A Pair of Classy wines from Chile

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Jack Shamash

I know it sounds a bit pretentious, but I was having a few friends for dinner, so I got two bottles of wine – one from 2012 and one from 2013 – for a side-by-side tasting. I generally enjoy Chilean wines so I bought the two vintages of Marques de Casa Concha.

Chile used to specialise in quite good pinot noir – a bit heavier than your average Burgundy but a nice thing to have with a steak. Now the Chileans are doing some quite classy things.

These are lovely wines. They are grown on high slopes so they have a bit of complexity. The 2012 is 98 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon with 2 per cent syrah. The 2013 also has some Cabernet Franc and some petit verdot. In other words, the grapes used for making the wines are practically the same. More interestingly, the 2013 vintage was made using much bigger casks. This means that there is less oxidisation and more fruit flavour in the wine.

Of course, it is a matter of taste. I personally preferred the 2013. It was full of flavours of blueberry and blackberry and had a wonderful richness and a long finish. It was something to savour. The 2012 was also a good wine, but had less of a flourish. I suspect this might endear it to wine experts, who admire simplicity.

They are both extremely good wines, and at £12 a good thing for a dinner party. Great with steak or a traditional beef stew, or just as something lovely to sip in front of the fire with good friends. The 2012, which has a slightly lighter taste, would go well with hearty lamb dishes. Available from Sainsburys

More ideas and reviews of food and wine are available on Jack’s website

Johnnie Walker® and McLaren Honda F1 Stage Driving Spectacular In London To Deliver Anti Drink Driving Message

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

F1 stars Mika Häkkinen, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso called on Londoners to JOIN THE PACT to never drink and drive, supporting the Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign.

In Wembley, London, on 4 December 2015, as part of its global responsible drinking programme, JOIN THE PACT, JOHNNIE WALKER®, staged a driving spectacular with the stars of the McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team to encourage people to never drink and drive.

During the event, F1 Stars Mika Häkkinen, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso and fellow McLaren Honda driver and 2015 GP2 Champion Stoffel Vandoorne thrilled spectators, demonstrating their control skills in London’s Wembley Park, driving competition winners, media and special guests in a range of cars, including McLaren road cars (including the lesser-seen McLaren 570S supercar) and the Johnnie Walker supercar Caparo T1.

Radio X DJ Chris Moyles hosted the afternoon’s event and grabbed the opportunity of Jenson Button taking him for an exhilarating ride outside Wembley Stadium.

The event is part of the responsible drinking festive campaign, JOIN THE PACT. Last year, Johnnie Walker announced its intention to gather five million ‘Join The Pact’ commitments by 2018 and has since passed the half way mark, with almost 2.6 million people having made a personal promise to never drink and drive.

The event was also marked by the premiere of a powerful new ‘Join The Pact’ film featuring Johnnie Walker Global Responsible Drinking Ambassador, Mika Häkkinen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOu8knYmMiY

What’s one of the best gifts you can give a friend this holiday season?

A safe ride home.

With the festive season in full swing and friends planning nights out all around the world, Johnnie Walker^®, the world’s leading Scotch whisky, is encouraging people to make sure they get home safely by pledging to never drink and drive.

Last year, Johnnie Walker announced its intention to gather five million Join The Pact commitments by 2018 and has since passed the halfway mark, with almost 2.6 million people having made a personal promise to never drink and drive.

To launch its 2015 global festive responsible drinking campaign, Johnnie Walker today promised 450,000 kilometres of safe rides home around the world, in cities from Madrid to Sao Paulo and Edinburgh at Hogmanay, for those who make a commitment to never drink and drive through its Join The Pact initiative. In addition, this year and starting in London, some people will have the opportunity to go one step further and experience the joy of festive giving by nominating a friend for a safe ride home.

Johnnie Walker and UBER are providing £10 off rides for a limited number of existing users who Join The Pact, and UBER will also fund unlimited £10 rides for new users on top of that for the duration of the festive campaign.

