Category Archives: Alcohol Reviews

Taittinger Brut Réserve NV & Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV Champagne Review

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Taittinger Brut Réserve NV & Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV Champagne reviewChampagne Taittinger Brut Réserve NV is one of the best bottles of champagne on the market. Made with fruit from only the prime vineyards throughout Champagne, this is the signature cuvée of Champagne Taittinger. A blend of Chardonnay wines (40%) and Pinot wines (60%) from 30 to 50 different vineyards and matured to perfection. Elegant and delicately golden with sweet biscuit and brioche notes, this Champagne has peach and acacia notes on the nose. It is beautiful and well-balanced. It is aged for three to four years in the cellars. Crisp and perfectly matured.
This champagne can be drunk as an aperitif or with food. Enjoy with white meat, canapés, oysters or smoked salmon.

TAITTINGER Brut Reserve Champagne 75cl Bottle is available here or from Majestics.com, Sainsburys.co.uk, tesco.com or waitrose.com

 

Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV was always going to get a good review as we love rosé at Frost. Throw in the fact that this is champagne and win-win. This is a gorgeous, delicate wine that has aromas of wild strawberries and spice. Flavours of crushed raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant. This is a delicious, vibrant wine. Highly recommended, just amazing. Enjoy with fruit based desserts, red fruit, delicate sorbet, summer pudding and selected cheeses.

Taittinger Prestige Rose NV Champagne is available here and harrods.com, Majestics.com, Sainsburys.co.uk, tesco.com or waitrose.com

 

 

 

Searcys Launch Own Brand of Champagne.

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Renowned Champagne house Searcys known for their longest Champagne bar in Europe, have gained sparkling reputation in all of their 120 years of operation. Starting out as a catering service, the brand has grown from strength to strength so it makes sense that after such an extensive time serving up the luxury drink to thirsty patrons, that they have just launched their own unique blend of Champagne.

Don’t let the fact that this Champagne not having been on the market for as long as some of the big boys put you off, they have cleverly selected a blend which is perfectly drinkable alone or with food. The blend itself an instant hit with only 2% Chardonnay grape which certainly for myself removes the headache, overbearingly dry factor.

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To make the launch of their very first own brand Champagne even more unique, Searcys have ensured that a taste of their delicious Champagne will be a truly fascinating experience. The drink is served in an innovative tower of six glasses, The ‘Coupe Stack’. The ‘Coupe Stack’ is designed to let the Searcys Selected Cuvée perfectly flow like a waterfall and fill each glass perfectly. This was demonstrated a couple of times at the launch to much ooo’s and aaahhh’s each time the brave pourer took to the challenge.

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To encourage customers, Searcys are giving lucky punters the chance to win a meal for two at SixtyOne Restaurant and all you have to do is share your ’stackselfie’ before the 15th of March. To share, you must post a picture of yourself with the Coupe Stack onto social media, using #searcysstack. You can find them on Twitter (@SearcysBars), Instagram (@SearcysChampagneBars) and Facebook (Searcys Champagne Bar).

William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 Wine Review

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William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 Wine Review, wine, wine review, wine reviews, alcohol Five generations of Hardys have made wine their business, making them one of Australia’s iconic winemaking families. Impressive indeed.

 

Their William Hardy Chardonnay 2013 is an understated medium dry chardonnay. It is a pale straw colour and is restrained. Crisp and refreshing with notes of lemon zest and pear. It is flowery with overtones of vanilla. This Chardonnay is made from Padthaway and Riverland region grapes and is ripe and zesty, with peach and lemon flavours. There is a touch of oak but it is delicate. A very good chardonnay. Recommended.

 

Pair it with fish pie or chicken dishes.

 

This wine can be drunk now but will further improve if carefully stored for up to 1 year

 

Available from tesco.com

 

 

 

Echo Falls Alcohol Free Sparkling Infusion Review

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wine, alcohol free, alcohol, free, pregnant, pregnancy, drinks, sparkling, grape, juicePeople, I haven’t had an alcoholic drink since last July. JULY. I have to admit, it has been hard. I don’t actually drink a lot but I review a lot of restaurants, go to events with free bars and we also review a lot of alcohol (Thanks Matt!). I miss the ceremony, the bit of fizz that means celebration. Which means I got quite excited about the prospect of reviewing alcohol-free wine. Send it over I told the PR, hoping that ‘ alcohol-free wine’ was not an oxymoron. And the result….

We loved it. It really does hit the spot. I also noticed that they were handing it out at The Baby Show at Excel last weekend. The sparkling mixture of Tisane, grape juice and premium green tea really does hit the spot. Drink it cold out of a champagne flute and it is actually nicer than a lot of proper, alcoholic wine. It tastes great and is very moreish. Which is fine because it is alcohol free and you can drink as much as you want! Yeah.

Echo Falls Alcohol Free Sparkling Infusion is refreshing and medium dry. It has wonderful crisp fruit flavours and bubbles that last. It also opens the exact way champagne does. Which is very satisfying. I am now addicted. My fridge will soon be filled with this superb drink. Love it.

