Pasqua in Puglia 2010: Carovigno Easter parade

The usual start of year trip to Trullo Azzurro to open up for the season. This time it coincided with Easter and the first BA flight of the year on 1st April.

We shared the flight with our new acquaintances and fellow Puglian home owners Colin and Sheila. We met them back in January at the Puglian wine dinner at Enoteca Turi.


Mary, Colin and Sheila in their garden

Colin and Sheila's local town, Carovigno, has a full monty Easter parade: Blessed Virgin Mary statue carried on poles, ditto for Joseph and the Baby Jesus, marching band and a hotly contested, flag twirling competition called Nzegna.


Carovigno flag twirling

All the men of the area compete and take it very seriously. They have to look their best and, judging by the spiky hairdo's, sales of gel must have rocketed in the run up to Easter.


Carovigno marching bands

As a consequence of all the men twirling flags the band are predominantly made up of girls belting out the soundtrack.

For photos of the parade see Flickr. Enjoy.

Peaches and Blue explore the Garden

Last weekend we let Peaches and Blue out for a supervised exploration of the garden.



Peaches led the way, did a complete circuit of the perimeter and traverse of the lawn.



Blue was a little more adventurous and also did a tour on the beds.



Inspection done they retired back inside.



We will continure to let them out under supervision until I return from holiday. Then I will try them on the cat flap.

Mrs and Mrs Clark meet the Arnolfinis

This is one of my Dad's favourite paintings. His mashup homage to David Hockney's Mr And Mrs Clark And Percy (1970) and Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Portrait.


Mr And Mrs Clark And Percy; The Arnolfini Portrait

This is what Wikipedia says about Mr And Mrs Clark And Percy:

Hockney drew on both The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck and A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth in the symbolism and composition of the painting. A copy of Hockney's own interpretation of the The Rake's Progress is seen on the wall.

This is what I say about Dad's painting:

Michael drew on both Mr And Mrs Clark And Percy by Hockney and The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck in the symbolism and composition of the painting. A copy of Michael's own interpretation of the The Arnolfini Portrait is seen on the wall.

CSC Alumni at the Crusting Pipe

A small but select number from the UK CSC Alumni list met for a drink on Wednesday in the Crusting Pipe. It is 10 years since most of us left CSC but we still like to meet up every now and again to catch up on the news.

Present: Myself, Carolyn MacDowell, Anne Carter, Farrakh Siddiqui, Anthony Bodle and Simon Hargrave.

Apologies: Tony Czarnecki, Tony Korn, Jim West, Andrew Hollick, John Patient, Nalin Goonewardene, Barry Wilton, Bob Taylor, Bob Carlsen.

Given the number who replied and were not able to make it I will arrange another in a couple of months time - not on a Wednesday and somewhere that sells beer as well as wine.

Gullible's Travels migrated to blog.mmenterprises.co.uk

Gullible's Travels has moved to http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/. Please update your bookmarks.

My blog was previously hosted on my own website and not with Blogger. They are withdrawing support for FTP publishing and only allowing hosting on their own servers. Hence this enforced migration.

Now I need to make sure links to the old blog are successfully redirected to the new.

PS.
Setting up .htaccess in my public_html folder containing the following did the redirection very nicely thank you:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RedirectMatch 301 ^/blog/(.*)$ http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/$1

Charlotte's Birthday

We had our friends John and Andrea visit for the weekend with their daughter Charlotte (aka Lottie) and my godson Julian. Our livers and stomachs have just about recovered.

Friday evening while John, Mary and I did gym, gym and yoga respectively Andrea fed the children so when we returned we could have a grown-ups' meal. We went Moroccan out of Arabesque by Claudia Roden. I did bastilla for starter and Mary did roast duck with apricot sauce for main. Then we cleaned the freezer out of ice cream for dessert.

Some quantity of wine was drunk and so, possibly, were we. Not that badly but we did not go to bed till 01:30 and so did not leap out of bed early the next day.

Saturday John spent a day of quality time with the children as he is working away from home at the moment. This enabled Andrea to spent some civilized, adult time with us.

Lunch was at the excellent Cinnamon Club on a top table special deal. Then off to the Peacock theatre to see Havana Rakatan. The girls agreed that the males dancers were "fit"; I claim I too have a six-pack it is just hidden under a protective layer :-( By the time we got home it was time to turn round straight away and go out for the evening meal.



