The second Grape to Glass recipe match from the delicious. magazine food team is fudgy chocolate brownie cake, paired up with Lionel’s ‘Foodie French Fizz’. Not just for Valentine’s, it’s the perfect chocolate indulgence, especially with a glass or two of Rosé Champagne.

Watch out for the weekly recipes on the Majestic blog every Tuesday this spring!

Ingredients

• 150g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g dark 70 per cent chocolate, broken into pieces
• 140g light brown muscovado sugar
• 130g caster sugar
• 3 medium free-range eggs, beaten
• 150g plain flour
• 50g pecans
• 50g Green & Black’s butterscotch milk chocolate, cut into chunks
• Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
• Silver heart dragées (from good cookware shops and squires-shop.com) and unsprayed pink rose petals to decorate
• Double cream to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Butter and line a 21cm x 10.5cm, 3.5cm deep, heart-shaped cake tin (see tip).
2. Put the butter, vanilla, dark chocolate, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large heatproof bowl. Melt over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat, mix in the eggs, fold in the flour, then stir in the pecans and butterscotch chocolate.
3. Spoon into the tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is firm but it’s still a bit gooey in the centre. Remove from the oven, then cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Carefully turn out on to a serving plate.
4. Dust with cocoa, then decorate with pink rose petals and silver heart dragées. Serve warm.

Nutritional info per serving: 537kcals, 30g fat (15.6g saturated), 6.8g protein, 65.3g carbs, 48g sugar, 0.1g salt

delicious. tip: Heart-shaped cake tins are available from good cook shops or amazon.co.uk.

Lionel’s Wine Match

Oeil de Perdrix Rosé NV
This style of pink Champagne became popular over the centuries due to unintentional bleeding of black grape skins into the white juice rather than any marketing genius. Oeil de Perdrix translates as ‘eye of the partridge’ due to it’s light, delicate colour matching that of the elegant bird (one for the ladies!). The secret of this truly sensational blush is the addition of Pinot Noir before the second fermentation in bottle. A must buy for Valentine’s Day!
Tasting Notes: A beautiful thing to look at and a unique, satisfying wine. Sweet red fruits and savoury aromas on the nose, followed by a mouthful of delicate apples and yeasty dough.
Serving Suggestion: Best with fresh raspberry and strawberry based puddings, chocolate brownies, or rich chocolate tart.

Here they are cutting the red ribbon with the Mayor on their grand opening morning today. Despite the February cold chill the team are all looking forward to an exciting wine filled Spring.

Tell me about Broadstairs…

Broadstairs is right on the eastern tip of Kent on the Isle of Thanet
It is a popular seaside resort known as the “Jewel in Thanet’s crown”.
The town’s motto is ‘Star of the Sea’, Stella Maris
There is an annual Charles Dickens festival in June, the author used to holiday here. Have a look at his holiday home in the Daily Mail.
Other notable residents include Sir Edward Heath, the former Prime Minister.

Why Broadstairs?

The new store is located near the out of town retail park including homebase, argos and other large retailers. It is ideally situated for existing customers living in the area, as now they don’t have to travel so far to enjoy all the services a Majestic store has to offer: daily instore tastings, staff with expert wine knowledge, fine wine, free delivery, free parking… and all our free Wine events: Wine Walks, Wine Courses and Wine Evenings.

Spring in Broadstairs

You can’t miss the store whether you’re driving in or out of town, it’s bright, shiny metallic frontage even gleams in today’s cold weather. The team are all looking forward to meeting lots of new people in the area and getting to know the town. You may see them out and about in the Majestic van too!

Opening Events

• FREE Prosecco for everybody in Broadstairs on the first order of 6 bottles or more until 13th February
• Tasting weekend with fizz, cheese & charcuterie: Friday 10th – Sunday 12th February

Contact

Margate Road, Broadstairs
Kent, CT10 2PR
01843 600 949
bst@majestic.co.uk
@MajesticBST
majestic.co.uk

Prove how much you know about wine with our in-depth quiz and see if you can get to the top of our leaderboard.

Just remember: the harder the setting, the more points you’ll receive. You’ll get additional points if you answer quickly too.

If you’re stuck on a question, have a look through the Knowledge section to brush up on your Malbecs and Syrahs.

Available to download from the iTunes App Store now.

January has passed in a flash and the beginning of February marks a seasonal change at Majestic and we now can’t wait to show all that is on offer this spring.

