London, England The English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition organised by the United Kingdom Vineyards Association saw a significant gathering of UK’s growers and producers at the Vintners’ Hall on 29th July 2015 to celebrate the industry's annual national wine awards. It is the only competition in the world judged entirely and only ever by Masters of Wine. The wines were judged by a team of six Masters of Wine and marked to international standards. Chaired by Anthony Foster MW, the panel also comprised: Dee Blackstock MW, Rebecca Hull MW, Sally Easton MW, David Bird MW and Robin Crameri MW. Welcomed by the Master of the Vintners’ Company, Simon Leschallas, and the Chairman of the United Kingdom Vineyards Association, Sam Lindo, the medals and trophies were presented to the winners, and the three most prestigious trophies: Winemaker of the Year, Wine of the Year and Communicator of the Year were unveiled. The event also gave cause to celebrate a record-breaking number of entries – and awards – gained in this year’s competition, reflecting not only the ongoing growth in the number of wines now being produced, but their consistent quality. 327 wines were entered from 93 vineyards. In total, 284 won an award, including 19 Gold, 124 Silver and 141 Bronzes, with winners including new entrants to other, longer-established producers reinforced their consistent award-winning credentials. One Highlight of the winners was Bacchus England’s signature grape variety for still wines, Bacchus, proved to be a clear winner, scooping 6 of the trophies and 8 of the 19 Gold medals. Anthony Foster MW declared “We must be truly proud of this variety which should be listed in every good restaurant in the land just as Marlborough Sauvignon is!” Here is the list of winners: Gore-Browne Trophy – The Wine of the Year Albourne Estate Bacchus 2014 McAlpine Trophy – Winemaker of the Year Piers Greenwood, New Hall Vineyard English Wine Producers Communicator of the Year Susie Barrie MW and Peter Richards MW Vintners’ Trophy - The most outstanding sparkling wine Langham Wine Estate Classic Cuvée 2011 McNie Trophy - The most outstanding oaked white wine Gusbourne Estate Guinevere 2013 Tom Day Trophy - The most outstanding single varietal wine Albourne Estate Bacchus 2014 Waitrose Rosé Trophy - The most outstanding still rosé wine Meopham Valley Vineyard Rosé 2014 Bob Lindo Trophy - The most outstanding sparkling rosé wine Plumpton Estate The Dean Blush Brut NV Bernard Theobald Trophy - The most outstanding red wine Sharpham Vineyard Pinot Noir & Précoce 2013 Stefanowicz Tropy – The most outstanding sweet wine Hattingley Valley Entice 2014 The complete results can be looked up on http://www.ukva.org.uk/ (Excerpt from a press release)
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Mumbai, India Grant’s is delighted to announce the signing of their first ever Indian Brand ambassador Mr. Rohan Bhardwaj, the winner of The Awesome Job campaign. Rohan would be taking on the new role, effective immediately. He will be representing Grant’s, an iconic blended Scotch whisky brand from the premium spirits company of William Grant & Sons, in India. Born in India and living in Gurgaon, Rohan was voted by his friends as the perfect candidate for The Awesome Job and was chosen on the basis of his ready wit, charm, confidence, pleasing demeanor, wanderlust as well as knowledge and passion of spirits.The winner of The Awesome Job campaign will be travelling to Scotland with his friends who nominated him for this job “I am simply ecstatic about the new role that I am about to take on. The journey to the top spot for the past few months has been thrilling and has helped me get familiar with Grant’s, it heritage, philosophy as well as aspirations to expand its outreach in India. I feel privileged to be associated with a legendary brand like this and look forward to driving the brand’s footprint in the market with a firm focus on the ideology of Grant’s. I am thankful to the team, jury as well as my friends who have helped me scale the ladder to achieve this career milestone today.” said Rohan. The Brand Ambassador’s role entails supporting the growth and proliferation of Grant’s award-winning and globally renowned range of whiskies in both value and volume. The individual will become a part of a network of brand ambassadors who share this common goal to develop the brand’s repute in international markets across the world. A job that defies conventional ideas of corporate silos and diktats, this is a position that will include training in Scotland, indulging in travel, exquisite cuisine and attending glamourous events and he will be the representative for Grants Scotch to the industry. The Awesome Job campaign was powered purely by social media. It kick started in April scanning candidates across the length and breadth of the country via a novel approach based on friends’ nominating the candidate for the post. Pegged as the job ‘one can’t apply for,’ it marked the first-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by Grant’s to establish its presence in India. One can find more details to the hunt for Grant’s Brand Ambassador at: https://www.facebook.com/IndiaGrants Commenting on the announcement and closure of The Awesome Job campaign, Shweta Jain, the India Marketing Director at Grant’s, said, “Rohan is a strong, passionate man, who will now become the new advocate for the brand. This announcement also brings to an end a whirlwind experience of finding the best candidate for the post. He is the perfect ambassador to talk about drinking responsibly, tastefully and together and