11th December-
VINEYARD AND RESTAURANT OPEN NEW WINE SHOP

Jabajak restaurant and vineyard, based near Whitland in Camarthenshire, have opened a new wine shop and tasting lounge – The Gourmet Wine Company.  The new portfolio will feature wines from all over the world, including England.  

Most of the wines listed are from small producers, from tiny cooperatives in the Mountains of North Western Spain, to a small family run operation in the Sacramento Valley in California and lesser known wine producing areas like Rust, in Austria.

The full wine list will soon be available on line to view and buy from  www.thegourmetwinecompany.co.uk.

Wine from Three Choirs, who have been advising Jabajak on their own vineyard, is available to buy from the new list, and can also be enjoyed in their restaurant by the bottle or glass.

You can sign up to receive Jabajak's newsletter by contacting info@jabajak.co.uk, for regular news on their restaurant, accommodation, functions and other events.

10th December -
ENGLISH WINE REALLY IS THE TOAST OF CHRISTMAS

English wine will give Champagne and claret a run for their money this Christmas following Waitrose reports that its English wine sales have risen an incredible 120% year-on-year.

English sparkling wine sales are contributing to this outstanding increase. During November, Waitrose English sparkling wine experienced a sales uplift of 360% as customers, encouraged by its excellent quality, stocked up on their favourite British bubbly.

According to Waitrose, English wine is continually outselling wines from California, Alsace, Germany and Portugal and looks set to become the tipple of choice this festive season. In November, English wine outsold claret on Waitrose.com, the supermarket’s on-line service.

The Waitrose wine buying team, which includes five Masters of Wine, now takes English wine as seriously as any European or New World wine. Waitrose currently stocks wines from 11 UK vineyards and plans to increase its range still further in 2008.

English wine specialist Justin Howard-Sneyd, Waitrose Master of Wine, explained:

“English wines used to be regarded as the Cinderellas of the wine world – but now they are taking centre stage, and deservedly so."

“With the UK’s increasingly warm summers and the skills and expertise of English wine makers, English wine has seen a significant improvement in quality. It is also a great choice for customers wanting to try something a little different this Christmas.”

Every Waitrose shop in the wine-producing regions of England will have a range of between two and ten English wines, with a good proportion of Waitrose’s English wine selection available through Waitrose.com, Waitrose’s on-line service, including its best-selling Taste of England case, containing a mix of 12 English wines, £75.

Waitrose has scooped more major wine awards than any other supermarket. These include Best Supermarket of the Year at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2007, Off Licence News Multiple Wine Retailer 2007 and Supermarket of the Year 2007

7th December -
A TRULY CORNISH CELEBRATION WITH THE ARCHITECTURAL ELITE

‘Cornish Fizzy and Canapés’ was the invitation issued to the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects to celebrate the instalment of their new Master, Jonathan Ball MBE, AA Dipl RIBA ACI Arb, FRSA.

To celebrate the Master’s strong Cornish ties, award-winning sparkling wine Camel Valley ‘Cornwall’ Brut 2005 was served to guests at the celebration, which recently took place at The Athenaeum Club in central London.  

Jonathan Ball, a Cornishman born and bred, proudly announced that the wine served was from his home county during his welcome speech.

The many accolades in national and international wine competitions gained by Camel Valley for its wines were further expanded upon by Architect and Master of Wine, Patricia Stefanowicz.  Guests were informed that Sam Lindo, son of proprietors Bob and Annie, and now winemaker at the vineyard, had scooped the much coveted trophy for Winemaker of the Year in this year’s national competition, The English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition.  It was clear to see that the wine was much enjoyed by all those present.

Jonathan Ball MBE and Patricia Stefanowicz enjoy a glass of 'Cornwall'

5th November -
CORNISH SPARKLING WINE TO BE SERVED AT STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

Tomorrow's State Opening of Parliament will be celebrated in style with a toast of Cornish sparkling wine.  Camel Valley's Award winning Cornwall will be served at Westminster to mark the start of the new session, as reported on BBC's South West Politics Show.

It's been a busy year for awards for Camel Valley Vineyards, based near Bodmin in Cornwall.  The 'Cornwall' Brut 2005 won a Silver Medal in this year's International Wine Challenge, as well as a Gold in the national competition, the English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition.  Gold medals were also awarded to their two other sparkling wines as well as another Silver from the International Wine Challenge.  The icing on the cake was the award of UK Winemaker of the Year going to Sam Lindo, winemaker at Camel Valley.

‘It’s really nice to know that Camel Valley will be representing the English Wine industry at the State opening of Parliament," commented Bob Lindo, Proprietor of Camel Valley Vineyards.  "It’s come on top of Sam Lindo being named ‘UK Winemaker of the Year’ and winning 3 Gold Medals and it crowns a very successful year for Camel Valley"

Bob & Sam Lindo