Amongst the top offers are 20% off everything in South Africa as well as great offers on Rioja, Argentina and Portugal.

The new Grape to Glass is not just a wine magazine but the perfect guide to food and wine matching this spring, with articles such as ‘Put your taste buds to the test’ by Matt from Majestic HQ – top tips for food and wine matching, and ‘Excellence without the excess’, inspiring fresh spring recipes by Chris in Covent Garden – giving thought to dishes that don’t stretch the waistline.

All articles are written by Majestic staff and are available to read online on the Majestic blog, or you can download a PDF from the snazzy e-brochure.

Furthermore we are excited to continue our relationship with delicious. magazine from Bottoms-up Wednesdays over Christmas, to a brand new feature on the Majestic blog: the Grape to Glass Recipe Match, Bottoms-up Tuesday. Every Tuesday in spring recipes from delicious. are paired up with the best food and wine matches from our magazine. First up is ‘sticky chicken with harissa and green couscous’ – its good – watch out for more!

Of course there is always more to be discovered at your local Majestic, and you can see what they are getting up to on their very own local website: majestic.co.uk/storelocator

Cheers to a good spring!

William James
Online Community Advocate

A quick look back at Majestic in 2011…

Will, Online Community Advocate

January is naturally a quieter month for the wine business after Christmas and New Year, but the Ravenswood parcel proved a success to staff and customers alike topping up their wine racks after the winter snow relented. Throughout the year other wine parcels were eagerly snapped up too, especially the German Schafer wines, Baysridge Sauvignon Blanc, and the McGuigan Shortlist wines, which also had their UK launch with Majestic staff at Kensington Roof Gardens. Watch out for more exciting web exclusives in 2012.

The pennies are still being counted for Maggies, our Charity of the Year in 2011. Fundraising highlights included the gruelling Marathon du Medoc in September and the charity raffle at the Majestic Christmas ball. Majestic also helped raise money for Wine Relief (part of Comic Relief), putting together a mixed selection of wines with 10% of sales going to the Red Nose cause.

March saw the first of a handful of award wins; Majestic, picked up two gongs at the Retail Week Awards 2011. We followed this up with another two wins in September -  the IWC High Street Chain of the Year and the Decanter Readers’ National Wine Merchant of the Year. Thanks again to all you Majestic people who voted for us!

One of the main reasons for being shortlisted for these awards is our exciting calendar of in-store events. If you visited your local Majestic in 2011, you may have been invited to one of our free Wine Events.  In 2011, we added Wine Walks to our events line-up, which complement the already popular Wine Courses and Wine Evenings. If you haven’t yet been to a Majestic Wine Event, you’re missing out on a free, fun and easy way to enjoy and learn about wine! Have a look at the videos below:

For Fine Wine lovers, the choice  available at our Fine Wine Centre and local Majestic stores has grown ever more diverse, and the introduction of the Fine Wine Plan is a new and easy way for you to start your own Fine Wine collection. No room under the stairs? No worries, storage is taken care of at Vinothèque, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to professional storage of fine wine.

One of the biggest events for 2011 came over the Winter period when we broadcast our first ever  TV adverts, revealing what Majestic is all about to people who may not have been to one of our stores before. Here they are if you missed them:

Finally, we opened 16 new stores in 2011 from down on the Isle of Wight right up to Dundee, meaning we’re able to bring our innovative wine range, knowledgeable staff and exciting wine events to even more people across the UK.

2012 promises to be even bigger with new stores and new wines!

You can follow me on twitter @majesticwine, like Majestic on Facebook, and add me to your circles on Google+

Every 15 minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer; this is nearly 40,000 men and women each year. Bowel cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer death in the UK. But it shouldn’t be: the disease is highly treatable if caught early. Sadly, over 16,000 die of the disease annually, which is why early diagnosis is so important. Bowel Cancer UK is dedicated to saving lives by raising awareness of bowel cancer, campaigning for best treatment and care, and providing practical support and advice.

Over 2012, we will be raising awareness and money for Bowel Cancer UK through collection tins in stores, mobile phone and printer cartridge recycling and staff fundraising activities. We’re hoping to continue to build on last year’s fantastic work for Maggie’s, our Charity of the Year 2011.

“Bowel Cancer UK is absolutely delighted to have been chosen as Majestic Wine Charity of the Year 2012. As a small charity tackling a big disease, this will make a huge difference and allow us to reach more people with life-saving messages. We are very excited about working with your staff and customers to raise much-needed funds and awareness.”

