the UK's hottest chefs right now.
Dubbed “Le Grand Tour”, Bollinger has teamed up with chefs on a series of recipes celebrating a single ingredient, designed to pair with its recently released La Grande Année 2008.
In this final pairing of the tour, Tom Kitchin at The Kitchen, has chosen scallops to pair with the vintage fizz.
The full dish features hand-dived Orkney scallops baked in the shell with seasonal vegetables and a white wine, vermouth and herb sauce.
"With 2008 being one of the best most anticipated vintages of the last 25 years we are honoured to be able to offer such a classic champagne by the glass to our guests," said Kitchin.
"The firm and meaty character of the La Grande Année 2008 works beautifully with the rich white wine and vermouth sauce of the scallops and the high acid and chalky finish contrasts perfectly with the subtle sweetness of the scallops.
"The dish shows you that champagne can be a serious food wine even with the richer and bolder dishes and doesn't always have to be confined to an aperitif, especially in vintages such as the 2008.”
In other fizz news, Trentino sparkler Ferrari has been chosen as the sparkling wine partner of Italy's Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, as it works up to the start of the 36th America's Cup which begins in March 2021.
A bottle of Ferrari Maximum Brut was broken against the bow of the team's first AC75 by head designer of Prada, Miuccia Prada.
Never ones to shy away from festivities, the Ellis Wines team pulled out all the stops this week. From Father Christmas and Brussels sprouts to reindeers, flamingoes and we're not sure quite what on the right, Ellis give a new meaning to 'go hard or go home'. Sporting their Christmas jumpers for a day, staff helped to raise money for charity Save the Children. Not even the office dog was left un-jumpered.
As reported by The Sun, the seized bottles of counterfeit Smirnoff are thought to contain isopropanol, used in anti-freeze, which can lead to blindness if consumed. While isopropanol can mimic the effects of alcohol, it causes side effects including abdominal pain, sickness, dizziness, and even death in extreme cases.
The fakes were found in the Levenmouth area of Fife as part of an investigation by Fife Council’s food safety and trading standards teams.
According to The Sun, both the shop and pub found selling the counterfeit liquid will have their licences reviewed and may face prosecution.
“One of the vodkas had things in it that could be seriously harmful,” Douglas Hardaker of Fife Council told the paper.
An investigation is under way to determine whether the fake vodka was made locally or shipped from elsewhere.
Paul Smith of Castle Leisure Group, which represents the licensed trade, said it was “disappointing” to see people flouting the law. “We would all like to see those people who peddle that type of illicit alcohol, while the rest of us comply with the rules and regulations, taken to task,” he said.
Argentine wine producer Bodega Argento has unveiled a new brand called Artesano de Argento for the UK off-trade. Its first release, an organic Malbec-Cabernet Franc blend from 2018, will be available in Sainsbury’s from this month. Composed of 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Franc, and sourced from the producer’s organic vineyard in Alto Agrelo in Luján de Cuyo, the wine is certified both organic and Fairtrade. Bodega Argento claims to be the largest producer of organic wine in Mendoza, with 305 hectares of certified vineyards. It aims to move to full organic certification in the future.
RRP: £10.
Contact: Sainsbury’s, +44 (0)20 7695 6000
Benromach Distillery in Speyside has unveiled one of its rarest whiskies to date, with the launch of its 50-year-old single cask. With only 125 bottles produced, the whisky was laid down in 1969, before spending half a century maturing in an ex-Sherry hogshead. Bottled at 44.6% ABV, according to the distiller the whisky has aromas of “prune syrup, butterscotch, ginger and candied fruits”, and flavours of “pepper, tobacco leaf, smoke and orange”. The distillery, located in Forres, is one of only a few to operate without using automated machinery.
RRP: £8,000.
Contact: Benromach, info@benromach.com
Sussex-based Bolney Wine Estate has entered the gin category with an expression flavoured with hawthorn leaves and fennel, and created using grape distillate produced from press juice that was too phenolic to make wine. Other botanicals include juniper, bay leaf, caraway, cubeb, lemon peel, grain of paradise, and coriander seed. A portion of the base spirit was made from grape distillate from juice from the later press fractions that contained too many polyphenols (including tannins and anthocyanins) to be used in the production of Bolney's sparkling and still wines.
