A Majestic 2011

Thursday 12 January 2012 – 16:22

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+

By William James | Posted in Majestic News, Staff Articles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment

Majestic chooses Bowel Cancer UK as Charity of the Year

Tuesday 10 January 2012 – 11:56

The new year brings a new charity! After a staff vote back in November, our Charity of the Year 2012 is Bowel Cancer UK

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

By Majestic | Posted in Majestic News | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

Happy Wine New Year

Monday 9 January 2012 – 14:18

 

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

By William James | Posted in Majestic News | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

Christmas Food & Wine Matching Tool

Tuesday 20 December 2011 – 14:44

Whether you’re the last minute Christmas Eve shopper or the militarily organised type at Christmas, this Majestic Food & Wine matching tool will save you some time from when you whiz round your local Majestic’s aisles or ‘click click’ on the website to serving the wine on the big day…

By William James | Posted in Majestic News | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

delicious. Wednesday

Wednesday 14 December 2011 – 9:52

Buttered turkey with sausage, pancetta and apricot stuffing

by Lizzie Kamenetzky

We’ve teamed up with deliciousmagazine.co.uk in the run up to Christmas to find the perfect wine matches to some of the UK’s favourite dishes. In 4 weeks, we’ll feature 4 easy to make delicious. dishes, each matched to a selection of wines, making it as easy as possible for you to choose your festive wines this year.

Week 4: The final recipe! Impress the whole family this year by making this divine turkey recipe the star of the show for Christmas lunch

Serves: 8 with lots of leftovers
Takes: 30 minutes to make, 2 hours 10 minutes – 2.5 hours to cook, plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 5kg free-range turkey (take out of the fridge at least 45 minutes before cooking)
  • 200g butter
  • Good pinch of saffron threads (optional)
  • Bay leaves and rosemary for the cavity (optional)

For the stuffing

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g pancetta, chopped
  • Knob of butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 25g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 200g sausagemeat
  • 100g pork mince
  • 100g soft dried apricots, finely chopped
  • Small bunch of fresh parsley and 6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

Method

  1. First make the stuffing. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, then fry the pancetta until starting to crisp. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Lower the heat, add the butter to the pan, then the onion and cook for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the onion and garlic to the pancetta, then mix in the breadcrumbs. Set aside to cool completely. Stir through the sausagemeat, mince, apricots and herbs. Season well.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Using your fingers, prise the skin away from the neck end of the turkey, being careful not to tear the skin. Fill the pocket with the stuffing, pull the skin back over the stuffing and secure the skin underneath. Season the bird inside and out. Weigh and calculate the cooking time (20 minutes per kg, plus an extra 30 minutes).
  3. Melt the butter and saffron (if using) in a large pan, add a 50cm square piece of muslin and, with tongs, turn to soak in the butter. Remove and lay over the turkey, then place in a large roasting tin. Stuff the body cavity with the bay leaves and rosemary (if using).
  4. Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4 and roast for the rest of the calculated cooking time (see above), basting occasionally with the juices from the tin. Remove the muslin for the final 30 minutes of cooking to crisp the skin (keep an eye on the stuffing and cover with foil if it starts to brown too quickly). The turkey is cooked when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh and the juices run clear. Rest the turkey, loosely covered with foil, for 30 minutes before serving on a warm platter.

Nutritional info: Per serving: 518kcals, 27.3g fat (13.2g saturated), 59.4g protein, 8.6g carbs (5.3g sugars), 1.4g salt, 1.4g fibre

Tip: Covering the turkey breast with buttered muslin prevents it from drying out and the saffron gives a wonderful colour, aroma and flavour.

Majestic Wine Pairings

Grand Ardèche Chardonnay Louis Latour, Vin de Pays des Coteaux de l’Ardèche

A buttery Chardonnay from the South of France oozing warmth and whole hearted delight.

Why this Wine?

Full in body and buttery all over this wine stands up perfectly to the multitude of big flavours served up with the Christmas roast.

Château Caronne Ste-Gemme Haut-Médoc

A well rounded and moreishly savoury Bordeaux, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon.

Why this Wine?

