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Posts Tagged ‘wine pairings’

The Real Wine Month

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , on March 14, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Wine at L'ortolan

The Real Wine Month is a national promotion of organic, biodynamic and natural wines made by artisan growers and winemakers. L’ortolan is one of over 200 restaurants taking part in the celebration, so we’re taking the opportunity to showcase our diverse and renowned natural wine list.

A trend in recent years is to actually turn the clock back and look at how wines used be made before modern innovations took over. The ‘real’ wines we offer are from some of the most sought after producers, making wine in small yields either organically or bio-dynamically and with minimal intervention in the winery. No chemicals, no secret ingredients… just pure fermented grape juice crafted into something beautiful using the winemaker’s love and expertise.

We source wines working in these ways. The best wines of the past were all natural: the same could be said of today, in an elusive marriage of excellence meets ethics. As might be expected, they can be positively different from ‘conventional’ wine in appearance and taste.

We are constantly tasting and tuning our wine offering with the ever changing menu: we love to introduce the ‘fruit’ of that work. Whether you are looking for the ideal bottle to accompany your food choices from the menu, or a selection by the glass to go with each course from our tasting menus, we will be happy to guide you.

Take a look at our interview with Sommelier Craig, as we ask him what makes wine ‘natural’.

Throughout March our Sommelier, Craig, will serve guests a variety of natural wines by the glass, introducing them to their quirky, complex, and lighter textures. Craig has worked closely with Head Chef Nick to pair natural wines from France, Italy and Greece with the L’ortolan Menu.

Dine with us during March to experience a selection of our Real Wines, and don’t forget to ask Craig more about the estates and regions of these lesser known wines.

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The Real Wine Fair

Sunday March 17th (Trade & Public) 10am – 6pm
Monday March 18th (Trade) 10am – 6pm

The Real Wine fair compromises over 100 winemakers, more than 500 wines to taste, fantastic artisan products & street food, pop-up wine bar & restaurant and the Real Wine Shop.

For more information and tickets, visit www.therealwinefair.com

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An Evening with Alan & Gerard

Posted in Alan Murchison, Events, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Alan and Gerard L'ortolan

It’s a rare occasion indeed when Alan Murchison and Gerard Basset combine talents to deliver an evening of spectacular food, astonishing wines and conviviality.  Both masters in their respective fields, Alan and Gerard will be sharing their knowledge of food and wine and regaling guests with anecdotes from their years in the trade.

About our hosts…

Michelin Starred Chef, Alan Murchison, has held a Michelin star at L’ortolan for 11 years and is the inspiration behind the 10in8 Fine Dining group of restaurants. Prior to taking up his position as Executive Chef at L’ortolan, Alan trained with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons.  Alan has appeared several times on BBC2’s Great British Menu as both competitor and mentor and his recipes are regularly featured in the national media.

Gerard Basset is arguably one of the greatest wine professionals of his generation, the reigning World Champion Sommelier and the only person ever to simultaneously hold the Master of Wine, Master Sommelier and MBA Wine honours. Gerard co-founded the hugely successful Hotel du Vin Group and latterly the award winning, New Forest boutique wine hotel, Hotel TerraVina.

Alan and Gerard are business partners and have been friends for more than 10 years.

L'ortolan Prestige Menu

About the evening …

Alan and Gerard invite you to join them for a very exclusive evening at L’ortolan.  Aperitifs and canapés precede a sensational seven course menu devised by Alan with wines selected by Gerard.  Of course, during dinner Alan will comment on the food and Gerard the wines, but more than that, they will talk about their careers with some behind the scenes stories.  There will be plenty of opportunity to ask them both questions during this relaxed and informal evening.

For further details please visit our website or call 01189 888 500 

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Wines from Across the Pond

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

L'ortolan Amercian Wine TastingIn September we will be looking to The America’s, North and South for our monthly wine tasting dinner.  Sommelier Stephen Nisbet gives us an introduction to these wine producing regions. 

It is generally well known that both continents have regions capable of producing wine, but we find again the sheer extent of range in style is largely unknown.

It is believed here have been grapes for winemaking of the same breed as Europe in South America since the 16th century.  Winemakers have visited France particularly and exported vines and ideas since the 18th century so there is no doubt in anybody’s mind about the heritage and potential of this massive area.

We have generally come to believe that this is the ‘go to’ area for good value, recognisable wines that are easy to find and even easier to drink. These producers have been able to combine lower costs with vast vineyards and a more flexible approach than in Europe, say, to adapt to the market and essentially produce wine styles to order.

There are of course many estates striving for much higher quality and individuality and it’s no accident that many top names in France have launched projects there. The resulting wines are often superb but more expensive and until quite recently were difficult to sell, such was the strength of belief that countries like Chile only made wine for the supermarkets.

The picture is quite different in North America, with many areas outside of California producing wine such as Oregon, Washington State and Virginia producing excellent wines that are rarely seen on the market because so little is known even of their existence.

North America has, and still uses, it’s own breeds of grapes for winemaking but it is generally accepted that the introduced European variety makes the best quality of all. It was this very trade that nearly wiped out wine in Europe, an insect called phylloxera that American vines are immune to that came across in vine cuttings and destroyed huge swathes of vineyards.

(more…)

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Alan’s Kitchen Blog – Congratulations to former sous chef Phil Fanning

Posted in Alan Murchison, Alan's Kitchen Blog, tagged , , , , , on May 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Nice and busy in the kitchen, we have had a great start to the year, now working on a new a la carte dessert menu which will be on soon.  Stephen has some really interesting ideas for food and wine pairings which as we all know will be as creative and well thought out as ever.

All our new chefs have fitted in well and we had a great lift this week as my old sous chef Phil Fanning won an Acorn Award.  This is a great achievement as only 30 young hospitality  professionals under 30 receive this award annually.  A lot of our kitchen team at L’ortolan worked with Phil so we all are chuffed to bits for him.  Hopefully we can get Phil back to the L’ortolan kitchen soon to do a guest chef evening and show us how his food has developed over the last 18 months.

Keep an eye on twitter for daily news from the kitchen @alanmurchison @lortolan

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