RRP: £35.
Contact: Bolney Wine Estate, trade@bolneywineestate.com
Bermondsey-based Fourpure Brewing Co. has joined forces with Jameson Irish Whiskey to create a limited edition barrel-aged Irish coffee Imperial stout called Nightcap. The 9% ABV brew follows the launch of the Jameson Caskmates Fourpure edition whiskey last year. Fourpure aged the beer in ex-Jameson whiskey barrels before blending and adding fresh coffee beans to the Imperial stout. The beer contains six types of malt, and according to the brewer, has flavours of “rich coffee and cocoa”.
RRP: £5.
Contact: Fourpure, orders@fourpure.com
Madeira importer Bovey Wines has launched a rum and a vermouth produced by William Hinton Distillery into the UK. Rum has been produced on the island of Madeira since the 15th century when it was the principal supplier of sugar to mainland Europe, and traditionally it was the spirit used to fortify Madeira wine. Moot vermouth is made with a medium-sweet Madeira base wine, which is then macerated with aromatic plants native to Madeira as well as some spices. At 14.5% ABV, it is a lower-alcohol alternative to fortified Madeira, which is typically between 18% ABV and 20% ABV.
RRP: £11.68.
Contact: Bovey Wines, madeira@boveywines.co.uk
Bashall Spirits based in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley has launched a range of gins inspired by recipe books from the 1700s. The four-strong range comprises a golden-hued Parkin Cake Gin, based on a Victorian-era family recipe for the traditional Lancashire bake, with flavours of treacle and ginger. Also in the line-up is a London Dry Gin, flavoured with cranberry, elderflower, caraway and hazelnut, an Orange & Quince Gin and a Damson & Elderberry Gin. The gins are all bottled at 40% ABV.
RRP: £38.95.
Contact: Bashall Spirits, info@bashallspirits.co.uk
To mark its 170th anniversary, at the end of last year, Australian winery Yalumba released the 46th edition of its flagship red, The Signature. First made in 1962, the latest bottling hails from the 2015. A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Shiraz, using grapes sourced from five vineyards in the Barossa Valley, the wine is matured for 22 months in 18% new French barriques and Hungarian hogsheads. With each parcel fermented separately, the wine has flavours of “pomegranate, cranberry, milk chocolate and liquorice”, according to the producer.
RRP: £38.00.
Contact: Berry Bros & Rudd, +44 (0)20 7022 8973
Made by Duvel Moortgat, Duvel Distilled is made using beer, which is distilled then aged for 10 years in Bourbon and Sherry barrels. This marks the third release of the spirit, which has been produced by the Belgian brewer since 2006. Just 14,280 numbered bottles are available of the 40% ABV spirit. Straw yellow in colour, the liquid has flavours of “vanilla, raisins and toffee”, according to the producer. Enjoyed over ice or neat, the spirit can be paired with grilled fish and meat, seasoned Brussels sprouts pan-fried with chestnuts, tropical fruit and dark chocolate.
RRP: €49.95.
Contact: Duvel Moortgat, Rachel@duvelmoortgat.co.uk
Premium mixer brand Fever-Tree has launched its spiced orange ginger ale into UK supermarkets after its success in the on-trade. Combining sweet clementine, cinnamon and three types of ginger, the new spiced offering complements Fever-Tree’s other ginger-flavoured mixers, including a standard ginger ale and a ginger beer. It has been specifically crafted to pair well with dark spirits such as whisky. The brand recommends serving the new mixer poured over ice with Scotch or blended whisky, garnished with orange and a cinnamon stick.
RRP: £1.70.
