Beers and wines – new

With beer now a well established accompaniment to pizza, the chance to pair alcoholic beverages with Italian food across the upcoming festive season will off er a chance for operators to promote something new, as well as indulgent, to their customers after a particularly testing year.

Beers and wine

NEW TO THE UK

In September, premium Italian wine specialist, Independent Wine, announced that it is introducing a UK-exclusive collection of award-winning Riesling and Pinot Noir, crafted by Peter Zemmer in Alto Adige DOC, Italy.

Many wine afi cionados are re-discovering Alto Adige: a German-speaking corner of Italy that’s famous for producing high quality wines with a refreshing taste specifi c to the terroir of the Dolomite Alps. Now, for the fi rst time, UK customers have the opportunity to buy wines produced by Peter Zemmer – one of Alto Adige’s foremost winemakers.

Peter Zemmer is a third-generation winemaker, making exceptional wines which have won a number of international awards. For example, his Pinot Grigio Riserva Giatl received the Decanter Silver Medal in 2019, while his Pinot Noir Rolhut lifted the Decanter Bronze medal and the coveted Gambero Rosso “Two Glasses” award. His Riesling wine has received recognition from notable independent experts, including 90 points from Wine Enthusiast and 92 points from James Suckling.

Peter Zemmer’s cellar is based at Strada del Vino, or Weinstraße, the renowned route in Alto Adige which is home to many famous wineries.

“We are really proud to introduce the wines of Peter Zemmer to wine lovers in the UK. My team and I always hunt for wines of exceptional quality, and I think this time we have found something really special,” said Elvira Dmitrieva, CEO of Independent Wine.

“Our customers look for wines with more complexity, elegance and sophistication. We are excited to off er Peter Zemmer’s wine because it off ers both the elegance of the terroir of Alto Adige, and the premium quality our customers expect.”

In the past twelve months, Elvira Dmitrieva’s company has introduced more than a dozen new awardwinning Italian wine brands to the UK market. Peter Zemmer’s collection of wines is the latest addition to Independent Wine’s portfolio, increasing the selection of premium wines available to Italian wine connoisseurs and enthusiasts in the UK.

Independent Wine off ers next day wine delivery across the UK mainland, with free delivery for orders over £99. The company is a registered AWRS licence holder, and supplies to restaurants and hospitality businesses across the UK.

A clear favourite amongst Brits during the upcoming festive season, the UK remains the largest consumer of prosecco outside of Italy – and this year the progressive British prosecco brand, The Emissary, says that it has launched a product made for celebrating.

Unveiled in July, the Emissary Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut is a gift for discerning wine lovers and a sophisticated Christmas table addition, they suggest - rich and complex with extra fi ne, velvety bubbles, it is made from only the fi nest selection of grapes grown on the Emissary’s family-run vineyard in Italy’s ‘DOCG Asolo’ region (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin).

Founded by Ed Smith to introduce a distinguished, superior quality prosecco to a new generation of UK wine drinkers, the Emissary Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut is the second product to join the premium portfolio of 100% vegan and environmentally friendly prosecco. The debut product, the Emissary Prosecco DOC Treviso Spumante ExtraBrut launched in 2018, and a rosé product, The Emissary Prosecco DOC Rosé Treviso Millesimato 2020 will be launching in January 2021.

All Emissary Prosecco is low in sugar, fresher and more versatile than most other sparkling wines, providing instant elevation to Christmas brunches, creative cocktails and wellbalanced festive menus, without being overpowering, claim the company. As a contemporary brand designed with social occasions in mind, the Emissary comes in a heavy black glass bottle with statement branding, making it a distinctive and timeless gift for those who like to celebrate in style.

Both of The Emissary proseccos make for a delicate and light aperitif or after dinner drink, and can be enjoyed throughout the Christmas feast as a complement to canapes, cheese courses, fi sh dishes and turkey, their creators suggest.

HOME GROWN WINES

There are now over 400 commercial vineyards and wineries in England, and Wine of England (htt ps://wineofengland. co.uk/) has been founded to support them. The organisation aims to provide a great looking, usable platform for English wine lovers to discover the incredibly large number of wineries and vineyards that dot the country’s hills and plains, and what they have to off er.

“We aspire to be an important source of information for English wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs and a link between them and English wine producers,” says Seb Elia, co-founder of Wine of England.