Deborah Alsina, Chief Executive, Bowel Cancer UK

For more information about Bowel Cancer UK, please visit their website bowelcanceruk.org.uk

Registered Charity No. in England & Wales 1071038 and in Scotland SC040914

Hello and welcome back to a new wine year on the Majestic Blog: Grape to Glass!

What would you like to see this year to make the Majestic Blog even better in 2012? Polls, Reviews, Critique, Video, Photo, Food & Wine, Guest blogs… Add your choice in the comments below.

Christmas and New Year are over for another year, and the January sales are coming to an end in most shops. At Majestic all our strongest festive offers are the same all the way through January, so no need to worry about last minute January wine sales shopping. Have a look online or browse what wines are open to try on your local Majestic’s tasting counter. Enjoy!

Will
Online Community Advocate

On the fifth day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. Ever found yourself short of a corkscrew at that vital bottle opening moment? John explains why we use cork and screwcaps.

On the fourth day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. The great Chablis mystery. Hannah from Majestic Macclesfield explains all.

On the third day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. What food do white wines compliment best? Hannah from Majestic Macclesfield pairs them up.

This December we’re really excited to launch a new series of wine videos: Back to Basics!

Starting from Thursday 1st December we’re releasing a new video daily. So keep your eyes peeled for an alternative ‘Majestic 12 days of Christmas’ on the Majestic Wine Facebook, Twitter and Blog.

We all love talking about wine and these videos strip back that old stuffy wine knowledge leaving you with top tips and the right answers to those sometimes awkward wine questions.

Whether you’re chatting and drinking wine out with friends, choosing few bottles online, or picking wine for supper tonight, Hannah and John from Majestic Macclesfield and Majestic Aylesbury have you standing in good stead.

Here’s John pinning down his swirl and sniff technique; it’s all in the wrist!

Find all the videos released daily > Majestic Wine 12 days of Christmas: Back to Basics

A big Hello to the new Majestic Wirral team: Paul, Rachel and Ashley. Here they are cutting the red ribbon with the Mayor of Wirral on Friday morning.

Already they’re straight into the Christmas mood, looking forward to meeting lots of new people and reccomending some great wines.

Where’s Wirral?

Wirral is a pensinsula in North West England and is home to the latest Majestic store to open last Friday.
Our brand new shiny store is on the west coast of the peninsula at the top of Column Road (near the big column) which is a navigation aid for ships coming into port. It is also the highest point in the area atop of Grange Hill.

Why Wirral?

Situated in West Kirby on the Wirral, the new store is in an ideal location for existing customers living in the area, as now they don’t have to travel so far to enjoy all the services a Majestic store has to offer: daily instore tasting, staff with expert wine knowledge, fine wine, free delivery… and all our Wine events: Wine Walks, Wine Courses and Wine Evenings. As well as being in a prime location to let even more people know what they’re missing out on if they live nearby and enjoy the odd glass of wine or two!

Christams in Wirral?

You can’t miss the store whether you’re driving in or out of town, it’s right at the top of the hill. Paul’s pick at the moment is the Vina Ardanza Rioja, a great alternative match to the Christmas goose with all the trimmings. Watch out though, there’s not much left, so get up the hill quick!

Opening Events

FREE Prosecco for everybody on their first order of 6 bottles or more until 5th December
Tasting weekend with fizz, cheese & charcuterie: Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th December

Contact

Column Road, West Kirby
Wirral, CH48 7EA
0151 625 0223
wir@majestic.co.uk
@MajesticWirral
majestic.co.uk/wirral

The videos highlight the idiosyncrasies of each particular wine. Straight to the point, they are short and concise with a perfect food match.

Every member of staff loves talking about wine by the tasting counter in store, and now that added personal recommendation is easy to watch online. Say hello to the six Majestic Managers in the videos: Hansi, Lydia, Toby, Nicola, Amy and Pedro. See if you can find the rest of their videos at majestic.co.uk…

Everybody at Majestic loves to share their wine knowledge, whether it be with customers in their local store, on their own store pages and twitter accounts, or just with friends. All this wine knowledge is highlighted in the Majestic Wine Blog: Grape to Glass.

The new Facebook tab makes it easier to share this content on Facebook as well as on virtually every other social platform; just see something you like and share it. Have a look: facebook.com/majesticwine

Over the Christmas period we are broadcasting two brand new adverts in the London area that explain what Majestic is all about to people who may not have been to one of our stores before.

