Day two at The Showcase Meeting at Cheltenham and it is always great to be back at the home of jump racing. Whilst it is disappointing to see only four runners in the hurdle at 2.55 it is certainly competitive, with Tritonic, I Like To Move It and Stepney Causeway in the field. I’m looking forward to seeing Sky Pirate and Storm Control as they have a good record at Cheltenham and both leave their best performances for Prestbury.

Up at Doncaster, the Group 1 the Futurity Trophy Stakes is an intriguing renewal, with favourite Luxembourg, Royal Lodge Stakes winner Royal Patronage and Champagne Stakes victor Bayside Boy in the line-up.

Enjoy whether at a racecourse or #athome

Cheers

The Wine Tipster   

1.45 Cheltenham – NHS Vaccinating Heroes Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (2m ½f)

Ingleby Hollow can make the long trip worthwhile for the Rebecca Menzies team with the unexposed runners in the field Samarrive and Timberman given high enough marks.

Ingleby Hollow looked very unlucky when repeatedly denied a clear run in the valuable Summer Hurdle at Market Rasen and has had two narrow defeats since joining his new yard. His last start at Cartmel when second to Alqamar, beaten a neck, looks very solid form. The ground will suit, and he can strike with a typically late challenge.

Unibet 11/1 each way

2.20 Cheltenham – Handicap Chase (3m 1f)

Storm Control goes so well at Cheltenham and has a strong chance of winning here again for the inform Kerry Lee yard. Last season Storm Control won at the November meeting and then followed up in December when beating Potters Legend in the Grade 3 Unibet Handicap Chase and he is running off the same mark today. Storm Control will be ready for his first run and Richard Patrick can let him bowl along in front.

Unibet 9/2

3.15 Doncaster – Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes Group 1 (1m)

Bayside Boy was doing all his best work at the finish of the Dewhurst when third to Native Trial over seven furlongs, with the step up to a mile a positive. Bayside Boy won the Champagne Stakes here in September and with concerns about the form of the Aidan O’Brien yard, who runs Luxembourg, then Bayside Boy represents some value.

Unibet 11/2 each way

3.30 Cheltenham – Handicap Chase (1m 7f)

Sky Pirate (nap) was first tipped up in my Unibet blog at the December meeting when showing that this trip is really what suits him when winning in good style off a mark of 134. Sky Pirate won next time at Warwick and then ended his season with victory in the Grand Annual. This eight-year-old carries top weight, is now on a mark of 159 and can win on seasonal debut at a course where he goes so well.

Unibet 5/2 win

4.05 Cheltenham – Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle (3m)

Born Patriot has given the impression on more than one occasion that this trip is right for him this year. He was third in the Scottish Stayers Novices’ Hurdle over three miles last season and ran a solid third in competitive Killarney handicap in May and would have needed a recent outing at Navan after a break when fourth to Tullybeg (reopposes today). A good strong gallop will suit as will Prestbury and this five-year-old has plenty of improvement to come.

Unibet 13/2 each way

Push The Tempo won last month at Worcester on good ground on his first start for four months after a breathing operation. He was idling in front that day and if he can come on from that success he has strong each way claims.

Unibet 12/1 each way

Today was the 7th Edition of The Great Brook Run in Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, which starts and finishes at their excellent village pub, The Tite Inn.

The organsiers helpfully advise you to: Run.Get Wet. Have a Pint. This was my third Great Brook Run and as in previous years I did exactly as I was advised!

Big thanks to the organisers Adam Engberg and James Keelly.

Can you spot @TheWineTipster and the PM in this shot at the start of Chadlington’s Great Brook Run today?

 

Fantastic weather at the Big Feastival yesterday in the Cotswolds and here is The Wine Tipster in Alex James’ Cheese Hub waxing lyrically about Blue Monday! Blue Monday is a lovely blue cheese, less intense than others, with a savoury,creamy character, good lenghty finish too and is a must for any cheeseboard. Rather than matching with port, The Wine Tipster selected the smooth, intensely fruity Casillero del Diablo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Valley, Chile 2012 which was a good match.

In this wine matching session The Wine Tipster also featured Alex’s Farleigh Wallop, Little Wallop, Goddess and Good Queen Maude. The semi-soft Goddess which is perfect at around eight -ten weeks, changing from creamy notes at four-five weeks  to a more buttery intense and indulgent cheese at this age was  matched with Heidsieck Monopole’s Rosé Top NV and showed, once again, how versatile Champagne can be with cheese.

The Good Queen Maude, made at Alex’s farm using raw ewes’ milk and matured for four months is firm, smooth with a lingering spicy finish. This delicious cheese worked well with the spicy notes of the good value Zalze Shiraz Grenache Viognier 2012, Western Cape, South Africa, currently on offer at £5.99 down from £7.99 in the Co-op.

Big thanks to Adam Engberg and James Keelly, who whilst having a couple of pints of ale responsibly in their local The Tite Inn, created the concept of The Great Brook Run. Today, was the sixth edition of The Great Brook Run, with a record breaking 148 runners deciding to burn off some of those calories piled on over the Christmas period. Although The Great Brook Run isn’t a marathon, it is a challenging one mile race starting at The Tite Inn in Chadlington, with the first half mile run across very muddy fields before entering the mighty brook to encounter rushing water, obstacles and a tunnel which requires you to get on your hands and knees. Once out of the tunnel you muster the energy to sprint up the hill to the finish and collect your medal for completing. There is really nothing quite like it as you stand around afterwards dripping wet and getting colder by the minute. There was also nothing like the speed of the winner Ben Chapman, who won the race for the fifth time and the first lady finisher Amy Turner who was ninth.

