May 2009

Next Wine Club: Wednesday 3rd June

We have had to move the wine club back one week due to the availability of our wine maestro Anthony from Matthew Clark, so please check your diaries and let us know if you can still make it next week - booking is essential as our relaxed deli area can only hold a relatively small number of people before it gets crowded!

This month's theme is a "tale of two wineries" and will feature the Houghton winery from Australia and the Raimat winery from Spain. We will be tasting a selection of accessible (ie not too expensive) wines from both vinyards to compare old and new world styles. Based on a quick private sampling last month from these wineries, there are some cracking wines to taste.

Houghton is Western Australia's most awarded winery and has been producing wines since 1836, so they have a long pedigree of winemaking. Under the guidance and custodianship of many exceptional winemakers, Houghton has flourished and now enjoys an enviable footprint across the length and breadth of Western Australian winegrowing regions. Today Houghton operates from two winemaking locations: the original 60 hectare Swan Valley property and, since 2001, in the south west at Nannup. Varietals include Verdelho, Chardonnay, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.

Raimat was established in 1914, although its roots extend back to the 17th century. Raimat is a large-scale winery producing wines from its own 2000 hectare estate. Although most of the wine produced is consumed domestically, Raimat is also a large exporter of wine to countries in the European Union. In recent years, Raimat has updated its facilities to make them state of the art. In the past, wine bottles were aged in a large cellar. Over time, the cellar became damp which prevented the wine from aging well. The wine is now aged in either oak barrels or wine bottles. Varietals include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Merlot and Shiraz.

It is interesting to contrast these two wineries: The Australian, New World winery that is smaller and generally produces wines to traditional values using what could be called Old World techniques; and The Spanish, Old World winery that is one of Spain's largest and produces wines using modern techniques in high volumes, and strongly embraces the use of social media (Facebook, Second Life, Flickr) to present its brand.

What will you make of these contrasts in the tasting? Come along on 3rd June at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm sharp start to find out.

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Having a Summer Party?

The summer is nearly here and the weather has been good to us over the bank holiday (for once). Watching the comments of people on Twitter was interesting on Monday as many people were completely stunned that the weather was warm and pleasant on a bank holiday Monday (it's usually the opposite here in the UK).

Some of our customers are starting to ask if we could cater for garden parties this summer - the answer is, of course, an emphatic yes! We have already catered a number of garden and private functions since we opened and are happy to talk to anybody who might be having a function from 6 to 600 people. We can offer a full Lebanese banquetting menu (brochure soon to be available on the website) as well as a wide selection of canapes and other styles of food as needed. We have a talented team who are experienced in other cuisines as well as our core restaurant service of Lebanese food.

We are also experienced event managers at heart having managed everything from small dinner parties through to fuly themed events and also public functions with thousands of guests. We might be a small restaurant, but we're big on experience and can organise other aspects of your function from marquees to entertainers through our complete event management service.

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