We are delighted to welcome a new addition to our Berrys’ Own Selection family: our delicious Argentinian Malbec. Sourced by our South American buyer Simon Field MW, from the celebrated producer Pulenta Estate in Mendoza, the wine fills a hole that has been present in our range for some time, and to celebrate the launch we thought we’d gather together some staff opinions to share with you.

Firstly, our South American buyer and the man responsible for sourcing the wine, Simon Field MW, elaborates on the origin of the wine, the beauty of its native Argentina, and just what makes our Malbec quite so exquisite:

“For a long time there has been a gap in our New World Own Selection Range, and for a long time we have been tasting and exploring in an effort to fill that gap. New Zealand Pinot Noir, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, Australian Chardonnay… all totemic and all emblematic of what is best (and in many instances worst) of the countries in question. But no Argentinian Malbec!

(more…)

In life, many a Thursday evening can pass with a glass of something whilst cooking, a moan at the lack of decent television and an early night in preparation for the weekend ahead. Last night was no such evening. I sashayed along to Cocktail Hour & Champagne at No. 3 St James’s Street for Berrys’ only Champagne and Cocktail specific event of the year, where special guest ‘bacchanologist’ Mark Jenner of the Connaught was shaking up an exciting range of drinks. The development of Spirits within Berry Bros. & Rudd is further acknowledgment that Cocktails are more exciting than ever and not just for the stereotypical demographic but more about a genre of drinks that can integrate with our everyday lives.

(more…)

The start of a new year is always an exciting time for me as it gives me the opportunity to look back on the highlights of last year’s Wine Club – the tastings, dinners and meeting with our Masters of Wine to choose the perfect wines for the Wine Club cases! It also gives me a chance to think about all the exciting events and new wines we can look forward to this year.

The Wine Club Walkaround tasting is the first event on the Wine Club calendar every year, and I always look forward to seeing our regular attendees and meeting new members for the first time. Last year’s Walkaround theme was a preview of the May cases, which gave members a chance to try the wines from every Wine Club case. It also gave them the opportunity to meet the buying team who love getting direct feedback from the people who drink the wines they choose.

(more…)

With Christmas less than a week away, now is the time for panicked last-minute purchases and hurried preparations for that all important Christmas Dinner on Sunday. With that in mind, we’ve put together a basic guide to festive food and wine matching!

Remember that the most important factors to consider when matching food and wine are:

• Match the weight of both the food and wine. Full-bodied wines complement heavy, rich foods
• Match the flavour intensity of both (full-flavours like Sauvignon Blanc and asparagus) and also consider the wine’s fruit character (the raspberry flavours in Pinot Noir complement duck the same way a fruit sauce would)
• Match or complement acidity in wine and food (high-acid wines complement fatty foods the same way lemon cuts the greasiness of smoked salmon)
• Salt is not found in wine but does clash with tannic wines, so avoid this pairing
• The more texture a food has (fatty food like duck or chewy food like steak), the more tannin the wine should have
• Always remember to serve a wine with greater sweetness than the food. Sweetness in wine also acts as a foil to rich foods (Sauternes and foie gras is a classic pairing)

(more…)

One of my personal favourites, and also a favourite restaurant of the wine trade, is the excellent Trinity in Clapham Old Town. Billing itself as a neighbourhood restaurant, but in reality far finer than your everyday local, Trinity champion seasonal eating in a fine dining, yet relaxed manner. The wine list in varied and well-priced (for London) and the Chef’s Cellar is a very welcome addition – fine wines sourced from around the globe with a £20 corkage and VAT added to the cost price. I wish more restaurants would follow suit, as after all, fine wine can only add to the experience of a good dinner and transparency on costs will result in more people ordering the wines. A debate for another day though!

With provenance becoming a buzzword in the kitchen, as well as the wine world, Trinity have gone to a new level, offering a Beef fortnight, where they butchered their own Longhorn heifer and offered various cuts with suitable accompaniments. The original idea came from a Pig week they ran in the summer, which led to too much success, and I’m told the Beef fortnight sold out in a little over a day. Luckily we got in in time and had pre-ordered the Bavette, an under-rated cut that is often overlooked.

(more…)

On the outskirts of the beautiful Georgian town of Marlow, one finds the gastropub that “would be king!” – The Hand & Flowers. 

A brilliant white washed exterior expresses an almost humble non presumption of the culinary expertise and delights that await you inside.