Available from tesco.com

 

 

Cocktail Recipes For Valentine’s Day

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Cocktail Recipes For Valentine's DayRED BERRY CLUB

(Available at Grosvenor House Hotel)

A deliciously sweet and tangy cocktail that is the perfect entree to a Valentine’s Day dinner

 

Ingredients:

50ml CÎROC Red Berry

25 Freshly squeezed lemon juice

15ml Raspberry syrup

1 Egg white

 

Method:

Shake all ingredients hard with cubed ice for 15 seconds/ Strain into a chilled coupe glass and add lemon zest to the top. Garnish with a fresh raspberry

Cocktail Recipes For Valentine's

CÎROC VELVET

This champagne topped cocktail is perfect for a sophisticated affair

 

Ingredients:

35ml CÎROC Vodka

20ml Peach nectar

5ml Vanilla syrup

15ml Apple juice

Top up with Champagne

 

Method:

Shake all ingredients together and fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Top with Champagne

 

Cocktail Recipes

Q’S MARTINI

(Created by Lorenzo Manzo at Quaglino’s)

A classic serve that never gets old. Short and strong, this serve is a classic hit

 

Ingredients:

50ml CÎROC Vodka

10ml manzanilla sherry

5ml Olive brine

Top with Soda water

 

Method:

Shake all ingredients with cubed ice and strain into a martini class. Top with Soda water and garnish with 3 olives

Cocktail Recipe

CÎROC WHITEHALL LADY

(Available at Corinthia)

A delectable cocktail that’s full of flavour and fizz perfect to sip whilst swooning over your date

 

Ingredients:

50ml CÎROC Vodka

15ml Elderflower cordial

10ml Fresh lemon juice

Top up with Champagne

 

Method:

Shake all ingredients with cubed ice and strain into a tall glass. Top with Champagne and garnish with a twist of orange or grapefruit

 

 

 

Fattoria La Vialla 2015 Review: Glorious Organic Food From Tuscany

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Fattoria La Vialla food and wine reviewAnyone who reads Frost regularly knows that we love Fattoria La Vialla. In fact, I love it so much that I bought their wine in cases for my wedding. Everything from their food to their wine is superb. Which is why we were delighted when a present arrived. We promptly got to work reviewing it.

I never knew I loved salami until I tried Fattoria’s salami. It is wondrous. So superb, fresh and delicious. I could eat it everyday. Their Olive Oil is the real deal, you will never go back to the supermarket stuff. It has that green tinge that lets you know it is the genuine article. Their pasta is everything you think it would be. We try the fusilli and the linguine. Both are divine.

In this box of delicious heaven is the pecorino, their mature cheese. The ageing process takes nine months and it is amazing.

Fattoria La Vialla 2015 Review- Glorious Organic Food From Tuscanylochiffon

Vernaccia di San Gimignano is the most prestigious white in all of Tuscany, and you can tell. Smooth, full and complex with almond, dried fruit and floral notes on the nose. Fattoria make the best wines and I don’t say this lightly. Their Casa Conforto Chianti Riserva is superb. On the nose is a variety of aromas: violet and wild berries, secondary notes are mushroom, meat, light pine resin and sweet wood. I usually prefer white or rosé wine but I love this red. I had a Casa Conforto Chianti from a previous year as the red wine option at my wedding. The guests loved it and said it was the best wine they have ever had at a wedding, along with the others. Lo Chiffon is a sparkling white wine. It is cloudy and a straw yellow colour with metallic highlights. It tastes wonderful, both dry and smooth.

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Their olive all’ arancia is wonderful. These dried orange olives are based on an old Tuscany recipe. Unusual and delicious.

Sugo Pomodori, olive & capper is a fabulous sauce. It has a kick to it and is a great combination of tomatoes (which are the star of the show), capers, olives, hot chilli pepper, parsley and garlic. Yum.

Fattoria La Vialla 2015 Review- Glorious Organic Food From TuscanysauceFattoria La Vialla 2015 Review- Glorious Organic Food

La Rosmarina is a rosemary tomato sauce. It also has a kick to it and is both fresh and unbelievably tasty.

Also in the parcel was an interesting, good book about Fattoria. Along with a wonderful card and other literature. Fattoria is a wonderful family business that really makes you feel like you are part of the Fattoria community.

Our love affair continues.

Fattoria La Vialla

 

 

 

Wine review of Echo Falls, Fruit Fusion Red Wine, by Matthew Pain

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Wine review of Echo Falls, Fruit Fusion Red Wine, by Matthew PainWine review of Echo Falls, Fruit Fusion Red Wine, by Matthew Pain

 

There is spiced orange on the nose, which belies the sweetness on the palate. This is a light cherry tasting wine, which is best suited, as the label suggests, to either being chilled over ice or served hot as a mulled wine.

 

It probably needs citrus if chilled and extra cinnamon or orange slices if warm, to offset the sweetness. It’s a bit like old-fashioned punch or a winter version of sangria from those memorable package holidays.

Available from tesco.com

 

 

 

Christmas Gift List For The Wine Connoisseur

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These bottles of wine are perfect as presents, or just for serving to guests.

Christmas Gift List For The Wine Connoisseur

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2013 £12.99

Has ripe red fruits of red plum and cherry notes with a lingering spice.

 

Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 £12.99

Aged for 9 months in lightly toasted French oak barrels. Has tastes of dark red fruits, spice and a touch of fresh mint. Has smooth raspberry and cherry flavours.

 

Brancott Estate Terroir Series Sauvignon Blanc 2013 £12.49

This is a special wine. Has tropical fruits complemented by hints of freshly cut herbs. This is elegant, delicious and refined. From majestic.com and tesco.com

 

Brancott Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Gris 2013 £10.49

Goes well with salmon, has a slight sweetness. Has ripe notes of nectarine and pineapple with underlying hints of fennel. Available from tesco.com, ocado.com and asda.com

 

Jacob’s Creek Twin Pickings Pinot Grigio 2013 £7.49

This is the perfect aperitif. Has a wonderful hidden sweetness and a dash of Moscato Bianco. Vibrant and fresh with flavours of pear, crisp apple, honeysuckle and hints of lemon. From tesco.com