Contact: Waitrose, +44 (0)800 188 884
UK heavy metal band Judas Priest has released its first spirit – a limited edition rum. The spiced rum, made by Brands for Fans Sweden, has notes of “arrack, vanilla, burnt sugar and raisins”, according to the producer. Released in a limited batch of 5,000 bottles, the spirit is bottled at 37.5% ABV. Brands for Fans has also worked with bands and artists including Motörhead, Scorpions, In Flames and Sweden Rock Festival. Known for tracks Rocka Rolla, Sin after Sin and Sad Wings of Destiny, Judas Priest formed in Birmingham in 1969. The band released their most recent album, Firepower, in March 2018. The group is also known for its eye-catching album artwork.
RRP: 349 SEK.
Contact: Brands For Fans Sweden, sari.h.wilholm@brandsforfans.se
Victoria-based winery Born and Raised has teamed up with drinks specialist branding agency, Thirst Craft, to launch its rebranded range of low-intervention wines. Using materials such as watercolour, charcoal and rolled ink, each label has one part with a “raw, rugged ‘natural’ texture” representing the ‘born’ element of the fruit, and another part with a “perfectly rounded ‘nurtured’ shape”, illustrating the ‘raised’ element. On the label grape varieties and origins are listed ‘born’, while the winemakers’ methods are revealed under ‘raised’.
RRP: AU$28.
Contact: Born and Raised, wine@bornandraisedwines.com.au
Freixenet Copestick has expanded its best-selling I Heart Wine range into spirits for the first time with the launch of two gins. These include a 40% ABV classic gin alongside a 37.5% ABV pink gin, which is flavoured with strawberry, juniper and herbs. I Heart brand manager, Dani McDonald, said the company was thrilled to be entering a new category with a product that was a “real standout. The spirits category has now become as complex and crowded as wine once was,” she said. “We therefore believe this is the perfect moment to introduce I Heart Spirits. For all those consumers that simply want a straight-talking, delicious, no-nonsense Gin and Tonic, we are the perfect solution. Accessible, attractive and affordable,” she said.
RRP: £16-£17.
Contact: Nisa, info@vitaspirits.com
UK importer Ehrmanns has added an organic Argentine Tannat to the reserve level of its Beefsteak Club brand. The wine is made in partnership with Salta-based family-owned winery Bodega Nanni, which is certified organic. The Tannat grapes are hand-picked and sourced from the Cafayate Valley in Salta province. According to the producer, the wine has flavours of “ripe dark fruits, cassis, chocolate, tobacco and spice from oak”. As the name suggest, the wine from 2018 pairs well with a steak.
RRP: £14.99.
Contact: Ehrmanns, marketing@ehrmanns.co.uk
Ukrainian distiller Nemiroff has released three flavoured vodkas as part of its Inked Collection. The Burning Pear is described as mellow, rich and velvety, with a smooth mouthfeel that finishes with a touch of rich heat. Other variants include the Bold Orange, which has been aged in oak barrels, producing flavours of citrus and spice. Finally, the Wild Cranberry is described as both “sweet and sour with a hint of Cognac”. It can be drunk on its own or with lime and sparkling water.
RRP: £18.
Contact: Nemiroff, sofiya.makaruk@nemiroff.pro
Harrogate-based spirits distiller Slingsby has launched 50cl bottles of its Yorkshire Rhubarb and Yorkshire Gooseberry Gins in Tesco and Morrisons branches in the UK and online. Packaged in green and red bottles, the smaller-sized gins are both made using the base London Dry spirit. Both are produced using fruit grown in Yorkshire and natural spring water from the Tewit Well in Harrogate. The producer’s rhubarb gin started out as a limited edition experimental project, but has since gained a spot in the core range.
RRP: £30.
Contact: Tesco, 0800 323 4040
The English and Welsh wine industries have grown rapidly in recent years, and so too has the range of products they offer. With today's focus on the environment and being sustainable, wineries have developed ways in which to recycle and re-use grape material leftover after pressing, using it to flavour spirits.
A total of three million vines were planted in the UK last year, following on from 1.6m in 2018 and 1m in 2017. However, as vines require time to mature, and with further time required to make and mature sparkling wine afterwards, wineries also require other ways to supplement their income.