McLaren Honda Test Driver Stoffel Vandoorne, Johnnie Walker^® Global Responsible Drinking Ambassador Mika Häkkinen pictured with his Caparo T1 supercar alongside fellow F1 World Champions and McLaren Honda drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso and the lesser-seen McLaren 570S supercar at London’s Westminster Parliament buildings

Johnnie Walker^®, Join The Pact will deliver 450,000 kilometres of safe rides home in the following cities:

London
Birmingham
Bristol
Leeds
Manchester
Newcastle
Portsmouth
Merseyside area
Glasgow
Sheffield
Edinburgh
Madrid
Sao Paulo
Rio
Recife

Andrew Jones MP, Minister for Transport said: “Drivers know that drink driving is wrong. It can destroy families and ruin lives. Yet some people at Christmas will still take the risk and get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t. “Over the past thirty years drink drive deaths have fallen significantly but every death or serious injury is one too many. The best way for drivers to keep themselves and other road users safe is simple: don’t drink and drive. I encourage drivers to Join the Pact to not drive after a tipple this Christmas.”

McLaren Honda driver Jenson Button said: “As racing drivers, we understand the importance of staying in control and never ever getting behind the wheel after consuming any alcohol. “We’re confident that people will get the message. Millions already have, and we want to encourage millions more to make a personal commitment to get home safely and ‘Join The Pact’ by visiting jointhepact.com or by tweeting #JoinThePact to @JohnnieWalker_.”

Andrew Cowan, Managing Director of Diageo GB said: “During the festive season millions of Brits will celebrate with a drink, and we are committed to encouraging people to get home safely. We are so excited to be hosting this event in London, and we hope that many Londoners and people across the country will be inspired to join the 2.6 million people globally who have already made a pledge to never drink and drive.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Alcohol Licensing and Harm Reduction, Commander Simon Letchford said: “We’re very pleased to have this opportunity to work together with our partners from the drinks industry to get across the important message around responsible drinking over the festive season in the run-up to Christmas. We want people to enjoy a drink but to do so responsibly and safely, and bear in mind that anti-social behaviour and road traffic accidents put a strain on emergency services and divert them from priority calls. If you cause an offence or an accident as a result of alcohol you could also face serious penalties.”

Mika Häkkinen said: “The holiday season is a time when friends and families get together to celebrate and share gifts of thanks with each other. It’s a time for parties and reunions and we want to make sure that those who are out celebrating with alcohol leave their cars at home. I strongly urge everyone to Join The Pact to never drink and drive. Some of those who make the commitment this year will be able to thank their friends with the gift of a safe ride home, thanks to a partnership between Johnnie Walker and UBER in the UK and other transport partners across the world.”

Johnnie Walker Global Brand Director, Guy Escolme, said: “We’re delighted to have Mika, Jenson, Fernando and Stoffel here today. Formula 1 is one of the most progressive and thrilling sports in the world – one that has proven, time and again, that those who bring passion, commitment, and a genuine love for the circuit will achieve the most.” He added: “More than 400 million fans tune in to F1 races worldwide. For ten years, our partnership with McLaren Honda has allowed us to reach this audience with our responsible drinking message and strongly urge people to Join The Pact to never drink and drive. Some of those who make the commitment this year will be able to thank their friends with the gift of a safe ride home, thanks to a partnership between Johnnie Walker and UBER in the UK and other transport partners across the world.”

People can make their pledge to never drink and drive by visiting www.jointhepact.com or by tweeting #JoinThePact to @JohnnieWalker_.

About Diageo…

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. Enjoy Johnnie Walker responsibly.

@DiageoGB

About ‘Join The Pact ‘…

Johnnie Walker places great importance on Responsible Drinking and tackles this issue through the Join The Pact campaign, with Mika Häkkinen as the Global Responsible Drinking Ambassador. Join The Pact asks consumers everywhere to make a commitment to never drink and drive through signing a pact. Since 2006 Mika has led this call-to-action initiative, which has been activated worldwide, collecting over a million signatures.

Mika has visited over 40 countries on five continents, spoken to countless media, government officials, stakeholders and consumers delivering important messages through unique Johnnie Walker experiences.

The JOHNNIE WALKER and JOIN THE PACT words, the Striding Figure device and associated logos are trademarks © John Walker & Sons 2015.

Images © Shane Finn at Visual Devotion and Getty

Inside The X Factor Finalists’ Plush 7-Bed House

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Frostie

We love X Factor at Frost and have been enjoying the performances. We have also been getting major property envy at the beautiful house the contestants are living in. We can reveal that it is located in one of Barnet’s most sought-after streets, According to Zoopla the property was previously put on the market for £7million when it was last up for sale in 2013.

The remaining XFactor hopefuls can kick back in the lap of luxury in a seven-bedroom mansion in leafy North London ahead of the finals.

Zoopla.co.uk can offer a sneak peek inside the detached new-build residence – which features an indoor swimming pool, a cinema room, and even a state-of-the-art car lift – where the finalists will be living until the winner is chosen in December. Can we move in now please?