We all know that wine can be a bit baffling and in the commercials we see how Majestic helps some anxious first time customers. Chardonnay is not a word to be afraid of, and the tasting counter is there for you to find your new favourite.

Come and Explore for more information

Chardonnay

Tasting Counter

Download the full statement (PDF format)

Highlights

• Profit before tax increased by 20.0% to £8.8m (2010: £7.3m).
• Interim dividend increased 15.2% to 3.8p per share.
• Total sales up 8.7% to £127.8m (2010: £117.6m).
• Like for like sales in UK retail stores up 2.7% (excluding VAT).
• Increase in active customers, up 7.7% to 534,000.
• Online sales increased 8.7% on last year and now represent 9.0% of UK retail sales.
• Eight new stores opened in period and three since end of September bring total number of stores to 174.
• Lay & Wheeler, our fine wine specialist, recorded profit before interest and tax of £292k (2010: £77k).
• Majestic in France recorded profit before interest and tax of £658k (2010: £574k).
• In the six weeks from 27 September to 7 November 2011, like for like sales in our UK stores down 1.1% with total UK store sales up 3.8%.

Commenting on the results Steve Lewis, Chief Executive, said:

“I am very pleased that Majestic has achieved profit growth of 20.0% in the half year and we are very well prepared for the important Christmas trading period.”

Full details can be found on the Investors section of our website.

Say hello the Chesterfield team: Karl, Tom and Jen. Cutting the red ribon this morning with Greg from Majestic HQ, they are all now looking forward to meeting the lovely people of Derbyshire.

Where’s Chesterfield?

Chesterfield is a market town in the county of Derbyshire 15 miles North of Derby.
The Majestic Chesterfield store is located on the main road through Chesterfield, Chatsworth Road, on they way out to the Peak District.

What’s what in Chesterfield? via wikipedia

Chesterfield is best known for the ‘crooked spire’ of it’s Church. Twisted and leaning, this is Derby’s answer to Pisa!
So crooked and beloved is the spire that Chesterfield FC are nicknamed ‘the Spireites’.
Chesterfield is 10 miles away from the famous Chatsworth House, the stately home of the Duke of Devonshire.

Why Chesterfield?

Chesterfield is the ideal type of market town that Majestic staff love to work in. Not too far away from other Majestic stores and in a great new location to share the Majestic experience with even more people: daily instore tasting, staff with expert wine knowledge, fine wine, free parking, free delivery… and all our Wine events: Wine Walks, Wine Courses and Wine Evenings.

Chesterfield Christmas Choice

Viñalba Malbec Reserva from Argentina; full, rich and forgiving. It’s a classic winter warmer.

Opening Events? Yes Please!

Free bottle of Prosecco when you buy your first mixed case of 6 bottles of wine until 21st November.

Tasting Weekend with fizz, cheese & charcuterie: Friday 18th to Sunday 20th Nov.

Contact

Email: chf@majestic.co.uk
Phone: 01246 556227
Twitter: @majesticchf
Address: 42 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, S40 2AQ
majestic.co.uk/chesterfield

Choosing wedding wines? The Graped Crusader slays any wine buff that dares stand in his way when choosing his own Wedding Wines…

It’s an age old adage that you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. I don’t know who originally said that and to be honest I wish he or she hadn’t! I don’t think anyone has ever had these words ringing quite so loudly in their ears as I did when I sat down to choose the wines for my wedding….

It’s quite a tough job picking wines for 70 people when you’ve held yourself out for years as being something of a wine buff. When you factor in having a budget around £5 per bottle it becomes something of a knee trembler! Whenever I’m looking to impress I tend to play slightly safe and head well over the £10 a bottle mark. Working at less than half of this was a challenge to say the least!

So, how on earth do you pick wines to please 70 people on such a budget? I spent hours with a pad scrawling my plans for the wine and to be honest, it took me far too long to reach the solution: I would pick the wines that myself and my fiancée enjoy drinking. Put simply my approach had to be “we’re already buying the lot of you dinner so you’ll drink what you’re told!”….. And off to Majestic in Calais I headed!