It is impossible to ignore the increasing popularity of wine on English shores, they feel, and we’re not talking about consuming it, which Britain has always been a world champion at, but producing it. For this reason, they decided to map all of England’s

VITICULTURE IN THE UK

Viti-Culture Live (10 June 2021) Venue - Plumpton College, East Sussex BN7 3AE Website - www.viti -culture.com

This will be an event for the UK viticulture industry and will provide a showcase for interested and prospective growers to come and speak to experts and fi nd out more about any aspect of wine production. Whether you have an established vineyard and winery, are looking to plant, or want to invest in your own production facilities, numerous exhibitors from vineyard consultants, to land agents, specialist machinery manufacturers and dealers, winery equipment suppliers, agronomists, brand and packaging specialists, and professional service providers attend Viti-culture.com to advise on every aspect of establishing and managing a vineyard through to producing, packaging and marketing the wines.

commercial vineyards and wineries and promote them.

English wine is serious business, not simply because of its ever-increasing quality, but also because of the growing audience of English wine consumers, domestically and internationally (English and Welsh sales reached 5.5 million bottles in 2019, a 70% increase over the year before, they report).

As more people become interested in drinking English wine, the more that people want to visit and experience vine growing and winemaking first-hand, or enotourism (wine tourism) as it’s known. Although the trend is positive and an increasing number of wineries and vineyards are offering tours and experiences to the general public, wine tourism is still in its infancy in England when compared to other countries such as France, Spain or Italy.

BEERS PROMOTED

To celebrate the launch of its brand new Stuffed Crust Takeaway Sweet Honey BBQ Salami pizza, Chicago Town launched a beer inspired by those exact flavours, in partnership with acclaimed craft brewery, Seven Bro7hers Brewing co.

The beer, appropriately titled Show Me The Honey, was developed by the Seven Bro7hers brewing team to replicate the sweet flavours of the new pizza which features a tomato sauce filled crust and is topped with sweet honey BBQ sauce, a blend of mozzarella and red cheddar, salami and red onions. These sweet and savoury flavours have been matched by beer gurus in the Show Me The Honey ale, with the honey flavour really coming through to champion the honey BBQ sauce that can be tasted in the pizza. It’ll also come as welcome news to pizza fans nationwide that after a new poll conducted by Chicago Town it was revealed that 75.5% of people who enjoy alcohol with their pizza would choose beer as the perfect accompaniment.

On the new flavour beer, Seven Bro7hers brewer, Jack Dixon said: “Chicago Town’s new pizza is bursting with bold flavours, from its tomato stuffed crust to sweet honey BBQ sauce. We were keen to replicate the pizza’s aroma and taste in the flavour profile of Show Me The Honey. To capture the perfect pairing, the team sampled each of the toppings here in the brewery and mapped out the brew based on the flavour notes we needed to hit.

“Chicago Town pizza dough is made fresh every day in its bakery so was easy to replicate with yeast, the base for any beer. Hops were added to give it a smoky salami bitterness, but not too late in the boil as we didn’t want it to overpower the honeycomb malt syrups. These syrups are added to replicate the sweet, yet tangy, honey BBQ sauce found on the pizza.”

So that customers could enjoy the harmonious flavours of the two products together sooner than later, Chicago Town offered the first 100 customers to purchase the new Show Me The Honey beer, a voucher to pick up a free Chicago Town Sweet Honey BBQ Salami pizza. Chicago Town spokesperson, Rachel Bradshaw, said: “As we saw in our poll, beer is the most popular alcoholic drink to accompany a slice of pizza… This beer is only around for a limited time, so pizza fans need to act fast to try this sweet combination together!” The new Stuffed Cust Takeaway Sweet Honey BBQ Salami pizza can be purchased in most major supermarkets including Amazon, ASDA, Farmfoods, Iceland, Ocado, Tesco and Morrisons at the MRRP of £4.49 (further details, at www.chicagotown.com/blog/ honey). The Seven Bro7hers Show Me The Honey beer can be purchased from October via its online beer shop at https://www.sevenbro7hers.com/ product/show-me-the-honey-440ml/.

The premium Czech beer brand, Budweiser Budvar UK, says that it is raising the profile of its premium Czech beer range with the launch of a new on-trade support programme, including a distinctive brand refresh across tank, draught and packaged formats, alongside new POS that delivers “Greetings From The Republic of Beer.”

The new on-trade programme builds on the success of the striking new brand design which has been rolling out on Budvar bottles and cans since July. The new graphics will now also be seen on a brand new draught fount, t-bar badge and distinctive new tap handle. It will also feature on brewery-fresh tank beer served in selected outlets; and a range of POS including posters and bar runners.

