On the grapevine with Kathryn O’Mara

Brightwell Vineyards, Oxfordshire

February 21st 2011

This Wednesday 23 February Artisan & Vine is hosting the first in a series of Best of English Meet the Winemaker dinners, held in conjunction with the fabulous DrinkBritain. In honour of Brightwell’s visit to our little pub, here’s DrinkBritain’s write up of the award winning vineyard: “Nowhere is location for grape growing more important than in marginal climates, and England certainly qualifies as that, even with a dose of global warming..."

Seasonal Food Facts: Vacherin Mont d'Or

February 5th 2011

We don't often think of cheese as being subject to seasons but it is! Think of the cow, or goat, or ewe. These animals go through seasonal lactation periods that are also effected by the availability of high quality feedstock, which, if we let nature take it's course, would be lower in winter and higher in spring. Vacherin is a soft cow's milk cheese, similar to brie, that came into production because there was insufficient winter milk to manufacture the large cheeses such as Gruyère.

Observer Food Monthly on Natural Wine

January 26th 2011

Artisan & Vine is delighted to be mentioned in the January issue of Observer Food Monthly. The article is a part of a special 2011 Trends issue of the prestigious magazine and correctly (in our possibly bias view) identifies Natural Wine as a big trend for 2011. “It’s time to embrace the new wine movement” says wine writer David Williams; “The best way to approach the new trend in wine is to think about cheese.”

Bag in Box wine, why it's awesome

January 22nd 2011

Bag in box wine may not look beautiful, but it's environmental, taste, logistics and cost benefits make it well worth the while. Read more about why I'm evolving Artisan & Vine's wine offer towards Bag in Box.

Seasonal Food Facts: Black Cabbage, Cavolo Nero

January 20th 2011

Pairing fresh seasonal food with great wine is one of life's perfect pleasuress! In 2011, Artisan & Vine, has moved to a wholly seasonal food menu that changes daily. Talking and tasting new foods while they're in season has been really interesting to me, and so I thought I'd share some of the stuff I'm learning each week with Seasonal Food Facts. Each week I'll feature info on a different type of food that is in season NOW. This week: Black Cabbage!

Best of English Winemaker tasting dinners come to Southwest London

January 17th 2011

2011 will see the first consumer event where English wines are specially matched throughout a three course meal. Customers will have a chance to meet winemakers from 7 of England's best vineyards, once showing per month, at Artisan & Vine in Battersea. From Cornwall to Kent, Wiltshire to Oxfordshire, each month, one of England’s finest winemakers will take diners through five of his or her wines alongside a three course meal specially created by resident chef James Robson.

December's 3 Most Interesting Wine Stories

January 14th 2011

Every month I like to take a look back at the month preceding to reflect on what struck me as the most interesting stories to emerge. There are tears & laughs, (yes tongue in cheek), and all worth a note. In December: the suffering Australian wine industry took another hit; a bottle of Bordeaux doubled in value due to art; and Oddbins launched a new venture in the UK. Read on for highlight facts on each...

Seasonal Food Facts: Pomegranate

January 9th 2011

The only thing better than incredible wine is incredible wine matched to fabulous fresh food. Food is freshest on our plate when we eat it in season. So let's start taking some time out to talk about what foods are in season at a given moment... for today: pomegranate! This blog is about the mythology, the facts, and the sorts of recipes I love using pomegranate!

Christmas Gifts Ideas for Wine Lovers

December 14th 2010

Beyond the bottle of wine (though, let's be clear all wine lovers also always love a bottle of wine): here are some artisan ideas to get the wine lover in your life!

Here come the Spaniards!

November 30th 2010

Emerging young wine makers in Spain are creating wines with finesse, elegance and freshness. Forget the overly oaked, overly sweet, oppressive Spanish wines of the past: the new Spaniards are coming!