The Hand and Flowers is owned and run by Head Chef, Tom Kerridge and his wife Beth.  Tom is probably most well known from the BBC programme “Great British menu”  where he competed against  some of the UK’s best chefs to get his dish included on the menu at a People’s Banquet in Leadenhall Market, City of London.  2011 seems to be the year for Mr Kerridge as not only did one of his dishes win the Great British menu 2011 but his Hand & Flowers also won the accolade of 2 Michelin stars! (Possibly the reason I found it so hard to get a reservation!?)

(more…)

This year, we had the great pleasure to be invited to the house of Billecart-Salmon near Epernay. No small gesture as the trip was to include staying at the Maison du Billecart, dining with Monsieur François Billecart himself and after a tour the next day, dining at a 3 Michelin starred restaurant in Paris no less.

Greatly anticipating this trip, we met with Berrys’ Champagne buyer Simon Field MW a man of great knowledge and also modesty; a perfect travelling companion.

The Eurostar journey passed very quickly with tastings of the Billecart range including the Blancs de Blancs, Rosé and also the 1998 Blancs de Blancs. A superb set of Champagnes outlining the quality and what was to be the word of the trip “elegance”.

(more…)

The Whitsun bank holiday at the end of May is almost here and the whole of Britain is hoping for good weather, but even if the recent spate of sunny days comes to an end, hundreds of men (and women!) up and down the country will be braving the elements and dusting off the barbecues in time for the long weekend. And as if more incentive was needed, this weekend marks the start of National Barbecue Week.

To celebrate, we have teamed up with luxury butcher Aubrey Allan to offer Berrys’ customers an exclusive discounted barbecue meat selection box, with plenty of grillable meats, as well as a free Mark Hix recipe book.

(more…)

Chocolate is notoriously difficult to match with wine – it takes a bit of experimentation to find good combinations. As a general rule, when matching wines with chocolate, the darker the chocolate, the more full bodied and rich the wine should be. Here’s a few ideas of what to do with your left over Easter eggs… (more…)

If you gave something up for Lent, rest assured, it’s almost over! So over Easter treat yourself to an indulgent lunch with family and friends. There’s something special about traditional Pascal Lamb at Easter time and when it comes to choosing the perfect wine to match, there are several factors to consider: (more…)

The UK restaurant scene has changed beyond all recognition in the last 5 years. The boom years of the early and mid noughties has been replaced by more stringent times. Faced with the harsh realities of a global economic down turn, weak stirling and rapidly rising food prices restaurateurs in the UK have had to adapt to survive – and adapt they have. Lunchtime set lunches and meal deals (not just in Macdonald’s) have become the norm even in the finest restaurants, and chefs have had to adapt menus to fit the reduced budgets of their existing client base.

In general, smarter ways of working and much improved marketing has worked. There have been far fewer businesses failures in this sector than predicted in the height of the gloom of 2009 and we still have a vibrant and exciting restaurant scene.

(more…)

 …Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician (1890–1970).

Thankfully the recent French Wine & French Cheese evening in our Pickering Cellar didn’t quite aim to cover all of the above, but we did get through quite a few…Here at Berrys we have been hosting wine & cheese events with our neighbours Paxton & Whitfield for many years, but it is only recently that we have expanded the series to focus on the wines and cheeses of particular countries, notably Spain, Italy and of course France, a country steeped in a long tradition of both vin and fromage.

(more…)

Tokyo is a city that moves at a million miles an hour; A thriving hubbub of delectable juxtaposition, from the Gucci’s and Todd’s of Ginza to the Harajuku girls congregating around the Meiji Shrine – a blog such as this will never truly do it justice. Consequently, rather than tell you about the spectacle of live sumo (left. I never thought that watching fat men wrestle could be so hypnotic), the wonders of the Tokyo National Museum, or the greatest Manhattan I have ever tasted (forget ‘Lost in Translation’, Radio Bar serves the city’s best cocktails hands down… ), I have decided to simply tell you of one of my highlights, the Tsukiji Fish Market.  Tokyo has long been a Mecca for foodies, with Japanese chefs now dictating modern dining trends the world over, and so on our first morning we dutifully made the pilgrimage to Tsukijishijo Station, the home of the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.

(more…)

After the indulgences of Christmas, most of us will be feeling the pinch a bit, but there’s no need to give up one of life’s pleasures to get the bank balance back into the black. We’ve come up with a few handy tips and ideas to help you choose wines that offer great value and that also match simple, everyday meals like sausages and Shepherd’s Pie.

