Wine & dine at The Alice

Liz Nicholls

wine tasting

It’s bottoms-up time down the rabbit hole! To celebrate English Wine Week (18th – 26th June) and to champion English producers, The Alice – Oxford’s all-day dining restaurant and bar set within The Randolph Hotel by Graduate Hotels® – is hosting a series of intimate Wine and Dine events and a special Wine Flight tasting menu in collaboration with Balfour Winery and Coates & Seely.

Taking place on Tuesday 21st June at 7pm, The Alice will be collaborating with Coates & Seely, a quintessential English Sparkling Winery to co-host a fun, blind tasting of French vs English Sparkling Wines. Hosted in The Alice’s beautiful private dining room, each wine will be paired with a curated four-course dinner by executive chef Chris Emery, including canapés to start.

Tristram Coates from Coates & Seely (representing England) and Gemma from Palmer & Co (representing France), will guide guests through the four-course dinner as they blind taste a range of sparkling wines. There will also be plenty of time to learn more about English Wines as they share stories and history of Sparkling Winemaking, before the sparkling wines are revealed at the end of the meal for the moment of truth.

Guests will be treated to a selection of seasonal canapés, followed by four-courses including tempting dishes of Roast Quail with melted onions & morels and a Strawberry, Champagne Syllabub & Verbena Tart.

For more information and to book, please visit the link here. Tickets are £95pp. A vegetarian menu is also available.

Wine & Dine Series at The Alice: Best of Balfour Wine Pairing Dinner

Taking place on Thursday 23rd June at 7pm, The Alice will be collaborating with award-winning Balfour Winery to host an exclusive Wine & Dine four-course dinner curated by Executive Chef Chris Emery, showcasing the best of seasonal British produce and English wine.

Hosted in The Alice’s whimsical private dining room, Janina Doyle, Brand Ambassador of Balfour Winery, will guide guests through the menu as they enjoy each course paired with a sparkling, white or red wine. There will also be plenty of time to learn more about English Wines as she shares the story of the wine harvest and history of Balfour Wine.

Guests will be welcomed with a selection of canapés, followed by a special four-course menu, each course paired with a Balfour wine. Guests can expect dishes including Sole Agnolotti, Sorrel Butter Sauce & Exmoor Caviar paired with Springfield Chardonnay 2018 and Romney Marsh Lamb, Melted Onions, Girolles & Peas paired with Luke’s Pinot Noir 2020.

For more information, including detail on the celebrated Balfour Winery and to book, please visit the link here. Tickets are priced at £75pp. A vegetarian menu is also available.

Introducing The Alice’s Wine Flight Trio

To celebrate English Wine Week, The Alice is also showcasing a limited selection of English wines from Balfour Winery, set on the beautiful Hush Heath Estate. Surrounded by ancient woodlands and wildflower meadows, Balfour was one of the first to be awarded the WineGB Sustainability Certification.

Available throughout the month of June in the main restaurant, guests who dine at The Alice will be able to enjoy an exclusive wine flight trio from Balfour Winery, priced at £12, including Balfour Skye’s Chardonnay, Nannette’s Rose and Luke’s Pinot Noir.

For more information and to book, please visit The Alice’s website here.

Wine & mind

Karen Neville

wine tasting

Learn some simple mindfulness strategies to boost your performance at work and home while you enjoy a glass of wine

Former female RAF helicopter pilot Sarah Furness is bringing Winefulness, a combination of business and mindfulness over a glass of wine, to Henley on 15th July.

Afghanistan veteran Sarah will be presenting her new concept of Winefulness, uniting her unique management experience under fire and mindfulness over a glass of wine to local business leaders at Henley’s world leading Oaken Grove vineyard. She will be joined by the Daily Mail’s wine correspondent, Olly Smith, who will be leading the wine-tasting.

Sarah uses her training in Military Grade Mindfulness to help business professionals use mindfulness techniques and to reach their potential whatever their circumstances. She says that her Winefulness taster day will be the ideal place for busy professionals to learn how to incorporate mindfulness into their routine, whilst doing the things they love.

Sarah also runs Winefulness Wednesdays every last Wednesday of the month at Oaken Grove. This is an opportunity for people to hear about how the brain works and how to apply simple mindfulness strategies into their daily lives …. all brought to you through the experience of wine-tasting.

Oaken Grove Vineyard is a family-run boutique vineyard, nestling in the Chiltern Hills surrounded by ancient woodland, offering a range of award-wining wines. The seven acres of vines produce exceptional still and sparkling wines.

In addition to Sarah’s Winefulness Wednesdays, Oaken Grove also holds pop up restaurants and jazz on a Sunday afternoon. On Friday evenings and Saturdays the terrace is open to enjoy a glass of wine with local cheese and charcuterie.

To find out more and to book click here

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