The number of brewers in the UK has grown exponentially in the last few years, growing by over 64% in the last 5 years. Over 300 began new breweries in 2016 taking the number to over 2,000 for the first time since the 1930’s. We were fortunate enough to have James Hughes, CEO of Woodforde’s Brewery in Norfolk and former senior Diageo executive tell us about the recent … [Read more...]
Grays and Feather – A Global First for Sparkling Wine
There are many famous quotes about Champagne and frankly you can replace the word with Sparkling wine and end up with a similar meaning. However perhaps the Oscar Wilde quote applies the ‘World’s First Global Sparkling Wine Bar’ Grays and Feather soon to be open in Covent Garden. “Pleasure without Sparkling Wine is purely artificial” Oscar Wilde Of course it says the … [Read more...]
Ian’s view of vineyards, newspaper correspondents and big ballsy reds
Thinking about wine, which I tend to do a lot of the time, my mind went from how many vineyards there were in the world, to all the newspaper correspondents there were in UK. Sadly, I haven’t been able to get complete answers to either. Most of it was laziness as I gave up counting by country. I actually got as far as 11,500 in the US, and 27,000 in France with 110,000 … [Read more...]
Jamie Oliver’s a silly fucker, and other observations from Tim Martin
Casual dining is taking a hammering right now, Jamie’s, Byron, Prezzo etc and yet Wetherspoons, once the ugly duckling, is now looking like the swan of the sector. Tim Martin founder and Chairman of J D Wetherspoons plc explains more about fashion and other pub centric subjects. Tim is at a loss to explain this tide of well being towards his pub chain, considering that … [Read more...]
Wine, well spotted Ian!
There is only one magazine I have been receiving longer than Decanter Wine and that is Private Eye which I started a subscription to as I left school over 50 years ago. As I said in a company blog a couple of weeks ago, if you want to be remotely serious about wine, Decanter is a must-have. I get almost all my ideas about what to drink from it, and I follow Steven Spurrier, the … [Read more...]
Wine – Do What Comes Naturally – Isabelle Legeron MW
Organic Wines are growing at 22.1% per year (Nielsen Scantrack) compared to the rather dismal general UK wine growth and they are associated with a younger ‘more environmentally caring’ generation of 21-35 years. These two facts in their own right suggests that Organic, Natural, and Biodynamic (O.N.B.) wines need a hard look at. Who better to discuss with than Isabelle Legeron … [Read more...]
Premium Wines Continue to Drive Growth in the UK until 2021
Hospitality is constantly going through renewal in the UK. Wine has a significant part to play in how service is delivered and the consumer experience. The wine world has many influences, being one of the most globally traded consumer goods so who better to speak to about some of the trends and influences on it than CEO Guillaume Deglise, head of the highest profile wine … [Read more...]
Craft, Cask and Cider, tales of innovation from Mitchells and Butlers
Mitchells and Butlers (MAB) may be one of the UK’s biggest hospitality companies, from which its brewing roots have long since been severed, but its beer range is arguably one of the most innovative in the country. Certainly, when you add in the scale of operations then there can be no doubt that its beer offering is a leader of the pack. Ben Lockwood is the (MAB) … [Read more...]
Ian Mitchell’s notes on a dry(ish) January
I have always chosen easily accessible wine from the supermarkets and Majestic, but its time to admit that I also go to a renowned wine merchant in Basingstoke for much of my wine. A few years ago, I bought several vintages of a good claret to do a vertical wine tasting for some great clients in Lincoln’s Inn. I collected this parcel from Berry Bros & Rudd at their … [Read more...]
Champany Inn, an experience that begins with Champagne Lanson Père et Fils
Champany Inn is one on its own, based just outside Linlithgow across the M9, in the heart of Scotland’s industrial community. Don’t be fooled by the elemental approach of high quality Scottish Beef, Scottish Seafood, Wine and service. Champany Inn is a sophisticated, unique and top-quality experience, which the family Davidson has worked hard on over 35 years. It retains … [Read more...]
Minimum Unit Pricing – Maximum Upset – for Beers, Wines and Spirits
The Scottish Government has just won an important legal case to enforce Minimum Unit pricing for alcohol – the first in the world. What will this achieve – reduced alcoholism and alcohol related issues or maximum upset always round? The true answer is that no-one really knows, however various lobby groups and now the Scottish government itself believe that it will have a … [Read more...]
Sano – Healthy Eating and Drinking in London
The movement of health and nutrition is one of the major features of the British food industry scene, and whereas previously it has not featured hugely in the dining out sector. Sano School of Medicine was opened two years ago by Doug and Heather Richards and Medicinal Chef Dale Pinnock as an accredited nutrional education group of businesses. The launch of Sano To Go on Grays … [Read more...]
Wine – Simplicity, Accessibility and Value – Charlie Young from Vinoteca
Simplicity, accessibility and value are great basis to run a business on. Vinoteca the wine bar, restaurant, and shop in six locations around London, the latest just having opened in Bloomberg Arcade espouses if not breathes these values. Charlie Young founder and co-owner of spent half an hour with me explaining how they arrived at this point, because it wasn’t always that … [Read more...]
Viva La Revolucion!
Castro, Lenin, Marx, Che Guevara all inspired revolutions and they were all learned individuals. Would they think that a 67 strong chain of bar-restaurants was representative of their much more aggressive activities? Or would they use them to plot, drink and smoke cigars (outside though)! Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba might be going through the financial mill with … [Read more...]
Ian Mitchell’s supermarket wine selection
Writing an article in H&C News initially started because I actually write a weekly blog for our people in Bartlett Mitchell. I genuinely enjoy trawling through the major supermarkets as part of this process and usually suggest three good value wines, either at full price or on special offer. My favoured supermarkets are Waitrose as I live a few hundred yards from … [Read more...]