Good Food Show – Birmingham NEC Review By Tracy Baines

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Frostie

This was my first trip to the BBC Good Food show but it was obvious from the outset that many of the clientele had been to previous events. In they poured, armed with substantial shopper trolleys and crates on wheels to depart much later with a hoard of goodies.

I’d accompanied my son and his wife who were working on the World Cheese Awards and was left in charge of my two year old grandson, Huxley. We arrived when it opened and were still there when it closed so I had a great overview of the general flow of the day (as well as sore feet).

I wasn’t sure what I expected to find there, food obviously, and demonstrations, but it was so much more than that and I can see why people come back again and again. There was an entire warren of stands from the big names like Hotpoint and Stoves to small, individual family businesses launching new products.

As well as food you could also buy anything from a dining table and chairs to a bed, a massage chair and a Lexus should you be so inclined. There really was something for everyone. Many of the stalls though offered fantastic food and drink products. I never knew there were so many brands of gin and craft beer available. It was quite an eye opener.

I wandered up and down the aisles watching demonstrations of garlic graters and miracle mops, and enjoyed sampling everything from sausages to ice cream. You could purchase a new set of pans and something to clean them with if you burnt them. It was a great place to buy Christmas presents and I was particularly taken with the 50s style aprons at The Sunday Girl Company. Fabulously fun aprons for mother and daughter – and Grandma!

And of course, you could take out a subscription to Good Food magazine.

If you were to overindulge your credit card Guide Dogs for the Blind offered a shop and drop service to offload your haul to save carrying it around. They were one of many charities represented in the show.

Many of the demonstration areas were ongoing so you could drift around from one to another. Phil Vickery, Lisa Faulkner and Lorraine Pascal all took to the various stages on the first day and Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and the Hairy Bikers were appearing over the weekend.

The best time to go is early when it first begins or late afternoon when the crowds have gone and people are drifting away anxious to avoid the traffic. It was easier to access the stands and you had more time to chat to the exhibitors about their products – and taste them of course.

If you haven’t been to the NEC before it’s a great venue, easy to park with frequent shuttle buses to

and from

the exhibition centre. For those with mobility scooters and wheelchairs and yes, baby buggies, it was easy to get in and out of doors and facilities.

Various Good Food events are held around the country for most of the year so if you do go along be prepared: take a trolley and a credit card.

www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com

Should You Chip Tune Your Car?

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Aidan

For those out there who know nothing about cars, race chips and chip tuning won’t mean anything other than a head scratch. But it could make a huge difference to your car and its performance. In fact, chip tuning will increase the power of your car and increase fuel efficiency. It will increase engine power without compromising vehicle components. It may sound difficult and expensive but you can get your car chip tuned without it costing a bomb, after getting the product, you can even install it yourself in a few minutes.

What is chip tuning?

When you chip tune you change or modify an erasable programmable read only memory chip in your vehicles electric control unit (ECU).

Why should you get it done?

If you chip tune your vehicle you will get superior performance, give it more power, cleaner emissions and improving fuel efficiency. If you have a poorly tuned electronic control unit it can result in decreased performance, affect drivability and may even cause engine damage. You don’t have to worry about it affecting your manufacturer’s software as it remains in place after the software update and leaves no evidence after it has been removed.

If you want to know more go to http://www.racechip.com/chiptuning/ A good company that will read data from the engine control unit in real time, and optimise many characteristics. These data include items such as injection timing, injection quantity, injection pressure, boost pressure and air mass. It has a great impact on the environment as it will help you save fuel. Less fuel = less damage to the environment.

House of Dreams – Fanny Blake Book Review

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Margaret Graham

A hilltop villa, views, sun and a sibling get together – what’s not to like?

This is a lovely novel, one with which many can empathize as Jo, Tom and Lucy meet at Casa de Suenos for the weekend. It is the house in the mountains of southern Spain where they grew up and they have come to say goodbye.

The person missing is their mother, whose last request was that they celebrate her birthday – together. As with most siblings they perceive their upbringing differently. Will coming together confirm their memories, their perception of one another? More, will this weekend alter the dynamics between the siblings so that they come to like and accept, not just themselves, but one another, and the odd partner, here and there? And that’s an altogether bigger problem.

Fanny Blake writes with warmth, wit and understanding, and, more, she likes people, and it shows. And somewhere along the way, she has become a wise woman, and that also shows.