As luck would have it China Boulevard were celebrating the Chinese New Year so we got entertainment with our food which the kids greatly enjoyed - couldn't have planned it better.



Sunday was Lottie's birthday so it was off to The Rainforst Cafe in central London. A subterranean themed restaurant and merchandising opportunity with animatronic animals in the foliage. Geared up for children during the day and, I suspect, adult group outings in the evenings if the number of cocktails on the menu was anything to go by. Been there once. Not sure if I would rush back again.



After our guests had left, Sunday evening was quiet recovery with a DVD and Friday leftovers. We have Harry Potter 1-5 but somehow had missed watching HP3. Now we are up to date and some of 4 and 5 make more sense now.

New Cats: Peaches and Blue

After Cleo passed (two years ago yesterday) we left it a while before considering getting another cat. Originally we decided we would not because of our plans to downshift and spend more time abroad. However that date has shifted to the right so we re-thought our plans.

We wanted to adopt a pair because they would be company for each other while we are out at work and we have a preference for Persians having had three of them. They are very home loving cats not given to wandering - important in an urban setting with a busy main road.

We went first to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home but they had few cats available for rehoming let alone pairs. They are in the middle of building a new cattery and a recent cat flu outbreak meant they had diverted incoming strays to their outstations.

We also checked out the Cats Protection League who had a pair of six month old kittens available for rehoming. We rushed down the next day to view them and while we were there had a look round and Mary fell in love with an older pair in the next pen.


Peaches and Blue at the Cat Protection League

All the rescue homes have trouble finding new owners for older cats but we were happy to take on a more mature pair they are 14 (Peaches) and 12 (Blue). In some ways they do remind us of a pastel version of Oscar and Oliver. But we still had to have the home visit...


Peaches at home

I must say we were slightly apprehensive based on our friends' experience and I was not allowed to say anything until we had passed the test. One concern is the busy main road but we have high fences and older cats are less likely to go mountaineering over the wall.

Anyhow we passed the visit and if we were being assessed it was done very discreetly - more like a cosy chat on the perils of cat ownership but we are old hands. Having had the OK on the Friday evening we went down Sunday lunchtime to collect the 'monsters'.


Blue at home

They are still settling in but so far it seems to be going smoothly. The first 24 hours they hid in the darkest corners but now - a week later - they are out and about although still easily spooked. I am grooming Blue daily as she had a number of knots that the CPL had to have shaved off and I want to prevent reforming.

Time will, I am sure, see them settle in and become our new companion animals :-)

The Wines of Zind Humbrecht at Planet of the Grapes

The Wines of Zind Humbrecht - Thursday 11th February 2010

On arrival - A selection of Dampierre Champagne;
Brut Grand Cuvee @ £30, Cuvee des Ambassadeurs 1er cru @ £36.50,
Cuvee des Ambassadeurs 1er cru Rose @ £41.50

1. "Zind" 2007 @ £19.00
2. Riesling "Heimbourg" 2007 @ £30.00
3. Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" 2003 @ £37.50
4. Riesling "Herrenweg de Turckheim" 1988 (from magnum) N/A
5. Muscat "Herrenweg de Turckheim" 2007 @ £25.00
6. Pinot Gris "Calcaire" 2007 @ £22.00
7. Pinot Gris "Clos St.Urbain, Rangen de Thann" Grand Cru 2001 @ £68.50
8. Gewurztraminer "Clos Windsbuhl" 2007 @ £45.00
9. Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive "Clos Windsbuhl" 2005 @ £37.50 per 375ml.

Another enjoyable wine tasting at Planet of the Grapes - indeed is there any other sort of wine tasting? I have been remiss on not blogging some previous tastings at POTG so let this be the start of a new leaf.

I am a great fan of ZH especially his Gewurtztramimer Herrenweg which I first met back in 1987-88. Later I worked in Basel, Switzerland, just over the border from Alsace and had a couple of very enjoyable visits with usual suspects John & Andrea.

In summary the stars of the evening were the Riesling "Clos Windsbuhl" and the Pinot Gris "Calcaire":

No 1 the Zind is made from Auxerrois, not one of the four noble grapes of Alsace (Gewurtztramimer, Reisling, Muscat, Pinot Gris), and so is only entitled to a Vin de Table appellation. Pleasant enough but not worth the money.