personifies all the attributes that the India representative of the brand should possess. We congratulate Rohan on winning the title and welcome him onboard.” (Excerpt from a press release) Mumbai, India Now in its seventh edition, Diageo Reserve World Class brought together twenty mixologists from India’s leading hotels and bars to compete for the title at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Alfonso Del Portillo, from Drinks on MG, Bangalore was conferred the title of the India Bartender of the Year at Diageo Reserve World Class 2015. The winner will represent India and compete with the world’s best bartenders at Diageo Reserve World Class Global Finals to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in September, 2015. Portillo edged his competitors and swayed the judges with his speed, meticulous execution and balanced cocktails at the India final. Runner up Bensan Varghese from Arola, JW Marriott, Mumbai and Second Runner up Mayur Marne from Hakkasan Mumbai too impressed the judges and the attendees with their creativity and craftsmanship, thus earning them the second and third position respectively. Over the last six months, the contenders from the most prominent bars in India competed in multiple regional levels before descending in Mumbai for the national finals. Top 20 bartenders were judged by an expert panel consisting of Bhavesh Somaya -Head of Luxury, United Spirits Ltd - a Diageo Group company; Will Thompson - Global Brand Ambassador, Don Julio; Alex Sanchez -Executive Chef, The Table; Zbigniew Zapert - Reserve Brand Ambassador India and Nicholas Ord - Reserve Brand Ambassador India. The selected 20 bartenders exhibited originality and all the right skills throughout the competition that judged them on various parameters to test their ingenuity. Of the 20 talented challengers, Alfonso emerged as the winner for mastering these pre-requites and displaying unparalleled skills with utmost passion. Announcing the winner, Bhavesh Somaya, Head of Luxury, United Spirits Ltd - a Diageo Group company said, “Diageo Reserve World Class is a celebration of flair and creativity in the craft of bartending. It is a testament to Diageo Reserve’s longstanding commitment of transforming fine drinking experiences and cocktail culture around the world. After triumphing the multi-layered competition, the India Champion will now contend with some of the most talented bartenders from around the world at the Global Final. It will be the ultimate test of skill, craft and mettle. ”
Sharing his big win, Alfonso Del Portillo, added, “It’s a real honour to be the Diageo Reserve World Class India Bartender of the Year 2015. The platform gave me an opportunity to learn from the best in the industry and I can confidently say that I have grown enormously as a professional through this journey. It feels extremely rewarding to compete with the best bartenders in the world and represent India at the Global Finals in South Africa. I can’t wait to experiment and show some innovative ideas!” (Excerpt from a Press Release) Mumbai, India Diageo Reserve World Class, the industry’s biggest and most prestigious bartending competition, today announced the 20 finalists who will compete with each other at the India National Finals to be held in Mumbai. The winner further gets an opportunity to represent India at the Global Diageo Reserve World Class Competition.
Diageo Reserve World Class is recognized as a unique global platform that nurture the talent of local bartenders, enable them with the right knowledge and prepares them for some of the best bars in the world. In its seventh edition, the competition witnessed an outstanding participation of 275 entrants from 100 outlets. Compared to last year, the competition witnessed an increase of 22%, thus reaffirming the growing popularity of this marquee platform. A team of judges comprising of Zbigniew Zapert (Reserve Brand Ambassador) and Nicholas Ord (Reserve Brand Ambassador), carefully handpicked the top 20 contenders who were scored on their knowledge artistry, innovation, balance, technique and visual aesthetic. World Class will see bartenders competing for the title of the India Bartender of the Year of Diageo Reserve World Class 2015 edition. The Judges will include of Zbigniew Zapert , Nicholas Ord, Will Thompson (Global Brand Ambassador, Don Julio), Alex Sanchez (Executive Chef, The Table) and Bhavesh Somaya (Head of Luxury, United Spirits- a Diageo Group company). The winner and India Champion will ultimately take on the world’s best bartenders at Diageo’s seventh annual Global Diageo World Class Competition to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in September, 2015. DIAGEO WORLD CLASS 2015 TOP 20: Mayur Marne, Mumbai Raghuvender Singh, Delhi Akash Singh, Mumbai Yogesh Kumar, Delhi Garrimella Venkat, Mumbai Rahul Chettri, Delhi Tejas Pradip, Mumbai Dilbar Rawat, Delhi Bensan Varghese, Mumbai Lovely Miglani, Delhi Abhijit Kotkar, Pune Gaurav Dhyani, Delhi Bipeen Kekan, Pune Vikram K.U, Delhi Abhishek Shevade, Pune Aman Dua, Gurgaon Dushyant Tanwar, Kolkata Arnold Hou, Gurgaon Dibyendu Chaki, Kolkata Alfonso Valdes, Bangalore (Excerpt from a press release dated 22nd June 2015) Mumbai, India Aspri Spirits, is all set to celebrate the famous NEGRONI WEEK ( 1st -7th June 2015) through promoting the classic and innovative versions of NEGRONI in the country. NEGRONI is a cocktail which has left its mark on the history of the Milanese Aperitif Campari and is known throughout the World. NEGRONI is made of one part gin, one part Cinzano Vermouth Rosso (red, semi-sweet), and one part Campari, garnished with orange peel.
