Waistline Blues.

In the last two weeks The Wine Tipster has experienced fine dining at Sketch, The Ritz twice, some very fine VIP hospitality at The Dunhill Open Links Championship and enjoyed some good value, quality dining at Little Italy in St Andrews, Pizza Express in Bloomsbury, Plateau in Brighton and the The Hoop in Stock in Essex. At Sketch Pierre Gassadin’s produced some stunning dishes and matches including Foie Gras with Mumm Cuvee R Lalou 1999, whilst The Ritz’s three course menu at £46 per head (some gastro pubs are around £40 for three courses) is real value given the quality of the dishes, ambiance, decor and the wines, of course, including Crozes Hermitage Delas. Last Thursday I was back to The Ritz for The Perrier-Jouet Bi-Cententaire Champagne Dinner hosted by Herve Deschamps, Chef De Cave for Perrier – Jouët. All the range was showing well, particularly the Belle Epoque Jeroboam 1996 nicely matched with Roast Loin of Veal and Morels and the recently released Belle Epoque Rose 2004 with Mille Feuille of Raspberry Parfait and Sorbet. Keeping the Italian theme, the retro furnished Little Italy in St Andrews produced the best lasagne I’d had since dining at the award winning Babbo Restaurant in London. The following morning Louise and I walked the course at St Andrews enjoying the quality of amateur and professional play at The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Saturday. What a great course to enjoy some quality food and vino hospitality, including the super impressive, refined Waterford Sauvignon Blanc 2010 and creamy, lightly oaked Cape of Good Hope Serruna Chardonnay 2010. Whist St Andrews may have been cloudy over the weekend I had the previous weekend experienced bright sunshine and a walk along the seafront in Brighton. In Brighton, the recently opened Plateau has a super impressive range of wines including Pinot d’ Alsace Metiss Domaine Bott Geyl 2007 and Priorat Gine & Gine, Bull & Gine 2008. Now it’s time for the cycle machine and a lime and soda.