Chapel Down, headquartered in Kent, has gone the furthest down this route, branching into spirits, beer and cider, as well as producing still and sparkling wines.
Others, however, still remain mostly devoted to wine, but also make a spirit on the side. Meanwhile, businesses such as Foxhole Spirits and Asterley Bros have made it their mission to work with vineyards, using leftover grapes and wine to produce their range of expressions.
Click through to view the UK wineries involved in spirit production.
Headquartered in Kent, Chapel Down has transformed itself over the years from solely a wine producer into a company that makes a wide range of English drinks, from gin and vodka to beer and cider.
Reflecting its winemaking origins in its branding, 
Rathfinny, established in 2010 in Alfriston, released its first spirit before its first sparkling wines. Unveiled in 2016, the producer's Seven Sisters gin is made from a blend of 30% grape spirit and 70% grain spirit and infused with nine botanicals, including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, liquorice, lemon, bitter orange, angelica seed and hyssop.
The English wine producer also makes a vermouth, made from Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes grown on its estate. It is infused with botanicals such as artichoke, gentian, calamus root, wormwood, angelica and the zest of bitter orange, lemon and pink grapefruit.
Rathfinny currently makes three Sussex sparklers – the first launched in 2018 – including a blanc de blancs, a rosé and blanc de noirs. It also makes still wines under the Cradle Valley label, including a white blend made from Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc and a Pinot Noir rosé. In 2018, due to the bountiful vintage, it made its first still red Pinot Noir.
Like Rathfinny, Bolney Wine Estate in West Sussex also makes a gin and a vermouth. In 2018, the estate launched a rosso vermouth, distilled with botanicals grown in the vineyard hedgerows.
It is made with with sloe and elderberries, as well as Bolney’s surplus grape juice, allowing the producer to ensure that nothing is wasted during the winemaking process.
More recently, in November 2019, the winery launched its first gin, an expression flavoured with hawthorn leaves and fennel and made using grape distillate produced from press juice that was too phenolic to make wine.
The gin is also flavoured with botanicals including juniper, bay leaf, caraway, cubeb, lemon peel, grain of paradise, fennel and coriander seed.
Also in 2018, boutique Sussex vineyard and winery Albourne Estate
Albury Organic Vineyard in Surrey is conveniently located right by the Silent Pool Distillery. It's only natural, therefore, that the two businesses have collaborated.
Like Rathfinny, Bolney and Albourne, it has also made a vermouth, made from a distillate of Sauvignon Blanc grapes blended with Pinot Noir and botanical infusions of herbs, spices and citrus peel. Botanicals include wormwood, cacao, coffee, vanilla, rooibos tea leaves, Albury honey, cassia bark, orange peel, nutmeg, ginger, honeybush leaf, lemon balm and meadowsweet.
Other spirits in its portfolio include Attila's Bite, named after the estate's parson russell terrier. An eau de vie de vin, the spirit was made from Seyval Blanc grapes and according to the producer, has flavours of pear and crisp grape, with a buttery finish and a hint of almond.
Finally, Albury also makes its Duke's Reserve brandy each year, using leftover pressing juice. It is named after the Duke of Northumberland, who owns the estate in Albury where the vineyard is situated. Less than 200 bottles are made each year.
Boutique vineyard in East Anglia, Tuffon Hall, produces a gin in addition to its still and sparkling wines.
Aptly named Tuffon Hall Grape Gin, the spirit is made using using the skins from the producer's Bacchus grapes after pressing.
Other botanicals include include juniper, coriander seed, orange zest, minneola tangelo, bay leaves, lemon zest. Priced at £39 a bottle, the gin is made in a small batch 200-litre copper pot still.
Giffords Hall in Suffolk produces a line of four liqueurs in addition to its still and sparkling wines.
The raspberry liqueur is made with locally-grown fruit and the producer recommends serving it in a 'Suffolk Raspberry Cosmopolitan'. Also in the line-up is a limoncello, a sloe liqueur and an apple liqueur, made with 80% home-grown apples.