Roast Christmas lunch would not feel complete without a bottle of Bordeaux on the table. This Caronne Ste-Gemme hits all the right notes, and is even more than palatable on it’s own too.

By Majestic | Posted in Guest Blogs | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

‘La Vendange’ in France

Tuesday 13 December 2011 – 12:42

Every year Majestic staff have a chance to go across the channel and pick some grapes in the harvests (la vendange) for our friends in France. Becky from Majestic Isle of Wight was part of one group that popped over earlier in the year  for the harvest  at Chateau Pizay in Morgon…

The harvest was all but over by the time we arrived! The estate just had one plot left to be harvested. Using mini scythes, about the size of a tablespoon, we worked in pairs along the rows of wines cutting off the ripe bunches of grapes along with a number of spiders scurrying around (I didn’t scream once!). Proper pickers work 8 hour days for up to a few weeks – my back had had enough after just a couple of hours. By the time the plot was clear we’d picked about 1200kg of Gamay grapes. These grapes are used in the production of the chateau’s Beaujolais wine; Pascal the winemaker felt they were too ripe to produce a satisfactory Morgon.

Whilst we may not have had many grapes to pick, it did give us plenty of time for wine-tasting and a tour of the region. The greater Beaujolais region is a little bigger than the Isle of Wight, but what really surprised me is how small an area the 10 Beaujolais Cru cover. It seems everyone’s a winemaker here, and there were plenty of opportunities to stop for tasting.

It’s only about 20kms from Brouilly in the south to St Amour, the most northerly Cru, but because of the varying rock and soil types, each Cru produces subtly different wines from the same grape. Morgon & Moulin-a-Vent lie on granitic soils; their wines tend to be muscular, fuller-bodied, spiced and slightly tannic. Fleurie, lying on sandy soils, produces lighter, silkier wines. Due to the tannins, Morgon can age well. We sampled 2001, 1994 & 1988 vintages of Morgon from Chateau Pizay. The older wines had developed more savoury, almost gamey flavours, reminiscent of red burgundy, compared to the fresh fruit characters of the 2009 & 2010 vintages. Beaujolais red wines are often better enjoyed at cellar rather than room temperature.

We also spent a bit of time in the winery. Many producers in Beaujolais use a process called carbonic maceration to start fermentation. Whole bunches of grapes are put in the vat, which break under their own weight releasing the juice – naturally occurring yeasts trigger fermentation. We emptied a vat where carbonic maceration had finished – the wine was siphoned off leaving a knee-deep layer of grape skins & stalks, known as the must. We had to climb down into the vat to shovel out this grapey mulch, soon feeling rather light-headed due to the CO2… Still, it was nothing a glass of Pizay’s finest couldn’t sort out.

Find out what Becky and the Majestic Isle of Wight team are up to on twitter @majesticisleofw

By Majestic | Posted in Staff Articles, Travel Tales | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment

How to Serve Champagne

Monday 12 December 2011 – 8:42

Monday 12th December: The Final Back to Basics!

On the twelfth and final day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. How to serve Champagne! John takes the sensible approach and shows us how to open and pour in the proper fashion for Christmas, New Year and in fact… any time of the year…

By William James | Posted in Video | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

From the Archive: Ruth’s Rainbow Trout

Sunday 11 December 2011 – 13:36

Sunday 11th December: Back to the Archives

On the eleventh day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. I had a look through the Majestic video archive and thought this dish would be a perfect light meal in between Christmas and New Year, matched up with Chablis Jean Bourguignon…

By William James | Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment

Food and Red Wine Matching

Saturday 10 December 2011 – 11:00

Saturday 10th December: Back to Basics

On the tenth day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. Big red wines compliment big rich meals. Hannah breaks down why certain red wines partner up so well with certain foods.

By William James | Posted in Video | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment

What Are Legs?

Friday 9 December 2011 – 11:38

Friday 9th December: Back to Basics

On the ninth day of…. the Alternative Majestic 12 Days of Christmas…. Ever wondered what those tears streaming down the side of the wine glass are? Hannah unravels the mystery.

By William James | Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
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