Red Carnation Hotels

WINE DINNERS

Every month the skills of Chef Steven Titman are married to the extraordinary knowledge and experience of Sommelier Eric Zwiebel in the now famous Summer Lodge Wine Dinners.

Focusing on a selected house or style, with a guest speaker to inform and entertain diners, these special evenings begin at 7.00 pm with an introduction to the selected wines. The following dinner includes a delicious 4-course menu specially created by Steven Titman to complement the 5 different wines (including apéritifs) showcased during the evening.

Each evening begins at 7.00 pm with aperitifs. Dinner is served from 7.30 pm.
The menu consists of 4 courses and 5 different wines (including aperitifs).
To make reservations, please call 01935 482000 or contact us.
Reservations must be paid in full in advance.

To view our accommodation package for these events click here

December 2nd, Jacquesson Champagne  £100.00
It was in 1798, following in the footsteps of his father Claude, that Memmie Jacquesson founded the house that today, more than two hundred years later, still bears his name. The business flourished immediately due to the high quality of the wines that Memmie produced; indeed, the Champagnes became a favourite of Napoleon who, in 1810, personally bestowed on the house a gold medal, the highest Imperial accolade.

One of the methods employed by Jacquesson in their quest for quality, is that of forcing the vine to suffer, encouraging it to search deeper for the minerals that are an essential characteristic of their wines. The crucial step of extracting the juice from the berries is something that is, rather unusually, done in-house, using vertical presses. Their configuration reduces to the bare minimum the movement of the bunches and results in a juice that is finer, less coloured and perfectly clear. This purity leads to a very gentle sedimentation process, and wines that we know you will enjoy very much.

3 February – Henriot, Champagne, France £90
This House, created in 1808, cultivates a very particular style, valuing time, patience, and the pursuit of perfection. It chooses the best wine from the best cru’s, demanding the most careful work from the vineyard and the cellar workers. The family’s knowledge of terroir and blending skill makes their wines recognisable amongst all others. Champagne Henriot is committed to offering wines with a strong personality centred on the family’s philosophy of wine making. Of the grape varieties, the Pinot Meuniere variety, although it represents a third of the varieties grown in Champagne, is used only in a very small proportion in the Henriot blends. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties are preferred to express the elegance, intensity and lightness required for a great Champagne.

3 March – Cousino Macul, Chile £85
The original Cousiño family’s wine estate in Santiago’s Macul district dates back to 1856 but lies on land planted to vines since the 1500s, reflecting how long the Upper Maipo Valley’s soils and warm days with cool nights have been considered ideal for the production of first class wines. Family members imported vines direct from Europe in 1863 and since then their genetic identity has been closely guarded. Since 2008, all winemaking has been under the direction of Pascal Marty who has worked with Cousiño Macul for several years and produced the first vintage of the new icon wine Lota; he has worldwide experience with Baron Philippe de Rothschild in Pauillac, California and Chile as well as other consultancy roles.

7 April – Cloudy Bay, New Zealand £120
Cloudy Bay Vineyards was established in 1985 by Cape Mentelle Vineyards in Western Australia, and is today part of Estates & Wines. Innovation, meticulous attention to detail and regional expression, are the guiding principles of Cloudy Bay. The Cloudy Bay team is committed to producing ‘wines of region’ and strives to enhance the pure, bracing flavours and stunning vibrancy, naturally afforded by the climate and soils of Marlborough.

The winery and vineyards are situated in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island. This unique and cool wine region enjoys a maritime climate with the longest hours of sunshine of any place in New Zealand. Cloudy Bay has estate vineyards located at prime sites within the Wairau Valley, and long-term supply agreements with five Wairau Valley growers. The main varieties grown are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir with lesser quantities of Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Pinot Gris.

5 May – Boulay, Sancerre, France £90
Gerard Boulay has 11 hectares of prime old vineyards in Chavignol, which has long been renowned as the finest of the Sancerre producing villages. He is fortunate to have vines on the best-known Sancerre ' grand crus' of Monts-Damnes and Clos de Beaujeu and also has 1.5 hectares of old Pinot Noir vines for the production of Sancerre Rose and Rouge. The domaine has been passed from father to son since 1380!! He produces firm, strongly mineral, nuanced and extremely concentrated Sancerre, along the lines of Cotat, but without using any chemicals in the viticulture. American critics Stephen Tanzer and Robert Parker rate Boulay as producing the finest of all Sancerres, and Jancis Robinson has been fulsome in her praise, posting 2 articles about Boulay on her website www.jancisrobinson.com

2 June – Moreau, Burgundy, France £95
Bernard and sons Alex and Benoit are every bit as top in Chassagne as Rémi Ehret is in Meursault and the wines show just as much vibrancy and individual personality. A huge amount of thinking goes into the handcrafting of the wines, from the careful timing of grape picking (for the right level of acidity), to tasting the musts and wines at all stages of élevage, before deciding what course of action to take. Nothing is done by rote – the Moreaus respond to the characteristics of their developing wine to bring out the best of every vintage.  The village-level Chassagne white is vibrant and rounded, with zesty acidity.  Altogether bigger, richer and more complex, the outstanding Premier Cru ‘Champs Gain’, and the lush, fruity Vieilles Vignes red makes an interesting alternative to Volnay.