I started with the red, and given the wedding is on the 19th of November and our food is pretty rustic (breads, cheese, cured meats, lamb casserole, chicken and mushroom pie etc) I wanted something relatively bullish that would have enough personality to drink all day with our without food. I therefore decided to live life dangerously, and opted for a Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel 2007. I’ve lost count of the number of wine industry friends who told me that a Zinfandel was without question the worst wine to give to people with a meal, but this only made me all the more determined to serve it as people will be drinking all day but only for a short time with the meal. It’s not a wine that many people are familiar with and the Ravenswood is an absolute bargain at Majestic. It’s also a fun drink and I have absolutely no doubt that the guests will love it. It’s a bit of a brooding red but the dark berry flavours and slight caramel undertone make it an easy drinking red with or without hearty food.

Having gone a little left field with the red I felt I needed to reign myself in slightly with the white and therefore went for something which is almost universally guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser; Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in the shape of the Fairhall Cliffs 2010. I tried quite a few before selecting my weapon of choice and the Fairhall Cliffs delivered very well on taste and the all important budget. It’s essentially a classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc which is entirely easy drinking.

Finally, I wanted to give my guests something that for some reason lots of my friends just don’t like to drink: dessert wine. I avoided the heavier dessert wines (though would have loved to serve something like Pedro Ximenez!) and went instead for the Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from Chile. My reasons for choosing this boiled down to the fact that it’s not a massively sweet wine but it’s sweet enough to sit well with dessert.The sparkling choice was to be fair a bit of a no brainer for me. I’ve always gone for Lindauer when looking for a budget sparkler, and the Special Reserve Blanc de Blancs is fantastic at this price point. I use this wine all the time in tastings (normally against a prestige Blanc de Blancs from Champagne) and people more often than not pick out the Lindauer as being the pricey wine. I’m delighted that I got carried away and massively over ordered on fizz! We need a total of 10 bottles to cover the toasts meaning we have 26 spare…

So there you have it. The wines are chosen and in under two weeks my choices will be judged by my nearest and dearest. If I survive I’ll update you in my follow up blog…..!

Richard Saxton AKA The Graped Crusader is a wine writer / blogger who writes wine columns for Emerald Street (Stylist), Good Bottle of Wine Magazine and Browse Bullring, amongst others. His website can be found at thegrapedcrusader.co.uk

It was a balmy summer’s day, with a hint of summer lightening in the air as A Lisa (Bodega Nomemia) wandered up the steps to her place of work, The Gougenheim (Malbec) Museum. She opened the side door and an unusual aroma of vanilla, spices and mature fruit wafted over her. Concerned, she walked to the toilets where the silence was broken by her scream. The garnet coloured body of the cleaner Muriel (Gran Reserva Rioja) lay on the cold tiles.

A Lisa wobbled back to the office where with shaking hands she called the police. The officer on duty PC Jim Barry at McRae Wood station (Clare Valley shiraz) calmed her down and alerted two of the force’s finest detectives to lead the investigation. It wasn’t long before detective Colombo (Côtes du Rhône ‘Les Vignes Rousses’) and detective Quincy (Jean Charles Bourgnat) screeched to a halt outside the hallowed museum. They went through the front door, past the huge portrait of Napoleon (Amontillado Seco), and interviewed A Lisa. She was a psychological mess but Colombo was gentle and firm and she soon opened up to him. Meanwhile Quincy studied the logs as to visitors the previous evening. The sheets were long so he called in his trusty assistant Penfolds (RWT Shiraz) to sift through the pages.

Days went past and the sun continued to beat down with little progress to the investigation. Penfolds dozed in front of his work and his dreams were dominated by a hazy Purple Angel (Montes Alpha, Merlot). The Angel spoke and tried to help his work. With this divine inspiration he narrowed the list of suspects down. No1 was the new kid on the block Baron De Rothschild (NV Champagne). Close behind was the classy William Fevre (Chablis Maladiere). But impossible to rule out was the mild mannered Georges Duboeuf (Beaujolais Villages).

Baron de Rothschild had form and motive. He had narrowly escaped prison for the brutal slaying of Louis Jadot (Macon Roches Blanches) but the principal witness E Guigal (Condrieu ‘La Doriane’) had mysteriously disappeared just before the trial. Colombo interviewed him but his alibi was sound. Quincy questioned William Fevre but the suspect had no motive and the search of his house led to no evidence. The link with Georges Dubeouf was light, his shoe prints matched the ones left on the tiled bathroom floor, and when he was put under the rhetorical spell of Colombo he couldn’t hold himself together and his alibi cracked. Colombo handed his work over to the Barista (Pinotage). He met Quincy and Penfolds in a bar and had a nice glass of wine to celebrate the end of another long and wine-ding case…

Put your theory forward to the detectives in Majestic Wine Exeter @majesticexeter