Also being launched is a new premium branded glass that reflects the brand’s roots in Czech beer hall culture. The glass is based on a design shown in a popular work by Czech painter and illustrator Joseph Lada, who also illustrated the classic Czech anti-war novel The Good Soldier Švejk.

In Lada’s painting Palivec and the Gang at U Kalicha in Praha, a group of friends are depicted enjoying a beer in one of Prague’s best known pubs, which features in the novel. Contemporary Czech glass artist Rony Plesl has designed

the new Budweiser Budvar glass based on the beer glasses shown in Lada’s work. For the UK on-trade, a pint-marked version of the glass will be rolling out to selected Budweiser Budvar stockists during November and December.

The brand’s overall new look takes its stylistic cues from the brewery’s archive, dating back to its founding in 1895, with a classic colour palette inspired by the Czech flag. The statement “Owned by the Czech Republic” which frames the logo at the bottom of the bottles and cans, also appears on the draught badge and on Budvar’s full-flavour ‹Tankové Pivo’ tank beer. This celebrates Budvar’s continuing independence as a brewery owned by a nation, not a corporation. Supporting the new design is the positioning “Greetings from the Republic of Beer”, which will also appear on the distinctive new POS. The message will form the basis of a programme of live sampling and experiential activity in 2021, which will see the new BudVan promotional vehicle visit a range of venues and events.

Simon George, managing director of Budweiser Budvar UK, said: “The lockdown meant that our beer lovers first saw the distinctive new branding in the off-trade this summer but we’re now delighted to be rolling out our “Greetings from the Republic of Beer” message into pubs and bars.

“Whether it’s served from the fridge, poured through our new draught fount, or our ‘Tankové Pivo’ enjoyed brewery fresh from the tank, Budweiser Budvar is recognised as one of the world’s great lagers, and the new positioning helps us to tell our unique story.

“It is also great to get our brand-new BudVan out on the road. It can operate as mobile bar, a training centre for bar staff and as a way of highlighting our premium beer, brewed only in the town of České Budějovice.”

Award winning IPA

The team at a Wold Newton-based brewery in East Yorkshire is celebrating after winning three awards at the World Beer Awards and two gold stars at the Guild of Fine Foods’ Great Taste Awards. Wold Top Brewery’s first lager, Landmark Lager and gluten free favourite, Scarborough Fair IPA both won bronze awards at the annual worldwide competition, as did Swell, the barrel aged beer that it produced in conjunction with sister company, Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery.

Landmark Lager won its award in the Session Lager category (UK), Scarborough Fair in the English Style IPA category (UK) and Swell in the Barrel Aged category (UK).

Brewery manager Alex Balchin said: “It’s always a great achievement to win awards in brewing competitions that are judged by our industry peers, but even more rewarding to see new beers Landmark Lager and Swell achieving success on a worldwide platform in their first industry wide competition.” The World Beer Awards are held annually to celebrate the World’s Best Beers in both taste and design. Barrel-aged beer, Swell was also awarded with a gold star at the Great Taste Awards that are dubbed the Oscars of the food and drink world. Wold Top’s multi award-winning Blonde Beer, Wold Gold, was also awarded a prestigious star.

Pictured: Jenni Ashwood from Spirit of Yorkshire with sister, Kate Balchin from Wold Top, with their collaborative beer, Swell. A BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH

The UK-bar group – the Botonist (England and Wales) - is brightening up the remainder of 2020 after the launch of their brand new weekend Bottomless Aperol Brunch.

Not only is the Aperol as free flowing as Trevi fountain (well at least for 90 minutes), you can channel your inner Botanist with some limited-edition exclusive Aperol Spritz trees for the table.

Guests, and their bubble, can choose from a wide-selection of set priced brunch dishes and artisan tea and coffees from the a la carte menu, or choose to upgrade to a choice of any brunch dish bottomless Prosecco or Aperol Spritz – served from the tree – for just £26.50.

From the traditional full English or equally heart vegan full English, classic Smashed Avocado on Toast to The Botanist’s very own Nutella and Biscoff French Toast, there is something for all tastes (the Botanist Aperol Bottomless brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday across The Botanist venues, with service times varying between sites).

The Great Taste Awards judging panel concluded that barrel-aged beer, Swell was ‘a beautiful blend of the casks, which is a skill in and of itself and it is a very nice drink’ and ‘well textured and complex, plenty of weight and power’ whilst Wold Gold had a ‘gently honeyed, beguiling nose.’ In the Great Taste Awards 2020, 12,777 products were judged by 144 of the most discerning palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs, buyers, retailers and producers, as well as food writers and journalists.