Barrels & Bottles Wine Blog

This years Nissan International Horse Trials at Chatsworth (Derbyshire) kept to the tradition of being stunningly hot. Barrels & Bottles kept the crowds cool with our open-topped Champagne bus at the side of the main arena. Serving Champagne Canard Duchene and Fresita (the Chilean sparkling wine infused with strawberries) chilled to perfection the bus provided a grand stand view of the events.




Matt serving Fresita to thirsty guests




Matt showing his sommelier skills with Champagne




Grandstand views of the main show jumping arena




Guests take a break in the shade of the bus




Sean serves another glass of Canard Duchene

Labels: bus, chatsworth, tasting

The first Barrels & Bottles auction will take place on the 17th May 2008 between 10.00am and 2.00pm. The theme is bargains and clearance and includes everything from 1.5 litre house wine to 1961 Clarets.

We have 12 parcels of Cristal Champagne including Magnums of Older vintages and 1 Jeroboam only released for special events.

There will be a range of parcels starting at reserve prices of £25 per dozen and including a big selection of 1961, 1982, 1990 and 1999 Vintage Clarets, 1963, 1970, 1977, 1985 and 2000 vintage Port and classic Rieslings from the Rheingau and Mosel.

Many of the parcels are quality wines from Burgundy, Loire and the south of France which no longer feature on Barrels & Bottles Restaurant trade wine lists.

The total number of bottles for sale exceeds 10000 and some older vintage Champagnes will be cleared as special lots.

A full auction listing will be published shortly

Labels: sale

Our open-topped London Bus has managed to gain access right next to the main show jumping arena at this years Chatsworth Horse Trials.

We will be serving Champagne Canard Duchene and Fresita by the glass and bottle. There will also be the chance to take part in our Champagne Cork Popping competition with the furthest cork receiving a prize. Expert advice will be on hand to demonstrate the traditional Sabrage method of opening a bottle of Champagne by hitting it with a sword! Mind those fingers.

Labels: bus

Sediment in wines can be a real eye-sore, especially if it makes it from the bottle into your glass. Whilst most wine sediment is not detrimental - decanting is far and away the most sensible solution.

Decanters, filters and funnels are all well and good but as an extra line of defense it is best not to allow the sediment to leave the bottle in the first place. This is where a wine decanting cradle comes into its own. These remove the need for steady hands when decanting your wines.

Simply place the bottle on the cradle and slowly turn the handle to lift the bottle and gently pour the wine into your decanter. The gearing and mechanics ensures a smooth flow of the wine and reduces the risk of disturbing the sediment.

Most hand held decants fail when the bottle is turned upright quickly during the decant to stop the sediment exiting the bottle. This quick movement sets the wine in motion and agitates the sediment (which may have been resting for years in the same position). A mechanical cradle removes any sudden movements... everything is slow and controlled and the act becomes part of the routine of opening your wines (almost to the point of addiction for many of our users.

The integrated candle holder allows the operator to view the sediment flow through the neck of the bottle. This allows for a more precise and controlled decant as the sediment can be seen in the neck before it reaches the opening - thereby reducing the risk of any sediment leaving the bottle.

We now have two type of wine cradles available. The brass decanting cradle is the most popular at £224.99 inc VAT as it conveys a timeless masterpiece of engineering. The silver plated mechanical wine cradle is now available for only £245.00 and makes a great hierloom.

Labels: accessories, wine decanting cradles

Sincere apologies to Sue Moore for missing her off our "Meet the Staff" section of our website... she now has pride of place on our website.

Labels: news

Barrels and Bottles are once again the Official Drinks sponsor of the 2008 Chatsworth International Horse trials.

We will be promoting fine Champagnes and wines from our open-topped Vintage 1949 Champagne bus, liveried as a London Transport vehicle

The great and the good of both Derbyshire and the horse world will be enjoying a Champagne reception in Chatsworth's Painted Hall and during the trials, Champagne will be on tap, with a great view of the main arena, as the open topped bus will be sited adjacent to the show jumping area for the first time.

There will be Champagne cork popping competitions and the ever popular throw a pound coin in the spitoon to wine Jeroboams of Champagne for the lucky winners. The sponsored charity this year will be Marie Curie.

The event takes place on the 10th and 11 th of May and tickets are available from the Chatsworth Horse Trials office.

Labels: bus, news, tasting

Stock-taking day! Counting thousands and thousands of bottles of wine, gift boxes, corkscrews and everything else in the building. An awful job that the accountants insist on doing just to make us suffer. Grrr....