The three reislings were an interesting comparison.
No 2 was lovely - full of melon and tropical fruits on the nose and sweet with a restrained hint of petrol on the palette.
No 3 however was what 2 may mature into it - according to my notes "yummy" - and well worth the extra money for more flavour and bottle age.
No 4 had the classic petrol nose but IMHO had faded.

No 5 was enjoyable but annoyed me just because I could not put a name to the smell. Mary had "mushroom" and I had "gooseberry & Midori".

Nos 6 and 7 made an interesting contrast with the Calcaire being the one I preferred of the pair and at one third the price! According to the presenters there was 37gm of residual sugar but you never would have guessed it.

No 8 had a whopping 74gm of residual sugar and, fortunately like the others, had the complexity to prevent it from being syrup.

No 9 was a proper dessert wine with a real caramel / butterscotch finish. Gorgeous.

Culture vultures - three plays in three weeks

Last year we went to a lot of music gigs but, as far as I can recall, to the theatre only four times** - and some of those I did not even blog - tut! This year we have already nearly equalled that over the previous three weekends:

• The Caretaker by Pinter at Trafalgar Studios (Sat 23-Jan-10). Jonathan Pryce was brilliant - like Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot - he vanished inside the character so the character is all you saw. It made me marvel at the actors' art. Although I am not sure what is was about.
• The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane at the Garrick (Sat 30-Jan-10). Not so this play which was explicitly about "why are there no openly gay leading men in Hollywood?". A question asked both movingly and entertainingly.
• The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett at The Lyttleton (Mon 09-Feb-10). Another play that I was not sure what it was about - the Grauniad describes it as "a multi-levelled work that deals with sex, death, creativity, biography and much else besides". Full of Alan Bennett's laconic humour and dry wit. Disconcertingly the man next to me seemed to find it thigh-slappingly, guffaw-out-loud hilarious.

The joys of living in one of the great cities of the world :-)

**
Hamlet by William Shakespeare at the Novello Theatre (Thu 08-Jan-09)
October by Fiona Looney at the Olympia Theatre (Sat 14-Feb-09)
Where There's a Will by Georges Feydeau at The Rose Theatre (Sat 07-Feb-09)
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (??)

Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck at The O2

London, UK. Saturday 13-February-2010. [Published 04-Feb-2023]

I can’t believe that I didn’t blog seeing the legendary Eric Clapton at the O2. Prompted by the recent passing of Jeff Beck I went to check when it was that I saw him and Eric in concert only to discover that I had not done a post at the time. So this is a very belated retro-post.

I’m sure I didn’t imagine it so I went and checked back in Facebook memories. First I found Jeff Beck supporting Van Morrison in 2016 [Van Morrison and Jeff Beck at The O2].

Going further back, I found a reference which implied that Mary had been twice: once with me and once with her friend Andrea but she has no idea why she did such a thing. I was at home on the second occasion with our two rescue cats, Peaches and Blue, that we had picked up that very day from the re-homing centre.

Further googling revealed that Eric and Jeff had in fact done two concerts on consecutive nights the 13th and 14th. So I went and checked back through my picture archive, hey presto! there was a photo from the 13th. I didn’t imagine it, I was there.

Full song list from www.setlist.fm revealed that Jeff went first, then Eric, then a joint set. Despite his reputation I was less familiar with Jeff Beck's music but the rest was much more familiar. A great evening with some classic songs and legendary guitar playing. 

Helen Galashan get a gold medal

Mary's nieces switched from gymnastics to synchronised diving a couple of years ago and continue to do well in their new discipline.


Helen and Carol Galashan - Helen is the one on the... erm...

Galashan takes individual 10m title in Sheffield
Posted: Saturday 6th February 2010 | 21:05

EUROPEAN bronze medallist Helen Galashan took gold in the individual 10m on the second day of diving at the British Gas National Cup in Sheffield.

Her final dive secured 59.2 points to give her a total of 337.9 to top the podium ahead of Sarah Barrow in second and Brooke Graddon who finished third.

The 25-year-old, who specialises in the 10m synchro with her twin sister, went into the final ranked in fourth place and with little medal expectation.