Each liqueur is priced at £17.50 per 35cl bottle.
South London based distillers Asterley Bros have teamed up with Kent-based Gusbourne to produce a range of vermouths.
The distiller's Dispense Amaro is based on a 17th century recipe from the London Dispensatory, combining Gusbourne Estate Pinot Noir, spirit made from molasses, and an organic neutral grain spirit.
It is flavoured with 24 botanical including English hops, orange, grapefruit, lime, vanilla, apricots, raisins, dates, basil, rosemary, kaffir lime, ginger, lemongrass, coriander, cardamom, gentian, devil’s claw, rhubarb, chickweed, hyssop, milk thistle, liquorice, myrrh and angelica.
The Estate Vermouth, also made with Gusbourne's Pinot Noir, is produced in the Italian ‘rosso’ style, and infused with 31 botanicals including orange, cacao, rosemary and wormwood.
Asterley also makes a dry vermouth, combining English white wine and grape spirit, infused with 28 botanicals including rose, cardamom, rosemary, savory, wormwood, cinchona and yarrow.
Image: Matt Smith[/caption]
Glyndwr Vineyard, which claims to be the oldest in Wales having been established in 1979, not only makes still and sparkling wines, but also brandy.
First launched in 2017, the brandy, available in 20cl bottles for £15, and is made from the vineyard's Seyval Blanc grapes.
The grapes are then fermented and distilled before being aged in oak barrels for four years.
According to the producer, the spirit takes on "rich, peaty and earthy aromas".
At the time of its launch, Glyndwr Vineyard said it was the first brandy to be made from Welsh-grown grapes.
English pre-mixed drink brand Ginking is owned by wine business consultancy and production firm Litmus, which in turn is based at Denbies Wine estate in Surrey.
The product was created by John Worontschak when one night, 
The Miami artist has partnered with local spirits group Victor George Spirits to develop the Old Sistrunk Distillery, a food and drink complex scheduled to open in late 2020 or early 2021 in Fort Lauderdale.
Flo Rida, known for his hit singles Right Round, Club Can't Handle Me, Good Feeling, and Wild Ones, will also serve as the distillery's brand ambassador, teaming up with spirits entrepreneur Victor Harvey on the new project.
It's pretty clear he has a Good Feeling about the 13,000sqft development. He told the Miami Herald he is "super excited to join the VG Family as an equity owner and brand ambassador."
"I have known Mr. Harvey for years and I’ve seen his grind, hard work and enthusiasm in building his brand."
All-natural VG Vodka is described as “a clean, smooth, gluten-free” and promises “no hangovers, headaches or burn," according to a statement on the brand's website.
"I am very excited to begin the next stages for the Victor George brand,” said CEO Victor G. Harvey, Sr. “Over the next few weeks, we will accelerate our proven business strategy to increase awareness and sales in our key markets,” he said, “and anticipate making significant announcements regarding growth opportunities including marketing initiatives and celebrity partnerships and distribution deals, including international sales."
Flo Rida has joined a small circle of Zillionaire rappers who are working with spirits brands to add to their fortunes. Having already been a regular brand ambassador for Cîroc vodka for some years, Sean “Diddy” Combs advanced further into the spirits market by acquiring premium Tequila brand DeLeón in a joint venture with Diageo in 2014.
US rap star Bow Wow, whose real name is Shad Moss, celebrated his 28th birthday in 2015 with the launch of his NDI Vodka brand.
Earl Stevens, also known as E-40, 
We saw Heineken-owned Strongbow showcasing a 0.0% ABV version of its infamous Dark Fruits cider, Manchester brewer Cloudwater touring its range of hop-flavoured soda waters, and low-alcohol brewer Big Drop flogging its new collaboration beers brewed with the likes of Fourpure in south Bermondsey, and SALT in Yorkshire. Fortnum and Mason also sent a member of its team down to welcome attendees with a sample from its low ABV sparkling tea range.
