Thank you to all the lovely people who attended the Tickler Cheese and Wine Masterclasses at Taste of Christmas. Richard Newell, cheese maker from Tickler and The Wine Tipster had a great time over the three days presenting 21 Masterclasses with fabulous cheeses and wines. Richard Newell has over 20 years’ experience in the cheese industry and he is a man who knows his cheese. Each day, we presented two cheddar masterclasses including Tickler Cheddar, from their award winning Taw Valley creamery in Devon. Tickler is matured for up to 18 months, and is tangy, sweet, full of flavour and available from all major retailers.

For the other sessions, we were joined by an array of guests. On Saturday, The Wine Tipster presented with the lovely Alex James (pictured right), whose Goddess, Little Wallop and Farleigh Wallop are all rightly proving to be very popular cheeses. In other masterclasses, we were joined by Philip Stansfield, who presented his award winning Cornish Blue and moreish pate, whilst Cathal Murphy continued the blue theme with the delicious Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue. From Dorset, George Streatfeilds from Denhay Farm, waxed lyrically about their Dorset Drum. The Wine Tipster should also extend a big thank you to George for my daily breakfast, which consisted of a Denhay unsmoked streaky bacon sandwich. Yum!

With such an exciting range of cheeses we needed the ports and wines to match and a big thanks to Lorenzo Bakewell – Stone from Taylor’s Port, who included their First Estate Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage 2007, 10 Year Old Tawny (always great when you are getting people to taste Tawny Port for the first time) and the high class Quinta de Vargellas 2001.

Our wine travels took us to India, with the exciting Vallone Vineyards Anokhee Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Namaste Wines, then we were on to Croatia and Franc Arman’s really meaty, full bodied Merlot 2008 and the creamy, classy white Kabola Malvazija Istarska 2011 Vrhunsko, which are both available from Croatian Fine Wines. From southern Italy, the Filadoro Fiano di Avellino 2010 is a creamy, peachy white from Campania and the red Taurasi 2008 made from Aglianico is full bodied and smooth, with both of these wines available from Ager Taurasinus. Staying in Europe, Château Vrai Gaillou 2009 Bordeaux Superieur from Bordeaux Undiscovered is another reason why punters should buy reds from this outstanding vintage at all levels. If you are looking for consistent good value at £6 a bottle then the Chat-en-Oeuf  (pictured left) selection from southern France, featuring a white, rosé and red will certainly impress your guests. Away from Europe. the southern hemisphere was on top form with the Two Rivers Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2012 – a great Sauvignon Blanc vintage – and the Limited Edition Reserve Pinot Noir, Louis Vavasour 2008, Awatere, Marlborough, New Zealand, which is a wonderful example of how classy and refined quality Pinot Noir from Marlborough can be given the chance to have some bottle age. These two wines are available from the smart Antipodean Sommelier.

Look forward to seeing you at Taste of Christmas 2013. Cheers!

The Wine Tipster had a stunning tasting at Hakkasan the other day in Hanway Street, W1 ahead of a food, wine and water matching sommelier tasting for S.Pellegrino the following week. The service, dishes and wines were of the highest standard, as one would expect from this highly respected group – there is the Mayfair Hakkasan, with other sites in the USA, Middle East and India.  The staff were helpful, courteous and great at explaining all the dishes from the Dim Sum and a la carte menus. I was looking to start with milder, less intense dishes and the Dim Sum Har gau Prawn Dumplings (pictured right) by the Dim Sum Scallop shumai with tobiko caviar were a great way to kick off. I was keen to have a vegetarian dish, with the recommended Dim Sum Three Style Mushroom cheung fun (pictured below) hitting the spot, followed by a delicate Fried home made pumpkin tofu from the a la carte menu. The popular Pippa Duck and the Stir-fry black pepper rib-eye beef with Merlot dishes from the al a carte menu were faultless and beautifully presented like all the courses. For dessert, I couldn’t make up my mind, so I went for the delicate Honey Roast Peach with almond financier, toasted almonds and vanilla ice cream beautifully matched with port and the recommended Hazelnut Jivara Bomb with dark chocolate sauce, which was nicely balanced and a real treat with Gonzalez Byass’ excellent Pedro Ximenez Noe Sherry.

Book yourself into Hakkasan for lunch or dinner and have an experience to remember.

Hakkasan, Hanway Street, W1, Tel: 0207 – 927 – 7000 or Hakkasan, Bruton Street, Mayfair, W1 Tel: 0207 – 907 -1888.   www. hakkasan.com