Table of contents for July-September 2017 in Selectus Wines

As part of its ongoing sponsorships within the sports world, and for the tenth consecutive year, Laurent-Perrier, Champagne’s bicentenary champagne house, was one of the sponsors of the Mutua Madrid Open, which attracts some of the world’s top clay-court tennis players. Laurent-Perrier’s iconic champagnes - Laurent-Perrier Brut, Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut, Cuvee Rosé Laurent-Perrier, Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésimé 2006, and Grand Siècle by Laurent-Perrier - were served in the VIP areas, and were very much in the public eye, throughout the Open. Rafael Nadal, World number 4 (according to the ATP rankings), won the men’s tournament, beating Dominic Thiem in two sets. In the ladies' tournament, Romanian, Simona Halep, retained the title she won last year. Continuando con su apoyo al mundo del deporte, Laurent-Perrier, marca bicentenaria de Champagne, ha estado colaborando…

SPAIN A CORUÑA AC Hotel Palacio del Carmen. Santiago de Compostela ALAVA Hotel Marqués de Riscal – A Luxury Collection Hotel Restaurant Zaldiarán . Vitoria-Gasteiz ALICANTE Hospes Amerigo AC Hotel Ciutat d´Alcoi ASTURIAS AC Hotel Forum Oviedo. Oviedo Rest. Casa Marcial. Arriondas Rest. La Salgar. Gijón BARCELONA Hotel Mercer Hotel Le Méridien Rest. Rías de Galicia Monvínic Rest. Moments Santa Eulalia Joyería Rabat Joyería Suárez Hotel Majestic Hotel Omm Rest. Windsor Hotel Palace Rest. Caelis Celler de Gelida Rest. La Clara Arsenal Masculino Four Points by Sheraton Rest. Via Veneto Rest. Abac Rest. L´Oliana Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I Rest. Gaig AC Hotel Victoria Suites Concesionario Mercedes Cars Barcelona Concesionario Maserati-Ferrari-Bentley Cars Gallery Rest. Bravo 24 Hotel W Barcelona Club de Golf Sant Cugat. Sant Cugat del Vallés Club de…

Ramón Bilbao, the “nearly centennial” Rioja winery (it will celebrate its 100 year anniversary in 2024), travelled to a Madrid aerodrome to unveil the new image for its Viñedos de Altura 2013 wine, and to invite guests to a unique experience, courtesy of 21st century adventurer, Ramón Larramendi. The wine’s new, more daring and contemporary label features a mountain climber, a nod to the high-lying vineyards from which its grapes hail. Some lucky guests were taken on a flight over the Sierra de Madrid in an ultralight aircraft. After this unforgettable experience, the guests then enjoyed a more down-to-earth, yet equally spectacular, experience in the form of a menu specially created to pair with Ramón Bilbao’s wine by chef, Ignacio Echapresto (Venta Moncalvillo, 1 Michelin star). TRULY A TOP-FLIGHT EVENT!…

Santorini, as well as being a tourist island with fabulous weather and paradisiacal landscapes, is also one of the most interesting areas in the world when it comes to wine... It has a landscape where time seems to stand still, like an emptied hourglass, after the last grain of sand has slipped to the bottom. It has a countryside of striking beauty, which includes the vines pruned according to the “Stefani” technique, their canes interwoven to create a kind of basket, inside which the grape clusters grow, sheltered from the hot winds. The land is comprised of very poor volcanic soils, in which each plant has to dig down deep in search of nutrients and where adversity is part of the DNA of each and every grape. But, as my…

Taking advantage of a few days’ holiday in the French Basque Country, one of the things that the family suggested we do, given my links with the wine world, was to take a trip up to Bordeaux, one of the world’s “wine capitals”. Who doesn’t know about the wines from Bordeaux? I think that everyone, whether a wine connoisseur or humble consumer, has, on occasion, heard about, or cited, the wines from this famous French wine region. But the purpose of our trip to Bordeaux was not to visit its vineyards (which we will do next time), but to pay a visit to the fledgling “Cité du Vin” (the city of wine). I say “fledgling”, because it was only just over one year ago, on 31 May 2016, that this…

 Bernd Kreis, Best Sommelier in Europe in 1992, is the owner of this fine establishment located in the centre of Stuttgart and considered to be one of the best wine shops in the world. The story of this sommelier, who will tell you that his “life is wine”, began in the Wielandshöhe restaurant (1 Michelin star), where he worked until 2001. In 1994, while still employed at the restaurant, serving and advising customers, he set up his own company, to which he dedicated his free time and holidays, opening his first small shop in a suburb of the German city. His business grew steadily, so he decided to leave the restaurant, where he had spent so much of his working life, and devote himself entirely to the business of buying…