"I am so shocked right now," said Galashan. "I came into this competition with no expectations or aims and it is so good to have won that gold. That is my best ever score and my Inward was a great way to start the competition. I have never scored nines on that dive before. I do prefer the synchro because it is with my sister so anything I do with my individual is a bonus for me."



Full story: http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/diving/068736-galashan-takes-individual-10m-title-sheffield

Thanks and apologies to the sites I borrowed the photos from.

Visiting May - February 2010

The usual monthly visit to the MIL in Scotland. Fly up Friday evening, get picked up from Glasgow airport by the BIL, borrow the SIL's car and drive down to May's. Then spend the weekend doing chauffeur duty and assorted DIY tasks.

This time it was replace a broken loo seat, install three sliding baskets on runners in the kitchen cabinets and glaze part of the shower cubicle with a sheet of Perspex (clear acrylic sheet).



Sunday we went out to celebrate the birthday of an old family friend, Duncan. We went to Maccullum's of Troon right down by the harbour side and had an excellent meal with efficient and friendly staff. Googling the restaurant reveals lots of 5-star reviews and deservedly so; one to re-visit.

Then back late Sunday with a multi-part meal of snacks and wine, in the airport, on the plane and on the train. And so to bed.

Food and Wine from the Puglia Region

Puglia Wine Tasting Dinner on Tuesday 26th January at 7.00 pm

So felicitous of Enoteca Turi to organise a Puglian wine dinner on Mary's birthday; made the choice of venue for the celebratory meal a no-brainer :-)

This time we were seated on the top table either side of Guiseppi and so were able to have a long chat with him. It was fascinating to hear the story of the restaurant and how it has prospered over its 20 years.

We met not one but three sets of Puglian neighours! One couple even knew Anne and Henry who introduced us to the region and in whose trulli we often stayed while the building works were being done. That said it should not really be surprising that London-based holiday home owners would favour a Puglian restaurant and especially this dinner.


Guiseppi Turi in front of a vineyard

The wines:

• Falanghina del Salento - Good but have had better Falanghina.
• Primitivo del Salento - would not have guessed it as Primitivo, light.
• Five Roses Rosato del Salento - passable pairing with the food but a more unctious white might have been better
• Il Falcone Castel del Monte - cooler climate wine compared to the Negroamaro.
• Negroamaro del Salento - preferred this of the pair, richer,fruitier warmer climate style.
• Nero di Troia - very strong Morello cherry palate.
• Primitivo di Manduria - as Parker would say "gobs of fruit" velvey, chocolate palate. Yummy - a "vino di meditazione".
• Moscato di Trani - went well with a most delicious dessert.

The meal:

Stuzzichini
Grilled oyster mushroom, bread dumplings with garlic, pecorino and parsley
deep-fried mussels, capocollo di Martina
Burrata with toasted Altamura bread
Le Fossette Falanghina del Salento 2007 Alberto Longo
*
Selection of antipasti
Grilled squid
Catalogna chicory with fava bean puree
Toasted bread with cima di rape suffocate
Baked artichoke with egg, pecorino and mint
Primitivo del Salento IGT 2006 Cantele
*
Lagane, ceci, cozze e tria
Mussels, chick pea and tria
Five Roses IGT Rosato del Salento 2007 Leone de Castris
*
Orecchiette con brasciole
Parcels of beef filled with celery, onion, parmesan and parsley slow-cooked
in a red wine and tomato sauce, served with orecchiette
Il Falcone Castel del Monte DOC 2005 Rivera
Maime Negroamaro del Salento 2005 Tormaresca
*
Costatine d'agnello alla brace con bieta
Grilled lamb cutlet with swiss chard and olive oil
Le Cruste nero di Troia IGT 2006 Alberto longo
Primitivo di Manduria DOC Sessantanni 2006 Feudi di S. Marzano
*
Zuppa Inglese
Rum-soaked sponge with vanilla pastry cream and candied fruits
Kaloro Moscato di Trani DOC 2005 Tormaresca
*
Coffee with almond nougatine sticks

Excellent Exeter

A weekend of fine dining and much walking in delightful, historic Exeter and environs.

Mary had a work trip to Exeter last Friday so, as the client had paid her train fare, she suggested I might like to come down to join her and make a weekend of it - and so we did.

Friday I left work early, did some work on the train, and checked in to the ABode Hotel, Exeter for a special weekend package. The deal included a free glass of decent champagne and a meal in their fine restaurant.