Treasury Wine Estates’ 0.5% ABV range, Lindeman’s Alcohol Free, was the lead wine sponsor at the festival.
We started the working week with Blue Monday, widely touted by the marketing industry as the saddest day of the year.
While this is a dubious claim, January has become synonymous with boredom and low spirits, so Blue Monday makes for some easy PR wins.
And with that in mind, mixer maker Fentimans made the most of it by partnering with London restaurant Bourne & Hollingsworth’s to offer a ‘Fentimans Light Lunch’ menu on what is claimed to be the gloomiest day of the year.
Guests who opted in received a free bottle of low-cal Fentimans ‘Light’, which the group launched last year, and were seated within a specially designated area of the restaurant filled with serotonin boosting lights.
On Tuesday, Bacardi Brown Forman gathered a group of hospitality and bartending insiders at London bar Lyaness for the latest seminar in its Jigger Beaker Glass series.
Industry stalwarts Mark Shayler, and former International Bartender of the Year Joe Schofield joined the advocacy team for a talk on creativity. Naturally, a bar takeover followed, with trendeh bartenders Nicole Sykes (of Satan’s Whiskers in London), William Campbell-Roundtree (of Artesian, also London), Alex Godfrey (of Milk Thistle, Bristol), Ed Belshaw (from World Service, Nottingham), and Mathew Galloway (from Tigerlily, Edinburgh), serving up drinks that secured them a place in the UK finals of Bacardi's Legacy cocktail competition.
In aesthetics, the art world gathered in east London for the annual Art Icon Awards on Tuesday.
Belgian artist Francis Alÿs was presented with this year's prestigious award at the gala event, which has been held in partnership with Swarovski since 2014.
Castelnau being the event's official fizz partner, guests enjoyed Champagne Castelnau Brut Réserve NV poured from magnum during the evening, all the while an auction raised £235,320 for the Whitechapel Gallery’s education and community programmes.
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(Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Whitechapel Gallery)[/caption]
Iwona Blazwick and Saskia Sissons flanked Francis Alÿs in the promo photos before the glamorous gala dinner.
Wine blogger Kirsty Woodgate, Jo Thompson & Louise Hill from Phillips-Hill wine marketing, and Charlotte Kristensen from The London Wine Girl, meanwhile, were the lucky drinks industry guests in attendance.
Oustanding Alumni of the Year Ferran Centelles with Jancis Robinson and Steven Spurrier.[/caption]
Hosted by WSET Honorary President Steven Spurrier alongside Chief Executive Ian Harris, the occasion saw The Wine Show presenter and WSET Alumnus Joe Fattorini open the ceremony with a keynote speech to the largest ever graduating class of Level 4 Diploma students.
The WSET Outstanding Alumni Award, sponsored by JancisRobinson.com, was one this year by Ferran Centelles, the website's Spanish wine expert.
This year was also particularly special for us. Our very own deputy editor, Phoebe French, still has a month to go before she completes her Level 4, but was handed the Louis Jadot Burgundy Award for her for her paper on Light Wines of the World at a prizegiving ceremony at London's Guildhall later that day.
In good reads, The 8th edition of Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson’s The World Atlas of Wine has been named the winner of the 2019 André Simon Award for best drinks book.
The winners of the awards were announced at a ceremony on Monday 20 January at the Goring Hotel in London.
It has grown to 416 pages and 22 new maps have been added to the already extensive cartography.
Drinks assessor Dan Jago said: “One of the key criteria for the André Simon book awards is ‘Will I still be referring to it in ten years’ time?’ With The World Atlas of Wine, I am certain that the answer is yes.
In barhopping, Banks Rums has launched a new bartender tour, featuring internationally recognised mixologist Jim Meehan, called What is Distinctive.
From 2-6 February, the tour will reach three cities - Hamburg, London and Edinburgh – at award-winning venues where Meehan is due to present alongside other industry stalwarts, including former Savoy head bartender Erik Lorincz, Iain McPherson, and Joerg Meyer hosted by Banks Rums' European brand ambassador Alison Bartrop.