(more…)

Stewart Turner, Head Chef at Berry Bros. & Rudd, reveals his secrets for the perfect turkey and fabulous stuffing.

Top tips for turkey

To keep your turkey lovely and moist, pipe a herb and garlic butter under the skin. Add some truffle oil and chopped truffle to the butter for a touch of class. Periodically drain off any fat and juices as it cooks and put in a bowl in the fridge. The fat will rise to the top and solidify, ideal for your roast potatoes. Add the juices beneath to the gravy for a real depth of flavour.

Fabulous stuffing

3 or 4 good quality, thick sausages, skins removed
25g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large sprig of thyme and rosemary, chopped leaves only
6 fresh sages leaves, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
50g chestnuts, peeled and roughly chopped
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
100g fresh white breadcrumbs

Heat the butter in a pan. Add the onions and soften over a low heat without colouring. Stir in the apples and cook until they are just losing their shape.
Add the herbs and lemon zest. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool add mixture to the sausage meat. Stir in the breadcrumbs and chestnuts.
Beat well to blend everything together. Roll in greaseproof paper and tin foil and bake at 180c/gas 4 for about 25 minutes. Unwrap and serve.

Stewart Turner

I love this time of year. Christmas is just around the corner and shining like a beacon of warmth and cheer in the deepening darkness of winter. The food, the wine, the company and the fun – what better reward at the end of a long, hard year?

Throughout St James’s the window displays offer an enticing picture of festive life: cheeses from Paxtons, cigars from Foxs, hats from Locks, country clothing from William Evans. I wonder what will be under the tree for me…

(more…)

Do you know which wines you’ll be drinking this Christmas? We caught up with a few of our experts to see which fine drops will be accompanying their festivities this year:

“Lunch is always scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, accompanied by Berrys’ UKC Blanc de Blancs Champagne. I keep my appetite primed for the evening meal, precipitated by a glass of Champagne, probably vintage Pol Roger. Oysters washed down with a glass of Droin’s Chablis lead nicely in to a rib of beef, always accompanied by Red Burgundy, something like Chambolle-Musigny from Barthod or a 2002 Nuits-St-Georges, Les Georges from Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair.”
Alun Griffiths MW Berrys’ Wine Buying Director

“My chef’s perk is to sip Lustau’s incredible Oloroso, Pata de Gallina Sherry whilst stirring the gravy, my only contribution to the Christmas feast. Duck has always been a Boxing Day bird ever since I was a child, and my favourite wine match is a good Pinot Noir from California or New Zealand.”
Nick Page, Berrys’ Food & Wine Matching Expert

(more…)

As the temperature continues to drop this week, there is simply no better drink to have in your hipflask than The King’s Ginger. This emphatically ginger liqueur was specially formulated by Berry Bros. in 1903 for King Edward VII. Rich and zesty it was created to stimulate and revivify His Majesty and has been appreciated by bon viveurs, sporting gentleman and high-spirited ladies ever since. His Majesty was a man with a peerless sense of fashion, so we have spoken to our friends at esteemed hatters, Lock & Co, and they have agreed to make a bespoke, made to measure Edwardian hat for one lucky winner in our new competition.

(more…)

Oh, the many wonders of Sherry. In my mind it is undeniably the world’s most underrated, underpriced and truly splendid wine. Now, I’m not really talking about the sweet tasteless stuff that Auntie Mavis used to drink with the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day, I’m enthusing about the serious, nutty, complex, mouth-watering delights of the best Olorosos, Amontillados, Palo Cortados and, for those who can’t escape the cravings of a sweet tooth, the raisin-ripeness of Pedro Ximénex (PX) and, as we discovered at Lustau last month, the delightful floral Emilín Moscatel.

I think it’s clear that I love Sherry, so in order to enhance our understanding of this most fabulous of beverages, my colleague and I headed to Jerez, to pay homage to this great wine. And, quite frankly, to drink some fresh Finos, eat delicious tapas and enjoy the last of the European sun. But those particular tales are for another time, we’re here to hear about the Sherries, right?

(more…)

On 20th August we blogged about latest Japanese research that seemingly proved that it’s the iron content in wine, rather than its colour, that causes the problems with fish. On Monday night, at our Fine Wine with Fish courses, we put that theory to the test. You can download a full report about the evening, but below we show the results of our experiment.

With three sets of dishes to try, each paired with 2 wines, this is what we found:

(more…)