Exeter cathedral - the view from our hotel room

Saturday we tromped 12 miles along the Exe Estuary Trail. Devon Council are still working on what will be, I am sure, a very popular leisure resource.


River Exe view

After the first 8 miles it was time for a pub lunch at The Puffing Billy in Exton. Good food and beer with a convivial landlord. We tried a couple of local ales: Gun Dog for me and Otter for Mary. The last 4 miles took us to Exmouth and the train back to Exeter.


Boats on the River Exe

That evening we caught the train back down to Topsham for supper at Oliva, recommended by a colleague of Mary's. The food was excellent and the service friendly but very slow. An earlier table was late arriving and the kitchen could not cope. Not like it was packed solid or anything. Even a basket of bread would have helped, as it was we were drinking on an empty stomach for an hour. I would go back but...


Walking tour of Exeter - Catherdral to Quay


Sunday we did a guided tour of the city "Cathedral to Quay" which left us an easy walk to the Double Locks pub for lunch. Then a walk back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and spend the afternoon trundling home on the train.

An very tourist friendly city with lots of history and atmosphere - recommended.

Mark McLellan - My Year in Status

When I did my Facebook year in status it neatly precised the last twelve months: music, food & drink, cycling, travel.



Music was a rich year with some most entertaining evenings out:

• Tina Turner at the O2 (brilliant!)
• Rick Wakeman at Hampton Court Palace
• New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans (too many artists to list)
• New Orleans festival at the O2 (John Mooney, Dr John)
• Neil Young in Hyde Park (also Seasick Steve)
• James Taylor at the O2
• Sapphire Bullets in a pub in Kingston on Thames
• U2 at Wembley
• Bolan Bop in Golders Green
• T.Rextasy at Epsom
• Bill Bailey's Extraordinary Guide to the Orchestra 
• Bill Posters Will be Band plus Three Bonzos and a Piano at The Bull's Head, Barnes
  

http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/search/label/music

Food and drink to many to mention, see:

• http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/search/label/wine
• http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/search/label/restaurants

Travel is not good for our carbon footprint. The most frequent destination was Scotland to visit Mary's mum and help her with the down-sizing and move to the sheltered accommodation. Of course the Trulli gets a number of hits.

• Scotland (10) - visiting May
• Italy (5) - open up, holidays, close down
• New Orleans (1) - Jazz Fest
• South Africa (1) - Whale watching in Hermanus
• Bowness (1) - walking in the lake district
• France (1) - weekend visiting John and Andrea in Bordeaux
• Dublin (1) - Valentine's Day weekend

Cycling
One charity ride (London Bikeathon in Aid of Leukaemia Research) and load of miles commuting to work by bike.

Health
I had a cataract operation in March in the left eye which went well. As only the one eye was done that left me with mismatched eyes. I cannot now use glasses as the prescriptions are two disparate - I miss the varifocal lenses. Instead I use a long distance contact lens in the left and reading power in the right - leaving the brain to auto-flip flop between the images; odd but mostly works ok.

• http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/2009/03/cataract-operation-went-well.htm
• http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/2009/05/after-effects-of-cataract-operation.htm
• http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/2009/05/one-eyed-man-is-king.htm

Work should get a mention. At the tail end of 2008 I was budget cut out of BT after four years of contract renewals. I then got a contract as "poacher turned gamekeeper" at Wexham Park Hospital. After only two months there the financial axe fell again and, as freelancers are easy meat for the cull, I was out again.

Luckily I obtained a new contract on a really interesting project, with excellent colleagues in a good location (London Bridge) that I cycle to most days that I can. The rate wasn't top of the range but who's complaining with the other plus points.

What is a pain is that the agency through whom I was contracting went into voluntary liquidation owing me three months money. I am unlikely to ever see that but the plus side is that I am now working directly for the client and get the old agency's cut so will gradually claw back the loss. And the work looks set fair to continue for some time.

Christmas: The previous two Christmases were spent in South Africa so this year it was our turn to host Mary's Mum and stay in the UK. We spent a relaxing time as home in Wandsworth with May mostly knitting in the corner. We were joined by my Mum and Dad for Christmas Day goose and on New Year's Eve our friends Bob and Lynne joined us for a meal at a local restaurant.

