Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n
This week finds us all celebrating the beast that is half term. Unless, of course, you\u2019re in the middle of GCSE\u2019s in which case, stop reading this and get on with your studying, you\u2019re not even supposed to be reading this!<\/p>\n
For those of us not involved in exams there is plenty of sport to look at this weekend. It all kicks off during your breakfast on Saturday, \u00a0as the British & Irish Lions kicks off in style against New Zealand\u2019s Provincial Barbarians at 8.35am our time. Somehow breakfast seems a bit early for rugby to me, but maybe that\u2019s because I\u2019m used to watching it in the pub!<\/p>\n
At the Oval we have Sri Lanka and South Africa slogging it out in the ICC Champions Trophy (cricket if you were wondering). \u00a0The tournament started Thursday (with England beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets) and culminates with the final on Sunday 18th<\/sup> June.<\/p>\n On the golf front, Tiger Woods tough year got even worse when he underestimated the \u2018may cause drowsiness\u2019 line on his medication. Personally I\u2019m not entirely sure what was gained by releasing the video of the incident, but at least a website somewhere got more hits\u2026<\/p>\n In the tennis we\u2019re at Roland Garos, where Johanna Konta\u2019s clay gremlins struck again, sending her out in the first round, whilst Andy Murray is through to the third round to face Juan Martin del Potro. Novak Djokovic is hoping the presence of \u2018super coach\u2019 Andre Agassi relocates his mojo.<\/p>\n In real sports we\u2019d offer our congratulations to Tom Dumoulin, who became the first Dutchman to win the Giro d\u2019Italia, snatching victory from Nairo Quintana in a time trial on the last day. This weekend sees the Criterium du Dauphin\u00e9 starting, always viewed as a bit of a warm up for the Tour de France so many of the big players are lining up. Va va Froome.<\/p>\n On the political front it\u2019s all shouty, shouty, strong many, few stable, poorly rehearsed and hiding in the shed. Still, it\u2019ll be over this time next week!<\/p>\n Wine wise, as has become a bit of a tradition whilst Alex is away, a couple of new wines turned up this week. Vigna Marina Coppi Sant\u2019 Andrea Barbera 2015 (\u00a321.99) <\/strong>is a wine we\u2019ve been trying to get on the shelf for a while. They say \u201call comes to he who waits\u201d, and this is a lovely polished and rounded Barbera with cherry and wild strawberry fruit and a lovely freshness to the finish. As an aside Marina is the daughter of Fausto Coppi, the first man to win both the Giro d\u2019Italia and the Tour de France in the same year! The estate is run by Marina and her son Francesco.<\/p>\n Staying with an Italian theme, that Lambrusco we teased you all with a while back is here too. Villa Cialdini Lambrusco Graparossa (\u00a315.49)<\/strong> is from an estate south of Modena owned by the Chiarli family since 1860. Since the construction of a state of the art winery in 2002 they have been producing top quality Lambrusco that is way more delicious and moreish than we imagined, and also the perfect partner to some barbecued chicken.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve also listed a local Vodka (is 41 miles local?). Blackdown Sussex Vodka (\u00a328.99)<\/strong> is the first Vodka to be produced in Sussex. Made from 100% British wheat grain, it is copper pot distilled, and then charcoal filtered seven times to create a smooth and refined Vodka, and finished with a hint of Sussex Silver Birch sap to add a delicate sweetness. The Silver Birch sap is tapped once a year in early spring and is sourced within the 40 acres of woodland which surround Blackdown.<\/p>\n eto<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve just heard from Tom Cotton at eto<\/strong>. We promised to keep you up to date when the Kickstarter campaign happened for his wine decanter, so here\u2019s what we know\u2026<\/p>\n ****Hot off the press eto launch date Tuesday 6th June 2017!!!****<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n eto HQ is excited to announce eto will be going live on Kickstarter at midday GMT on Tuesday 6th June….*klaxon*<\/p>\n There will be a limited number of etos at ‘Super Early Bird’ heavily discounted prices \u2013 they will be snapped up in hours \u2013 so don\u2019t delay in choosing your reward! If you miss these specials don’t worry the Kickstarter price is still a bargain.<\/em><\/p>\n We have crunched the numbers and set ourselves the minimum goal we need to tool, manufacture and ship eto to the UK for final distribution. The minimum amount we need is \u00a355,000 and our Kickstarter campaign will last 30 days.\u00a0 But as we said those Super Early Bird & Early Bird specials when they\u2019re gone they\u2019re gone, so don\u2019t delay!<\/em><\/p>\n