An Historic Day for Winchester’s First Cabinet Meeting by Gary Whiter
At approximately 17:30 on Wednesday 9 September, Queen Elizabeth II will officially become the longest reigning monarch in British history. To mark this historic day, Winchester food and drink bloggers, Cabinet Rooms, will be hosting a very special wine tasting evening in collaboration with leading English winemaker, Nyetimber.
Cabinet Rooms are inviting wine lovers to join them on the evening of 9 September for a “Festival of Britain”, the first of their new series of food and drink events, grouped under the tongue-in-cheek moniker “Cabinet Meetings”. On arrival, guests will be given a Dubonnet cocktail, said to be a favourite of the Queen’s, before being introduced to Julian Kirk, Nyetimber’s brand ambassador, who will lead the group though a tutored tasting of a selection of their award-winning sparkling wines.
As a nod to the Queen’s ascension to the throne in 1952, Cabinet Rooms has worked with The Green Man, Winchester, to devise a series of 1950’s inspired small plates, created to pair with the wines being tasted. Throughout the evening, Cabinet Rooms will offer a lighthearted reflection on the Queen’s long reign.
Cabinet Rooms co-founder, Gary Whiter, said, “While Her Majesty may be hoping for a quiet day on 9 September, we didn’t feel we could let such an important milestone pass us by without at least enjoying a glass of bubbly! We’re over the moon to be able to welcome Nyetimber to Winchester for the occasion; it is a huge honour to be hosting our first Cabinet Meeting with such a prestigious winemaker on this special day. We have designed our Cabinet Meetings to offer something a little different from the norm and we hope that, in particular, our Festival of Britain will tickle people’s fancy!
Whether they attend on their own, as a couple or with a group of friends, our guests will have an opportunity to socialise with like-minded people, learn something new and, most importantly, have some fun along the way!”
Cabinet Meeting: Festival of Britain is taking place at 19:00 on Wednesday 9 September in the beautiful Dining Room at The Green Man in Winchester. Tickets cost £40 per person and include:
- Dubonnet Cocktail on arrival
- Tutored tasting of a selection of Nyetimber’s award-winning English sparkling wine with Nyetimber’s Brand Ambassador
- Food inspired by 1950’s dishes, carefully paired with Nyetimber’s wines
Tickets are on sale now and can be booked online by visiting the Cabinet Rooms website. Spaces are limited so early booking is recommended.
Cabinet Rooms is a blog devoted to “celebrating good food, drink and culture”, run by Gary Whiter and Marcus Roe, based in Winchester. They have 1,890 followers on Twitter, with whom they have enjoyed sharing their gastronomic adventures in Hampshire and London since March 2014. Far from considering themselves aficionados, Gary and Marcus are honest about being on a ‘journey of discovery’ when it comes to food and drink. They ran successful gin tasting events (“Welcome to Ginchester”) with Winchester Distillery for World Gin Day on 13 June 2015 and have just launched a new, exciting series of events called ‘Cabinet Meetings’ aimed at food and drink lovers who want to learn about new things and meet new people at fun and quirky soirées.
Blog: blog.thecabinetrooms.co.uk
Web: cabinetrooms.com
Twitter: @cabinetrooms
Instagram: cabinetrooms
For over 25 years Nyetimber has had a single aim: to make the finest English sparkling wine, one to rival the very best in the world, including Champagne. A true pioneer, Nyetimber was the very first producer of English sparkling wine to craft wines exclusively from the three celebrated grape varieties found in Champagne: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Each bottle of Nyetimber is crafted from one hundred percent of estate-grown grapes. In 1988, Nyetimber planted its first vines and today, the House is regarded as one of England’s finest wine producers.
Julian Kirk
Julian spent 7 years in the City in Lloyds of London before escaping over the fence to freedom. He started his own wine company importing and wholesaling to Event Caterers and Corporates. After selling the company seventeen years later, he became a wine consultant for several years for everyone from Marriott Hotels to Russian Oligarchs. Julian joined Nyetimber in 2012 after being bowled over by the total dedication by its owner to the quality of the wines and everything that Nyetimber does.
Record for the Longest Reigning Monarch
Buckingham Palace has calculated the time at which Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest serving monarch, taking into account the exact time of succession and leap years: 5.30pm 9 September 2015. The current record is held by Queen Victoria who reigned over the United Kingdom and its empire for a total of 23,226 days, 16 hours and 23 minutes (63 years and 7 months). Queen Victoria set her own record on 23 September 1896.