No New Year resolutions but if I were to make one it would be "to become older and wiser". That way I am guaranteed at least a 50 percent success :-)

PS [14-Jan-10]
Molly the Morris Minor: How could I have missed that other milestone of the year? After 13 years with us Molly the Morris Minor went off to a new home. http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/search/label/cars

Preparing for Christmas 2009

This past week has been getting ready for Christmas. Up into the loft to bring down the tree, the decorations (the gold collection and the red and green collection) and the Christmas tea pot.



Yesterday we went down to Farnham to visit the Ageds for a cuppa, drop off a bag of presents and collect one in return. Then off to Heathrow to collect May, the MIL, and bring her back to stay with us for a couple of weeks.

The tree has already been assembled; tonight we put up the decorations and lights.



Jeeves, mull me some wine!

Bill Bailey at the O2

Mary Galashan wrote "when a friend of a friend of a friend invites to you at the last minute to see Bill Bailey in a hospitality box at the O2, don't even think about it, say YES!!! It was great fun and so clever."


Peter Blake guitar at The O2

An old friend of my brother rang me up last Friday lunch time and asked if I was free that evening to go see Bill Bailey at the O2. He had done someone a favour and they reciprocated by giving him the exclusive use of a corporate box on that very day. So he spent the entire day frantically phoning round to find short-notice guests. Mary and I were available so off we went for what turned out to be a most excellent evening.

We saw Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide To The Orchestra which was hugely entertaining. I had not realised that he was a musician before he was a comic and was pleasantly surprised when he sat down at the piano to rattle off a few classical numbers. Google for more reviews.

There was catering, as much drink as we wanted all for free, plus the entertainment. Afterwards, as it was still early, we went down to the VIP lounge bar and had a glass of champagne to round off the evening.

Bill Bailey at The O2. Slumming it in the corporate hospitality box. Free booze. Free food. Peter Blake original on the wall. Party on dudes!!

Sassicaia and Ornellaia Wine Tasting Dinner

Thursday was our works' Christmas party. Since we are the directors and work force combined we, as in previous years, splashed out the company's money in accordance with the taxman's tax free allowance for staff entertaining [1]. Namely we went out for a very nice meal. And they do not get much better than a Sassicaia and Ornellaia Wine Tasting Dinner at Enoteca Turi.

We sampled parallel vintages of 2003. 2001 and 1999 presented by Tim Atkin MW http://timatkin.com/. It was a rare opportunity not afforded to many to taste such Super Tuscans in such a combination.

Stuzzichini
Tuscan Tastes:
Chicken liver crostini, polenta cheese gnocchi, salame toscano
Cauliflower and olive bruschetta
Prosecco
*
Ravioli di fagiano e verza, salsa al tartufo nero
Ravioli filled with pheasant and Savoy cabbage, black truffle sauce
Sassicaia DOC 2003 Tenuta San Guido
Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore 2003 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
*
Carre d'agnello, con carciofi e patate, spinaci alla fiorentina
Roast rack of lamb with sauteed artichoke and potato,
spinach fiorentina, thyme sauce
Sassicaia DOC 2001 Tenuta San Guido
Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore 2001 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
*
Formaggi Toscani
Selection of cheeses from Tuscany
Sassicaia DOC 1999 Tenuta San Guido
Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore 1999 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
*
Vin Santo con cantuccini
Vin Santo with cantuccini biscuits
Vin Santo Bianco del Empolese DOC 2004 Leonardo
*
Coffee

For more about the wines see:
http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/2009/12/sassicaia.htm
http://blog.mmenterprises.co.uk/2009/12/ornellaia.htm

[1] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/guidance/480.pdf page 10
The following expenses payments and benefits are not normally taxable under the provisions described in this booklet.
Annual parties or similar functions
Sections 264 and 266(3)
Annual parties at Christmas or alternative functions of a similar nature, such as an annual dinner dance, which are open to staff generally and which cost no more than £150 per head to provide. Where there is more than one annual function and their total cost per head exceeds £150, only the functions that total £150 or less will not be taxed.

Sassicaia

The producer of Sassicaia today, the Incisa della Rocchetta family, was a key player in the Medieval and Renaissance history of northern Italy. The family descend from Aleramo, one of the largest landowners of the Holy Roman Empire, with 250 square kilometers of estate.

