Chapel Down gets taste for crowdfunding September 8, 2014 Chapel Down has turned to crowdfunding to raise up to £4m for its next phase of growth as Britain’s biggest wine-maker more than doubles in size. The Kent-based group, which makes sparkling and still wines as well as craft beers, said yesterday it is seeking to raise between £1m and £3.9m through Seedrs, the UK [...]
Biggest bottle of English sparkling wine signed by Damien Hirst yours for £15k September 2, 2014 There will be a very special addition to Christie’s second annual “Out of the Ordinary” sale tomorrow that will put the stereotype of City workers loving sparkling wine to the ultimate test. The award-winning winery Chapel Down has produced the biggest bottle of sparkling wine ever, weighing 26kg and is the equivalent of 10 [...]
JP Morgan RideLondon pair face Bertha in tandem cycle August 10, 2014 Cycling 100 miles is hard. Cycling it on a tandem bike is even harder. But you know it will be a challenge when you’re also doing it in the tail end of hurricane Bertha – just ask Tom Richards and Dan Willis, the JP Morgan employees who completed RideLondon in aid of Whizz-Kidz yesterday on [...]
Seven reasons you need to visit Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor June 6, 2014 1. The Bay of Kotor is stunning Take a Norwegian fjord, plonk it on the edge of a balmy Adriatic coast and you’ve got the Bay of Kotor. It’s a little hidden community, accessed through a narrow passage from the sea with steep wooded hills descending to small villages perched on the tiny bit of [...]
Mix it up: The English fizz giving French bubbles a run for their money May 13, 2014 @philip_salter Ideas can change the world. Back in 1776 the Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, and in the process upended the winner-takes-all, mercantilist vision of international relations. He replaced it with a model of the world in which nations cooperate and prosper through trade. From the ideas of Smith we grew [...]
You don’t need snow to have fun in Haute Savoie October 6, 2013 Savoie Mont Blanc in France is famous for its winter sports but it’s worth checking out all year FOR winter skiing in Haute Savoie, it always pays to put in a little training. Off-season trips, it turns out, require some preparation too: increase wine consumption in the weeks preceding; swap to elasticated trousers to allow [...]
Poor harvest hits UK wines September 16, 2013 PROFITS fell at English wines firm Chapel Down Group, as last year’s bad harvest hit wine volumes, its financial results showed yesterday. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at £145,000 for the first six months of 2013, half the £295,000 seen in the same period a year earlier. But beer sales increased [...]
Forget the English rose, start drinking the English grape September 10, 2013 Bottle.opener@cityam.com LAST Friday the day job took me to visit the vineyards of Chapel Down in Kent. The visit left me with no end of ideas and information and spurred me into action. I have always been a sceptic about English wine. Let’s face it, we live far closer to the Arctic than the Equator [...]
Elba: the majestic Little Tuscany September 16, 2012 IN THE summer, the British head for Tuscany, lured by the classic Italian combination of sun, scenery, fine food and wine. But the Italians themselves head for sleepy Elba, “Tuscany’s island”, with its 150 spotless beaches, romantic villages and breathtaking mountains. Although is a National Park of outstanding natural beauty, tiny Elba is perhaps best [...]
Roast still does British cuisine (pretty) well July 2, 2012 RESTAURANT ROAST The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, SE1 1TL Tel: 0845 034 7300 FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £45 Roast has been around for six years. There was a time when it was one of the foodiest restaurants in London, by which I mean the sort of place those [...]