Bravo, I loved House of Dreams. You should put it on your Christmas list.

Published by Orion. Paperback £13.99

Vogue Model Arabella Daho Announced As Face Of Inspiring Edge 2015

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

Embrace U Empire is delighted to welcome International Teen Model & Charity Ambassador, Arabella Daho as the Face of Inspiring Edge 2015!

Arabella’s mother, Shadia Daho has paved the way for her daughter to become a renowned model from infant age. However it is Arabellas inherent confidence, natural beauty, ambition and perseverance which has allowed her to become an established model and vlogger.

With her signature big red curly hair, flawless complexion and sweet smile, it’s no wonder brands such as GoldKid London, Gap Kids, Burberry, Dolce & Gabanna, Monsoon & Nike have featured Arabella in their commercials! She also featured on the front cover of Vogue magazine- an epic achievement at the sweet age of 5.
Arabella is the epitome of the key values which Inspiring Edge Director, Haylee Venus strives to instill within children from disadvantaged backgrounds in an attempt to empower children to develop their skills and confidence to achieve their goals, Arabella will be imparting inspirational advice during the charitable ‘Mek Ah Step’ programme and will work alongside the Inspiring Edge team to help to fundraise for the Mek Ah Step Mission 2016.

Come and see Arabella modelling at the Inspiring Edge Fashion Show 2015, showcasing outfits by Goldkid London!

Check out Arabellas blog page for the latest style trends and updates on her exciting endeavours www.amazingarabella.com

Vashtina Johnson (Press and Media Relations Manager)
Haylee Venus (Event Director) – Embrace U Empire
Twitter: @EmbraceUEvents
Email: inspiringedge@gmail.com
Facebook: Inspiring Edge Fashion Show
Online tickets: https://inspiringedge.eventbrite.co.uk
Weblink for Inspiring Edge 2014: https//you.be/F94e8sjmtTg

Herpatch Prevention Stick: New cold sore prevention balm hits the UK

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Frostie

 24 per cent of cold sore sufferers are convinced that everyone is looking at them when they have a cold sore blister.
 Nearly half of those who suffer with cold sores admit they feel embarrassed when they develop a ‘fever blister’.
 A fifth of those surveyed (19 per cent) revealed that they will not leave their house if they are suffering with a cold sore.Each year, more than a third of the world’s population who harbour the causative virus suffer recurrent outbreaks of cold sores, with many sufferers experiencing more than 12 outbreaks a year3. However while the virus self can’t be cured, the amount of outbreaks can now finally be controlled with the launch of a pioneering new balm that will be going on sale in Boots stores nationwide (and Boots.com), from this week.
Classified as a medical device, the Herpatch prevention stick is a moisturising balm that effectively helps to prevent cold sore blisters. Developed with Protective Nutritive Shield technology to block the triggers that could lead to a cold sore outbreak, the balm combines a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF30), Zinc, Aloe Vera, and other skin protectants to keep lips hydrated andsafeguarded from an embarrassing blister occurring.

With its carefully selected ingredients, the Herpatch prevention stick literally provides a barrier to guard sensitive skin from the external factors that could spark a cold sore; including central heating, air conditioning, wind burn, and extreme weather conditions. The softening and moisturising action of the balm alsohelps to soothe skin during an outbreak, keeping the lesion moist to prevent cracking and reduce the occurrence of secondary infection.

Sunlight triggers cold sore outbreaks in up to a quarter of people with recurrent infections.

After exposure to UV radiation, up to 70 per cent of cold sore sufferers develop a blister within 7 days.

Ultraviolet light can reactivate Herpes simplex virus in over 60 per cent of cases.

With exposure to sunlight triggering cold sore outbreaks in up to a quarter of people with recurrent infections, clinical studies show that frequent application of a lip sunscreen product, can significantly minimise outbreaks.

In addition to this high SPF, Herpatch prevention stick contains several functional ingredients, such as Zinc, Aloe Vera, and other skin protectants, which will help to prevent recurrent Herpes labials.

When applied regularly (the Herpatch prevention stick can be applied as frequently as necessary), the balm will effectively help to reduce the number of cold sore outbreaks. Handy to carry with you, Herpatch Cold Sore Prevention is an easy to use, fast and efficient treatment for the prevention of cold sores. Use in conjunction with Herpatch Cold Sore Serum during an outbreak for a complete cold sore-care regimen.

Herpatch Cold Sore Prevention is available NOW from Boots and Boots.com priced at £4.99

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle