NEW Cafe Rouge Evenings

We are very excited to announce that we have teamed up with Cafe Rouge to bring you an exclusive evening of French food & wine. There are 2 options available:

OPTION A - FRENCH WINE TASTING with 'PETITS PLATS' - 6 wines paired with 7 dishes - 7pm to 8.30pm - £27.50

Your evening starts at 7pm with a tutored tasting of 6 delicious French wines-each one carefully selected by your local wine school to illustrate the amazing range of tastes & flavours that good French wines can offer. We will show you how good these wines can taste when matched with the right food. You will taste a range of 6 excellent French wines (Picpoul, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, & Cotes du Rhone) with a selection of 'petit plats' (little dishes of  - olives, feta cheese with red peppers, artichoke tapenade, houmous/flatbread, duck  & smoked chicken pate, saucisson, cured pork loin, & spicy Merguez sausage). You will discover the different grape varieties & wine regions of France, & learn how to taste wine like a professional! You will also be presented with a 'pocket guide to French wines'  to take away with you.

OPTION B - FRENCH WINE TASTING with 'PETITS PLATS'  7pm to 8.30pm as above - followed by your choice of ANY main course - only £39.00

This superb evening comprises a full tutored tasting of 6 wines with 7 'petit plats' as above, followed by your choice of any main course on the Cafe Rouge menu - a great opportunity to test out your new food/wine matching knowledge! For only an additional £11.50 you can take your choice of the following classic French dishes including: 

• Steak Rouge 250g (normally £16.75) - signature 28 day aged prime rib-eye steak off the bone marinated in rosemary & garlic served with French fries and melted garlic beurre maison
• Pavé 225g (normally £15.75) - 28 day matured prime single muscle rump steak served with French fries and melted garlic beurre maison
• Boeuf Bourguignon (normally £13.95) - classic beef stew with onions, mushrooms and bacon braised in red wine, served with French beans and creamy dauphinoise potatoes topped with Gruyère cheese
• Confit de Canard (normally £13.95) - crispy duck confit with a plum sauce, French beans and creamy dauphinoise potatoes topped with Gruyère cheese
• Coq au Vin (normally £12.50) - classic chicken & red wine stew with smoked bacon lardons, button onions and mushrooms served with a buttery herb mash
• Pavé d’Agneau (normally £14.25) - pan-roasted rump of lamb served with leek & potato mash with French beans and a thyme jus
• Moules Marinières (normally £12.95) - mussels steamed with garlic, shallots, white wine and cream, served with French fries
• Bouillabaisse (normally £13.95) - a classic fish stew of mussels, delicate red mullet and dory fillets in a tomato & vegetable broth, flavoured with saffron & pastis served with rouille, Gruyère cheese and French bread
• Sole Limande (normally £14.25) - whole lemon sole pan-fried with caramelised lemon butter, served with new potatoes, courgettes and carrots

The Venue for these Cafe Rouge evenings is - Cafe Rouge restaurant at Printworks, Manchester City Centre

• Natural wines transported by sail power
  More than 3,000 bottles of wine have been sailed into London by a new company keen to demonstrate the environmental benefits of old-fashioned wind power.
• Bordeaux 2012: Montrose, Clinet, Domaine de Chevalier release
  New price releases are being met by an increasingly small pool of buyers in the Bordeaux 2012 campaign.
• Michelangelo Pistoletto's Ornellaia works net £240k at London auction
  A collection of commemorative bottles of Ornellaia 2010 designed by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto sold for £238,000 last night at an auction in London.
• Chinese investors snapping-up 'one chateau per month', say estate agents
  From the beginning of 2011, a leading Bordeaux real estate agent says, an average of one Bordeaux chateau per month has been sold to a Chinese investor.
• Cambridge and Copenhagan qualify for Left Bank Bordeaux Cup final
  Cambridge University and Copenhagan Business School have progressed to the final of this year's Left Bank Bordeaux Cup having won their places at the European semi-finals over the weekend.
• Bordeaux 2012: Pichon Lalande, Malartic Lagraviere, Beychevelle release
  The last two days have seen a few attempts to get what has been described as the ‘forgotten Bordeaux 2012 campaign’ finally moving, but customers are 'turning their backs on the vintage', merchants say.
• Christie's launches vineyard sales service
  Christie’s is launching a service to help prospective buyers of vineyard estates.
• South Africa harvest at record high
  Wine production in South Africa is expected to reach an all-time high this year after the 2013 grape harvest outstripped expectations to reach nearly 1.5m tons.
• Rupert Murdoch buys Bel Air wine estate
  Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has purchased Moraga Estate vineyard in Bel Air, Los Angeles, for a reported US$29.5m.
• Wine Australia chief leaves as merger is prepared
  Wine Australia chief executive Andrew Cheesman is stepping down as the organisation prepares to merge with the country’s Grape & Wine Research & Development Corporation (GWRDC).