7 July – Au Bon Climat, California, USA £95
The winery has cultivated an international reputation for its Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Jim Clendenen, the “Mind Behind” Au Bon Climat, is recognized worldwide for his classically-styled wines (in addition to his Burgundian-focused ABC wines, Jim is also highly regarded for his Italian and other French varietals). In 1989 and 1990 Au Bon Climat was on Robert Parker's short list of Best Wineries in the World, and in 1991 was selected by Oz Clark as one of fifty world-wide creators of Modern Classic Wines. Dan Berger of the Los Angeles Times named Clendenen the "Los Angeles Time Winemaker of the Year" in 1992; Food & Wine Magazine named him "Winemaker of the Year" in 2001. Germany's leading wine magazine, Wein Gourmet, in 2004 named Clendenen “Winemaker of the World;” and in 2007, Jim was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.”

Au Bon Climat sources fruit from several of the most highly regarded vineyards in the Central Coast. These include Clendenen’s own Le Bon Climat Vineyard and estate plantings at the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard – both in Santa Maria Valley, Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills, Los Alamos Vineyard (Santa Barbara County), and San Luis Obispo County's Talley Vineyard.

4 August - 5 Sommeliers £100 (dress - black tie)
A very firm favourite on all our calendars of the last 4 years, this is an evening of fun and laughter, learning and competition. Hosted by Eric and a team of his friends, some of whom are the best sommeliers in the country, wines featured come from some of Eric’s favourite regions, some traditionally famous, others new and innovative. Book early!

1 September – Cape Mentelle, Australia £90
Cape Mentelle is a founding winery of Margaret River, established in 1970. One of the most remote wine regions in the world located in the south-west corner of Australia, its natural beauty with spectacular coastlines captivates visitors. Here the maritime influence of the Indian Ocean ensures even temperatures, providing consistently excellent vintage conditions.

Cape Mentelle pioneered many of the region’s renowned wine styles and today is a benchmark for the quality of the region’s wines. Accolades, including consecutive wins of Australia’s most prestigious wine trophy in ’83 and ’84, helped put Margaret River on the international wine map.

6 October – Dirler, Alsace, France £85
In 1871, Jean Dirler established Dirler Wines in the quaint village of Bergholtz in the southern part of Alsace. Today, still in family hands, the estate produces its wine according to biodynamic principles (where weed-killers and chemical fertilisers are strictly prohibited), and in four regions from its 18 hectares – Grand Cru wines from the Saering, Spiegel, Kessler and Kitterle vineyards; A range of ‘Lieu-dit’ (parcels worthy of distinction which often annex the Grand Crus), Belzbrunnen, Schwarzberg, Bux, Schimberg and Bollenberg; A range of varietal wines comprising the 7 varieties permitted in the Alsace Appelation, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Auxerrois; And finally, Cremant d’Alsace, the sparkling wine (created in 2005) made using traditional methods of the varieties Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Pinot Auxerrois.

3 November – Veuve Clicquot, Champagne, France £120 (dress – black tie)
Champagne is such a celebratory and evocative wine. Its development has been due to the individual achievements of various people, some famous, others less so. Among them all, a special place is deservedly kept for Madame Clicquot. She was given the accolade of ‘La Grande Dame de la Champagne’ by her contemporaries, in recognition of her determination to deliver “only one quality, the finest.” Veuve Clicquot’s vineyards cover 382 hectares scattered over 12 of the 17 Grand Crus, and 18 of the 39 Premiers Crus. They provide from 26 to 28% of the house’s requirements. The remainder is provided by growers in the Champagne area especially selected for their quality.

1 December – Ascheri, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy £95
In a world where wines are generally produced with the same grapes, the same technology, the same wood for ageing and above all the same consultants, our aim at Ascheri, is to obtain a wine which is the expression of the vineyard it comes from, of the grapes it was made of, and above all of our own ideas. The growing of grapes and production of wine is on three different estates. Two of these, the Sorano and Rivalta estates, are in the heart of the Barolo region, and the third is on the Montelupa hill outside Bra in the Roero region. The philosophy is to pursue tradition in the Barolo region and innovation in the Roero region. Harvesting is done entirely by hand.