Simone Sylvestre: Diary of a Acorn Scholar

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August 2011 - Posts

30 Aug 2011 1:41 PM

'Fine Wine v Beer' at The White Swan

Simone Sylvestre, a member of the Laytons sales team was delighted to attend the recent ‘Fine Wine v Beer’ dinner event at the White Swan in Chancery Lane, hosted by Paulo Brammer, ETM Group’s Head Sommelier.

All guests were served a delicious five course menu, with a glass of fine wine, specially selected by Simone, plus a beer chosen by Ben McFarland, beer connoisseur and co-owner of Dwink.

The night was fun and made people think and question ‘Does beer match food as well as wine?’

Over recent decades, wine has been considered the drink of choice, and many of us automatically reach for a bottle of wine when dining, rather than exploring other avenues. However, increasingly, brewers and beer writers are recommending beer as an accompaniment to food, and, it is starting to find a place at restaurant tables, as people discover what a delicious, and versatile, partner it is. The variety of flavours derived from different hop strains and ingredients are able to contrast and complement a range of tastes and dishes.

The results from the tasting are below, and at the end of the evening a winner was announced!

Menu and scores

Grilled English asparagus, duck egg, keta and lardo
Blue Moon Wheat, USA (YES)
N.V Dominio De La Vega, Cava Brut, Utiel-Requena (NO)

Seared scallops, smoked aubergine, preserved lemon and coriander
Samuel Smith, Organic Lager, North Yorkshire, England (NO)
Terradora di Paolo, Grecco di Tufo Loggia, della Serra 2009 (YES)

                                                                           Roast English veal rump and sweetbread, dandelion, basil and olives
                                                                                Oakham Citra Pale Ale, Peterborough, England (YES)
                                                                                  Amy's, Moss Woods, Margaret River, Australia 2008 (NO)

                                                                            Montgomery, rhubarb chutney, buttermilk crackers
                                                                        BrewDog, 5am Saint Amber Ale, Scotland (NO)
                                                                      Quinta das Cerejeiras, Lisboa 2008 (YES)

                                                                     Bitter chocolate tart, star anise ice cream
                                                                      Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, Ochil Hills, Scotland (NO)
                                                                    Pedro Ximenez, La Gitana (YES)

The winner was: WINE!

During the tasting it was clear that wine was a better match with food, but everybody agreed that beer was good as an aperitif and digestive.

Posted by Simone Sylvestre | with no comments

30 Aug 2011 12:22 PM

The Laytons Team visit Nyetimber Vineyards, West Sussex

As stockists of both the 2005 Classic Cuvée and 2001 Premiere Cuvée, Blanc de Blancs, the Laytons sales team were pleased to accept an invitation to visit the prestigious Nyetimber Estate for a tour of the vineyards and wine tasting.

Nyetimber is now the largest vineyard in the UK with 438 acres under vine, and, is the only producer to solely make premium sparkling wine exclusively from estate grown fruit, thus ensuring complete control at every stage of the process. Located in the south of England, in the picturesque village of Pulborough, it shares similar geology and soils to the Champagne region, and the classic Champagne varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are ideally suited to chalk terroir.

After a short train journey from Waterloo, the team arrived at Pulborough station, and were welcomed by Dave Roles, Sales Director at Nyetimber. The tour then commenced, with David providing some very interesting facts about the viticulture, with an opportunity to visit the main vineyard and see the vines and terroir. It was a rare treat to be in the heart of the Sussex countryside visiting vineyards, yet only 1 hour away from London!

Having spent some time in Champagne, Michael Robins observed that these beautifully managed vineyards were very similar in appearance to those in the French region, with the only difference being the obvious English accent!

The team were impressed by the very ambitious plans for Nyetimber, and how the estate perceives itself in the UK market. It was refreshing to see such drive from a UK winery. This was reinforced with the news of the technological leap in equipment that has recently been purchased for the new winery in Crawley that has even had the champenois beating the path to the door of winemaker Cherie Spriggs.

Nyetimber The tasting took place in the old winery, an impressive building site due to the careful and considerate renovation work that owner Eric Heerema has been undertaking for several years on the main original Tudor house, to restore the buildings and lakes to their magnificent past glories.

The team finally indulged in a tasting of the current vintage of the Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, plus a host of other cuvées and vintages, finishing with a real treat in the original and famed 1992 vintage.

It was a great tasting which showed exceptional breadth and ability of the wines to remain vital and exciting. These are the very best of what this country can produce and a contender to be the finest sparkling wine in the world.