After 35 hours of hard work devoted to a very fine and tricky balancing act, with 20 people involved in the construction of a 66-floor pyramid, rising to a height of 7.26 metres and using a total of 50,166 glasses, Moët & Chandon made it into the Guinness Book of Records. Never before had there been a pyramid of glasses as enormous as the one constructed by the Champagne House to celebrate its Moët Party Day. As usual, there were several well-known faces at the event: Mar Flores, Nicolás Coronado, Macarena Gómez, Carles Francino, Màxim Huerta and Paloma Lago were some of the guests who enjoyed a very pleasurable evening at La Casa Encendida, in Madrid. Después de 35 horas de arduo trabajo, complicado y fino equilibrio, con 20 personas…

La uva es uno de los frutos que cuentan con un recubrimiento protector, de aspecto parecido a la cera, que se conoce como pruina y que en determinadas zonas vinícolas, juega un papel especial. Las viñas de Perelada, en pleno Empordà, están rodeadas de gran variedad de plantas mediterráneas: romero, tomillo, hinojo, ciprés y, por supuesto, pino. Plantas que en distintas épocas del año llenan el aire con sus deliciosos aromas. Aromas del Empordà que impregnarán la pruina de las uvas de sus viñas, aportando, de la forma más natural, una variada riqueza de matices que marcarán la personalidad única de los vinos que nazcan de ellas. Y es que, en los grandes vinos, el aroma del Empordà marca. Perelada La marca de los grandes vinos y cavas…

Perelada Comercial recently presented its portfolio of wines and cavas in Barcelona, as it does every other year, and this year the event again took place in the modernist complex of the Hospital de Sant Pau. On this occasion, the Group’s big news was Privat, its recently acquired line of organic cavas. These were presented at an event attended by nearly one thousand members of the wine trade, including restaurateurs, distributors and the specialized press. Perelada also unveiled another new product, a wine produced from Garnacha Negra, a native grape of the Empordà. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT THE HOME OF PERELADA IN GIRONA! Como viene haciendo de forma habitual, cada dos años, Perelada comercial presenta en Barcelona, y de nuevo en el recinto modernista del Hospital de Sant Pau,…

How many different wines do you stock? We have about 1,200 wines from Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. How many bottles do you usually stock? As we import all our wines ourselves, we have a huge stock. In the Dorotheenstrasse store we have the capacity to store approximately 10,000 bottles, but the actual stock is smaller - approximately 6,000 bottles. We receive deliveries from our main store twice a week. I calculate the average total stock is around 100,000 bottles. At the busiest times of the year the stock is significantly higher. How many bottles do you sell in a year? I’ve never counted! What’s the oldest wine in the shop right now? A 1905 Madeira. What’s the cheapest wine in the shop currently? The cheapest bottle,…

Sherry Wines recently showcased their role in international gastronomy over a two-day event. Josep Roca, Ángel León, Ricard Camarena, François Chartier and Andoni Luis Aduriz were among the speakers on the opening day, praising the fine virtues of sherry. Our contributor, Paz Ivison, someone who has been instrumental in making these fabulous wines known outside Jerez, attended the two-day event. The forum included discussions on the role of sherry, led by winemakers from some of the top sherry bodegas. The PODIUM ONDER DE DOM restaurant won the Copa Jerez International Sherry and Food Matching Competition. The jury considered the menu from chef, Leon Mazairac, and sommelier, Goos van den Berg, to be the best pairing between imaginative, high-quality cuisine and the acclaimed qualities of sherry wines. Durante dos jornadas, los…

The worlds of wine and science, represented by David Molina from Outlook Wine and Francesc Casas from the Hospital Clinic Barcelona, recently joined forces to raise funds for lung cancer research. Over 180 guests attended an event which, with the admission fees, partnerships and non-cash donations from various companies, raised almost €60,000. Josep Roca, sommelier at the Celler de Can Roca, oncologist and soprano, Marta Bonet, El Bulli Foundation sommelier, Ferran Centelles, PFV Wine Ambassador, Christophe Brunet, journalist and sommelier, Meritxell Falgueras, and comedians Fel Faixedas and Carles Xuriguera, were among the guest speakers and each one of them interpreted a wine, connecting it with an art. This was then followed by a huge raffle, with over 70 wine prizes donated by well-known wineries from various Spanish wine regions, along…