NEGRONI WEEK was launched in 2013 as a celebration of one of the world’s great cocktails and an effort to raise money for charitable causes around the world. From 2013 to 2014, Negroni Week grew from more than 100 participating bars to more than 1,300 participating bars around the world and raised more than $120,000 for charities. This year the number of participating bars and restaurants have almost doubled to 2500 + till the last count was taken this week. This year Aspri has been very proactive in ensuring INDIA is featured for the 1st time among the other 35 countries participating in this International Promotional Activity and is ecstatic about the proud feeling of India being featured as the number 1 Country in ASIA and also in the top 10 list in the world in terms of participating bars. It’s a week-long celebration, of one of the world’s great cocktails where bars and restaurants raise money (minimum a $ 1 for each NEGRONI sold) to a local charitable organisation of their choice. NEGRONI WEEK will be celebrated across various bars and restaurants for the first time in India. PARTICIPATING BARS & RESTAURANTS in MUMBAI
( Excerpt from a press release) Mumbai, India The city of Dreams, Mumbai, played stage to the final leg of India’s first digital mentorship program, The Step Up by Johnnie Walker. After a thrilling journey of four weeks, the platform culminated into a stunning Johnnie Walker-inspired evening where nine talented participants showcased their talent in the presence of their mentors and the Mumbai glitterati! Only nine aspirants from across India made it through the elimination rounds and were guided to sharpen their skills and undertake an inspirational journey packed with rigorous training and tough challenges, by mentors Nikhil Chib, Nikhil Thampi and the MIDIval Punditz. From pop-up restaurants to celebrity styling to creation of original tracks with limited instruments, this unique platform brought alive the dreams of nine talented individuals to do their best. The splendid grand finale was a convergence of sumptuous food, awe-inspiring fashion and soul-stirring music, created by India’s top aspiring talent and curated by inspiring achievers. The event culminated with the announcement of three winners who took The Step Up and will now go on to realize their dreams in their chosen fields. The top performers from fashion and food, were offered a six month apprenticeship with Nikhil Thampi and Nikhil Chib, respectively. The best performer in music will set off on an exclusive four-city tour with MIDIval Punditz.
Speaking about the splendid grand finale, Mr. Bhavesh Somaya, Head of Luxury, United Spirits Limited – a Diageo Group Company said “The Step Up is a reflection of the Johnnie Walker philosophy that encourages individuals to take the next big step and move forward in life. This mentorship program has helped us create a strong platform for aspiring young adults in the fields of food, fashion and music to further enhance their skills and prepare them to STEP UP in the pursuit of their passions. Our aim is to nurture and promote these abled mentees and direct them on the path of progress and excellence.” (Excerpt from a press release) More Power to you Johnnie Walker… Keep Striding !! Mumbai, India ‘India’s finest’ an initiative by the Mumbai wine club aims to acknowledge the best wines from India. With India being the ‘brand new-world’ in wines, it is still experimenting with regions, grapes, styles of production and treatments and evolving every passing year. With more than 80 wineries in the country and no proper wine labeling laws in place; wine selection is a major task for the customer. ‘India’s finest’ will highlight the best across categories making it easier for the consumers whilst helping wineries who are genuinely trying or rather making good wine. The Mumbai Wine Club appointed an independent jury to taste over 100 wines over a period of 2 days and as you read this piece, the jury is judging the red wines from India. The jury consists of eminent personalities from the wine world namely Alok Chandra, Craig Wedge, Prahlad Kakkar, Rojita Tiwari, Sanjay Menon, Sonal Holland, Shatbhi Basu, Subhash Arora and Vishal Kadakia. Rojita Tiwari who is also the curator of this initiative said, “This is to acknowledge the spirit of wine making. We have a handful of companies making great quality wines. We also have a number of wines which have won medals, awards and accolades in various international platforms. It is high time that we prepare our own dream list which every wine company would aspire to find a place in. As this list will be updated every year, it will offer a chance to newer and greater number of participations year after year.” Grover Zampa, Fratelli, Sula, Reveilo, York, Myra, Four Seasons, Vallone, Nine Hills, Charosa, Chandon, Alpine, Big Banyan, Krsma estates and SDU wineries featured in the list of wines that are in the tastings. The results we hear would be out in a week’s time, We will keep you updated.
Look forward to new beginnings in the Indian wine scene. Cheers! |
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The Happy High is a Mumbai based beverage consulting co founded in 2014 with a vision to raise the bars of the wine and dine scene in the country. Read more.
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