On a serious note, all profits are being donated to the Chadlington Memorial Hall, with a big thank you to all organisers, runners, helpers, supporters and the sponsors House & Carriage, Cotswold Cycles, Slatter’s Family Butchers, Chadlington Quality Foods, The Cotswold Brewery Co, The Tite Inn, Fete Game Hire, RunningImp and of course The Wine Tipster!

Thanks also to BBC Radio Oxford for their support and interest.

See you all in 2014.

 

Bodega Maraňones Picarana 2011, Vinos de Madrid, Spain, £15.20, listed by Wine Bear in Chipping Norton, is one of the top whites The Wine Tipster has tasted so far in 2013 and it is no surprise that this classy wine comes from Spain.

Made from 100% Albillo, the 30 – 70 year old vines are located in the hills of San Martin de Valdeiglesias, where you will also find the Picarana bird at the highest points.

Picarana is a  serious, weighty, complex white, with tropical, citrus, creamy, vanilla flavours, styled by beautiful elegance, a stunning lengthy finish with further development to come.

Although intense, it is not fat, so Picarana can be enjoyed on its own or would easily match with veal in a creamy sauce.

Spain is known for its traditional white Riojas and Albarinos, however look for the grape variety Godello, found in northwestern Spain, which is now being used to produce some perfumed, citrus, complex whites that will develop including Louro do Bolo 2011, Valdeorras, Bodega Rafael Palacios, £20.00, BBR and Valdesil Sobre Lias Godello 2011, Valdeorras, £15.99, Waitrose.  

 

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!

 

 

 

Thank you to all the lovely people from Chadlington, Charlbury, Finstock and Billericay who came to The Wine Tipster’s Charity Gig for Friends of Chadlington School and Greatwood Caring for Retired Racehorses. The punters at the packed Chadlington Village Hall consumed Gordal olives, Marcona salted almonds from Brindisa and fabulous mini-pizzas from Cafe de la Post in-between tasting eight wines on sparkling form.

First up was the elegant Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV, Champagne, France on offer in Waitrose at £29.99 until April 2nd, followed by Esk Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, which really does express the quality of

this New Zealand vintage. We moved on to the well-priced, elegant Planalto Douro Reserva 2011, Portugal (pictured right), £7.99, Majestic, with citrus and peachy flavours, whilst the Mâcon Charnay, Réserve Personelle 2011, Burgundy, France, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, with soft, buttery and vanilla flavours is quality, good value Burgundy under a tenner.

Then Zalze Cabernet /Shiraz Rosé 2012, Coastal Region, South Africa, £7.99, Waitrose, full flavoured with attractive red fruits and spice raised the flag for the pink corner, with the wine options round revealing the soft, elegant, rounded and abv friendly 12% Aurora Reserve Pinot Noir 2012, Serra Gaûcha, Brazil, £9.50, Stevens Garnier. Interestingly, many people guessed Pinot Noir and chose Chile instead of New Zealand.

The final part of our journey ended in Europe with the smooth, Beronia Rioja Reserva 2008, Rioja, Spain, £11.99, The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post and the stunning Ramos Pinto Collectors Port, Douro, Portugal, £13.99 The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post.

A big thank you to all the wine producers, S.Pellegrino, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company and Alex James, Craig Ogden, Ed Fenton, Nicola Leyland, Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival, Chadlington Quality Foods and The Tite Inn for the raffle prizes.

Finally, a big thank you to Robina, Lois, Jo and Steve for organisation and pouring.

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!

 

 

Just collected my reserved cartons of Woodland Farm’s Nothing but Natural Live Yogurt from the very helpful Chadlington Quality Foods. This yogurt is gorgeous, moreish and delicious with our home grown redcurrants and gooseberries. Look out for Woodland Farm’s fruit yogurts too.

Moving from the Cotswolds to Spain and today I have been providing some food and wine matching tips for some Spanish masterclass sessions that I am presenting in September.Tonight The Wine Tipster will be keeping the Spanish theme going with Gordal olives and salted almonds from Brindisa, matched with Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, £9.49, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose followed by Castillo D Clavijo Blanco 2009, Rioja, Bibendum, which is an old style white, oaky Rioja softened by citrus, fruity freshness. An alternative to Castillo D

Clavijo is Marqués de Cáceres’ classy Antea Barrel Fermented Blanco 2009, £9.99, Majestic or the quintessential white Rioja for me, Marqués de Murrieta Capellanía Blanco 2005, £18.95, Berry Brothers & Rudd, which has intense, oaky influence, balanced by attractive lemony fruit character. If this has put you in the mood to find out more about Spanish Food, Wine and Travel then subscribe to the high quality and in depth quarterly SpainGourmetour, contact Food and Wine from Spain Tel: 0207 – 467 – 2330.

Next week, Frankel will be the star turn at the Yorkshire Ebor Festival 22^nd-24^th August when he appears in the Juddmonte International Stakes at 3.40pm on Wednesday. Surprisingly there are still of plenty of tickets available for the Wednesday, so take a day off work and get along to see this magnificent thoroughbred because there won’t be another like him for a very long time.

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