Leopoldo Incisa, a high-ranking official of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1840, retired due to a severe illness, and went back to the ancestral home of Rocchetta Tanaro, in Piedmont. Here he published two catalogues of precious Italian and foreign grape varieties that he had collected, which today are a bibliographic rarity and a point of reference to anybody involved in viticulture.

Almost a century later, his great-grand child, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, as a young student in agriculture, was inspired by those books to plant cabernet vines first in Rocchetta, and then in Bolgheri, the estate he inherited by marriage. As a student in Pisa during the 1920's, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamed of creating a "noble" wine. Like most of Italian aristocracy at the time, his taste in wine ran strongly to fine Bordeaux.

In 1930 Mario married Clarice della Gherardesca, heiress to the Tuscan estate of Tenuta San Guido in Bolgheri, on the Tyrrenean Coast, where the young couple moved at the end of the Second World War.

There, just below the castle of Castiglioncello in San Guido (about 400 meters a.s.l.), he found the "terroir" that he was searching for. In 1940, he planted the first vineyard of Sassicaia and then in 1965, he planted two more vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Eventually, all of the wine produced on the estate came to be known by the name of Sassicaia.

The 1968 vintage of Sassicaia was the first to be offered on the open market, and it was as well received as the Premier Crus from Bordeaux. In subsequent years the cellars were moved to temperature-controlled quarters, wood fermentation vats were replaced with stainless steel ones, and French oak barriques were used for the ageing process. The marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta passed away in 1983. His son, Marquis Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta, now oversees all estate operations.

Ornellaia

Tenuta dell Ornellaia, a 97 hectare estate, was founded in 1981 by Marchese Lodovico Antinori, in the hills near Bolgheri, adjoining Tenuta San Guido, the property of Sassicaia. Lodovico is brother to Piero Antinori of the Antinori Estate, and also nephew to Clarice Gherardesca of Tenuta San Guido.

Having inherited this estate, Ludovico planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot in 1982, with advice from his mentor Andre Tchelistchev, the late Californian wine guru.

The estate's signature wine, Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC Superiore, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend, with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, was first released in 1985 after ageing in French oak barriques for 18 months. Other wines produced on the estate include Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia, Masseto and Le Volte. Ornellaia and Masseto comfortably rank amongst the world's greatest wines.

Lodovico Antinori is no longer involved with the winery he founded; after the very successful joint ownership by Marchesi de Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi in 2002, the property is today owned by Tenuta di Toscana, a company controlled by Marchesi de Frescobaldi, its young and enthusiastic team benefiting from the resources of a large company whilst having autonomy when developing the estate's wines.

Ornellaia is not one of Tuscany's most historic wineries, but it has become one of its most respected with a formidable reputation.

Ornellaia DOC Superiore is the estate's flagship wine; each grape variety and each vineyard is vinified separately, and then assembled to produce wines that reflect the nuances of each vintage. The final blend for each vintage decided 6 months before the completion of its barrel ageing and the wine remains in the bottle for a further 12 months before it is released. Ornellaia 2001 was considered "2001 World's Number 1 Wine" by The Wine Spectator.

One of the great Super-Tuscan estates, Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Winery was founded in 1981 in what has proved to be one of Italy's most interesting and expressive wine-making areas, the maritime hills of Bolgheri within the greater wine region of Maremma. Maremma is an extremely interesting sub region of Tuscany for food and wine lovers to visit. Although for centuries it was considered unfit for vineyards, in the past few decades this coastal area has become one of the most ultra exclusive wine producing regions of Italy. Its success is due both to its staunch commitment to the philosophy of "quality without compromise" and to the unique climate and terrain here. While in some ways similar to Bordeaux's, the estate's terroir is truly something special; ever-changing and composite, it includes marine, alluvial and volcanic soils, allowing each grape variety to be planted in its ideal type of soil. Ornellaia enjoys some famous neighbors such as Sassicaia, one of the most legendary Tuscan estates. Sassicaia is owned (not coincidentally) by Antinori's uncle, who made the first Super Tuscan and began the trend that continues today.

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia actually occupies two separate estates in Tuscany's low, hilly coastal region. The original property, which Antinori inherited, is home to a stylish, clean-lined winery and 30 hectares of vineyards. Nearby is the second estate, Bellaria, with 46 hectares.