Costco to sell fine wine in the UK

Costco’s director of wine buying Annette Alvarez-Peters may have caused controversy earlier this year when she slammed wine as “just a beverage” and “no different than toilet paper,” but the company – the world's largest wine retailer – is on a fine wine offensive in the UK. News has emerged this week, as reported on db.com, that Costco is branching out into the UK market, having launched a UK website, Costco.co.uk, selling high-end wines and spirits.

Open to both Costco members and non-members, the site, which went live last week, features a 131-strong wine and spirits range, including Champagne big guns Cristal, Krug and Dom Pérignon, and classed growth Bordeaux from the acclaimed 2009 vintage. Topping the offering is a bottle of Taylor’s Scion Tawny Port dating back to 1855 housed in a bespoke crystal decanter, which is on sale for £1,599.99.

 

Meanwhile, a single bottle of Château L’Eglise Clinet Pomerol 2009 is priced at £339.99, while the same vintage of “flying fifth” Château Pontet-Canet is going for under a third of the price at £99.99. At the value end, a bottle of Saint-Julien estate Gruaud Larose’s second wine, Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2009, is priced at £18.49, while Haut Médoc estate Château Senejac 2009 costs just £15.49.

Among the sprits on sale are Patrón Tequila, Ciroc Vodka, Johnnnie Walker Blue Label, Courvioiser Cognac and English Vodka brand Chase. Delivery is free, and Costo’s online customers will be treated to exclusive offers. It will be interesting to track how Costco.co.uk performs. The UK wine market is a crowded place, and in order to thrive, a merchant’s offering has to be both compelling and unique.

New York-based online merchant Lot18 is a recent casualty, closing its UK operation in July after just four months, blaming the supermarkets’ stranglehold on the UK market and a lack of anticipated growth for its exit. Is Costco.co.uk appealing enough to lure customers away from the might of the supermarkets, Majestic, and the increasing number of savvy online-only merchants entering the market? Only time will tell.

Dom Pérignon Oenothèque dinner at Les Crayères

Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in an intriguing experiment. The brainchild of Dom Pérignon’s ebullient chef de cave Richard Geoffroy, having entered the “space ship,” as he called it, we were about to shoot into orbit. Every word Geoffroy utters has a touch of the cosmic about it. He speaks in long, often impenetrable sentences, occasionally exciting himself with his own brilliance. He’s a wonderful showman and hugely entertaining company.

Our space ship turned out to be the sprawling, 19^th century 5* château hotel Les Crayères in Reims, set in a 17-acre landscaped park. My expansive room was exquisite, prettified with toile wallpaper, white orchids, scarlet tassels and an ornate gold mirror above the writing desk. Luxuriating in the opulence of it all, I flicked though a book on Titian and Tintoretto left on the coffee table, nibbled the trio of chocolates left out by the maid, then quickly changed for dinner.

Beginning in the tartan clad bar with a palate cleansing glass of DP 2003 – a rich, powerful vintage I’m growing ever fonder of, proceedings quickly moved to the two Michelin-starred Les Crayères restaurant, a magnificent, chandelier-filled room boasting verdant tapestries, swagged curtains and a grand dining table cutting through it. Taking my seat, Geoffroy sprung into action. “I believe temperature has a profound effect on the flavour profile of Champagne,” he offered.

In order to test this theory out, we were to be guinea pigs in a temperature control experiment with the 1996 vintage of DP Oenothèque – one of the best Champagne vintages in recent history. Titled IV-VIII-XVI, the experiment would explore the effect temperature has on the expression and characteristics of Oenothèque ‘96, degree by degree, by slowing down the maturation process of the Champagne and suspending it in its various states for as long as possible.

 The roman numerals refer to the number of glasses used (4), the different temperature stages (8), and the end temperature of the wine (16 degrees). “I chose the 1996 Oenothèque because I needed a vintage with a broad range of expressions, and a wine with concentration and depth. It has the capacity to open out in a range of aromas and tastes, making it a wine that truly breathes. I’m convinced it will lead us to the heart of this journey,” Geoffroy explained excitedly.

Over the course of two hours, eight different dishes, from bracing saline oysters in a seawater granita, and rich, creamy mussel soup, to tea smoked basmati rice with mushroom tobacco, and an almond-flecked lamb tagine, were served to compliment the aroma and flavour differences in the wine at each of the eight stages. With the room temperature set at 20 degrees, we were poured a bottle of Oenothèque ‘96 (disgorged in 2008) into four glasses set in an open topped box with chilled panels to slow down the temperature increase of the wine.

The wines were then tasted every 15 minutes, from left to right and then right to left, with the wine raising in temperature from eight to 15/16 degrees by the end of the night, revealing eight different 15-minute aromatic sequences. Fascinatingly, there were perceptible differences in the wine at each of the eight stages, moving from mineral at 8º, honeyed at 9º, zesty at 10º, buttery at 11º, earthy at 12º, truffly at 13º, smoky at 14º, and nutty at 15/16º.

During the dinner, I made the comparison between the different stages of seduction. At its coldest, the wine was shy and tight – fully clothed if you will. But as the evening drew on and the temperature increased, it began to reveal itself, opening up and becoming more confident and expressive at every stage, moving from steely and mineral, through a wonderful citrus stage and an earthy autumnal period, and finally emerging into its full nutty, honeyed glory.

“I decided to do this because I wanted to push the boundaries of experimentation to lead me to a new understanding of the mysteries of the wine,” Geoffroy revealed at the end of the night, amid declarations that he’s moving into the world of fine and rare tea and is working on a high profile celebrity hook-up that he can’t reveal yet. Which did he think was the ultimate temperature to enjoy Dom Pérignon at its fullest expression? “12 degrees; there’s truth in that temperature.”

