Zoe Bawtree interviews The Wine Tipster ahead of The Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival 14^th – 16^th June 2013.

Q) As you are an expert on Wine, Food, Horse Racing, UK Ambassador for the famous Champagne houses G.H. Mumm and Perriër-Jouet, Master of Ceremonies . . . to name a few is there anything you can’t do?

A) Actually I can’t build a shelf and I can’t do circus acts, especially juggling!!

Q) How did you get interested in Wine?

A) I was a punk rocker living in Gloucestershire, who headed north to Sheffield to see some great bands, whilst doing a degree in Urban Studies and a dissertation on deprivation! Post graduating I went for interviews with record companies before my parents, who were members of a wine society, told me to come along to a wine talk and try some Chardonnays from around the world.

Q) What is it that excites you about wine?

A) There’s a wine for every mood you may have, every occasion. As a taster I am always looking for something new.  At the moment, I am getting excited about wines from Croatia, Brazil and Germany.

Discovering new wines is really exciting, but so is tasting a wine that you already know.  I associate wine with memories. Wine is also very challenging and different every year.  You can never get bored with wine.

Q) As a food and wine matching expert, can you recommend wines to go with the following dishes?

Coq Au Vin, Fish Pie and Beef Wellington

A) Coq Au Vin: Cotes du Rhone 2012, Les Dauphins or Aurora Pinot Noir Reserve 2012 from Brazil
Fish Pie: Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2011, South Africa or Josif Graševina 2011 from Croatia
Beef Wellington: You need a level of intensity with this dish which you could get from a Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Rita or a lovely Bordeaux from the brilliant 2009 vintage.

Q) Is it still possible to find hidden gems in the supermarket?

A) Yes it is. Knowing regions that are not fashionable is always a good start. Croatia has some fantastic wines from indigenous and classic grape varieties.  Portugal has quality wines at all levels, white or red. Germany is producing some wonderful Rieslings that are great as an aperitif style and match up with fish like mackerel as they can really stand up to dominant flavours.

Q) What are you looking forward to at The Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival in June this year?

A) We are running wine masterclasses on all three days of the show for the first time this year. Our wonderful wine journey will start on Friday at 12.30pm with Podere Sant’ Alberto wines (pictured above) from Tuscany and end on Sunday afternoon by Celebrating with Wines of Brazil!

In between, we will be tasting some exciting wines from Spain, England, Croatia, New Zealand, France, South Africa and Germany.

Also, we have some great beer speakers this year with Tim Hampson, Jane Peyton and Sophie Atherton.  And let’s not forget Phil Huckle who will be talking about Malts and Blended Whiskies.

Look forward to seeing you there. Cheers!

For further details check out the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival

Head to the Chadlington Beer Festival today, near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds, which is open from Noon – 11pm.

The Chadlington Beer Festival is celebrating their 10th year as a quality, village beer festival, with over 20 quality ales on offer including Binghams’ Hot Dog Chilli Stout, St Austell’s Proper Job and Orkney’s Skull Splitter!

The Wine Tipster has also put together a selection of summertime quaffing wines from Italy, France and Spain and will be on hand to offer you any tips or guidance you need.

This will be a fun filled day, enjoyed by family and all, with food, music and games. See you there!

The Prime Minister and The Wine Tipster took part in The Great Brook Run in the picturesque Cotswold village of Chadlington on December 27th. This annual cross-country race which is just-over-a-mile takes place half on land and half on water starting and finishing at The Tite Inn. As a resident of Chadlington, who lives very close to The Great Brook, it was hard for me to avoid participation.

Equipped with my worst pair of shoes and some ragged running kit I set off with The Great Brook Run website encouraging one liner in my mind: “Run, Get Wet, Have a Pint”.  It was muddy, slippery underneath, very cold when you first entered the brook, yet you soon acclimatised before experiencing claustrophobia when you crawled under the bridge through running water ahead of a triumphant finish back at The Tite Inn. Post-event refreshment was at hand, with an excellent pint of Black Sheep and between race stories, imbibing and refuelling with burgers there was a raffle with a first prize of a bottle of whisky signed by David Cameron. This was duly won by my father-in-law Alan Hill, who at 82 years of age had a very special day, which he will remember for seeing his son-in-law take part, winning the first prize in the raffle and having his photograph taken with Beth Storry, Olympic Bronze Medallist for Team GB Women’s Hockey.

Importantly, The Great Brook Run raised more than £600 for our village’s Memorial Hall, so a big thank you to the organisers and the sponsors Chadlington Quality Foods, Slatter’s Family Butchers, The Tite Inn, House & Carriage and Fête Game Hire

This was a terrific event and I hope, like myself, all the 110 finishers will look forward to getting wet again in 2013!