Jay-Z and Beyonce toast Obama with Ace of Spades

In a move befitting for hip-hop royalty, dynamic duo Jay-Z and Beyonce hosted a $40,000-a-ticket fundraiser for Barack Obama last night featuring a 350-bottle Armand de Brignac Champagne tower, as reported on db.com. Designed by Jeffrey Beers, the bespoke tower, composed of 350 bottles of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold NV, took centre stage at the glitzy event at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in New York.

“Floor-to-ceiling gold bottles fill the entire space. It’s beautiful, breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” a spokesperson for the club told The New York Post. According to The New York Times, Obama kicked off the intimate dinner for 100 guests by thanking Beyonce and Jay-Z for their friendship. He went on to say that he felt a sense of kinship with Jay-Z because, “we both have daughters and our wives are more popular than we are.”

Beyonce’s speech was short and sweet: “I can’t tell you how proud we are to host tonight’s event with President Obama. We believe in his vision,” she said as she introduced the US president. The White House, which meticulously controls Obama’s image, is not expected to release any photos from the dinner. Before the event, Obama made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Jay-Z’s relationship with Armand de Brignac, produced by Champagne Cattier, stretches back to the Champagne’s launch in 2006, when bottles of it appeared in his music video for the single Show Me What You Got.

The fizz, a favourite of rappers such as Kanye West and Drake, is facing a false-advertising lawsuit from Krug and Dom Pérignon owners LVMH over claims that it is “rated the number one Champagne in the world,” which LVMH believes is “intentionally misleading consumers.”

Lynch designs for Dom Pérignon

Hollywood auteur David Lynch has hooked up with Champagne house Dom Pérignon on a limited edition design for the 2003 vintage and the 2000 rosé. Called “The Power of Creation”, the design was developed by Lynch, known for surrealist films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive, and special effects expert Gary D’Amico.

The duo spent two days in a California studio working with torches, smoke machines and light rays to come up with the final design. Lynch is the second living artist, after Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld, to have worked directly alongside the Champagne house.

The eccentric director has also created bespoke designs for 10 Dom Pérignon 2000 Jeroboams and 10 Rosé 1998 Jeroboams. Known for his unconventional work such as the popular TV murder mystery drama Twin Peaks, Lynch admitted he likes going commercial every now and then to experiment with new technology.

Lynch launched the sinister and seductive design in LA this week with Dom Pérignon chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy. Its theatrical gift box is tied with silk ribbons at either end, which raise the curtain on the interior, filled with Lynchian chiaroscuro silhouettes. The limited edition Power of Creation bottles will be available from mid-October, priced at £120 for Dom Pérignon 2000 and £240 for the 2000 rosé.

5m bottles of English fizz to be made in UK by 2015

Production of English sparkling wine in the UK is set to hit 5m bottles by 2015, according to Ridgeview winemaker Charlie Holland. “It’s a nervous and exciting time for English sparking winemakers – sparkling wine now accounts for 50% of plantings in the UK,” Holland told the drinks business at the London International Wine Fair last month.

There are almost 400 vineyards in the UK now, almost double that of ten years ago. But despite the recent boom, Holland stressed the importance of distinguishing English sparking wine from Champagne. “We have a unique terroir that makes English sparkling wine special. It’s more expensive to produce than Champagne, the cost of land is higher and yields are lower.

“It’s a fallacy to say you can’t ripen grapes in England. We’re a very cool climate region, but this allows for a long growing season, helping grapes develop full phenolic ripeness, a full flavour profile and natural sugars,” he said, adding, “English sparkling wines have a lovely leanness and freshness, with signature citrus flavours and naturally high acidity, which is crucial for sparkling wine.”

In terms of ageing potential, Holland admitted that because the winery was only founded in 1994, he doesn’t know how long the wines will last. “I tried the 2000s recently and they still taste so young and fresh,” he said, revealing he would consider offering late disgorged versions of some of the cuvées in the Ridgeview range as the wines age quickly under cork. He also revealed that vine age is incredibly important for English sparking wine, and that at 17 years old, the Ridgeview vines are in their prime.  

“English sparkling has had a lot of good press, and consumers want to find out what the buzz is all about. It also fits with the trend for buying homegrown products,” he said. The Ridgeview range is named after London boroughs, such as Knightsbridge and Fitzrovia, as a tribute to Christopher Merret, the 17th century English physician credited by many with inventing sparkling wine before French monk Dom Pérignon.  

Holland is keen for “Merret” is be used as catch-all term for English sparkling wine. “Merret has been put forward but the topic is still under discussion. I’m hoping we’ll come up with a word for English sparking wine soon, as it doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue,” he admitted. Despite the winery’s success in the UK, exports now account for 20% of Ridgeview’s sales. “Exports are a massive thing for us. We’re seeing great success in New York, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia – there isn’t the same stigma there for English sparking as we’ve experience in France, Spain and Italy,” he said.

Asked whether he’d ever consider a non vintage, Holland admitted that he doesn’t have enough reserve wines to be able to make one. “We’re very much a vintage-based property. Every year has a story to tell and we’re keen to express that, but we work hard to try to make a similar tasting product each year and have to adapt our winemaking to the specifics of the vintage." 

Holland revealed that Chardonnay “grows brilliantly”, but that Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier were both “swines to grow” and very “sickly” grapes. Trying to get a decent crop from either is challenging – Pinot Noir is the most expensive grape to buy, and hardest to get hold of,” he said.