Tag Archive for: hencote estate

Hencote Estate introduces Katie Brisbourne

Christmas party season is upon us and if you haven’t planned anything or are not sure on where to go, we might have just the night lined up for you.

December 13th sees us host the first of two Christmas party nights here at The View Restaurant, Bar and Balcony – with the second on December 20th.

Aside from great food and wine, we are delighted to welcome talented singer Katie Brisbourne who will be accompanied by guitarist Katie Williams and her band for some live music.

Katie’s voice has been described as distinctive while at the same time soulful and powerful. She has travelled the world performing in some of the most exotic destinations – a fantastic achievement.

We caught up with Katie for a chat about her career, who she would love to perform with and experiences of travelling around the world.

 

Did you always have aspirations to be a singer?

I always wanted to be a singer. From a child my dream was to sing on TV, I wanted to sing on big stages and all over the world and have an original song that would enter the music charts.

Who would be the one person you would most like to perform with?

That’s a tricky one, but I would have loved to perform with the great legend Whitney Houston who was my idol growing up.

What have been some of your favourite singing highlights?

One highlight that stands out was performing a duet with Sir Cliff Richard, that was an amazing experience. Also seeing myself on national TV when I was 14, singing in a talent competition called ‘Let Me Entertain You’ hosted by Brian Conley.

Another career highlight was entering the US dance chart at number 5 with an original song entitled ‘It’s Over Now‘ with co-writing team Truu Colours. The song received an established and official blue tick on Spotify, with over two million plays on several media platforms.

I’ve also been very lucky to have travelled to every continent as a vocalist on luxury 5-star cruise liners and yachts.

What songs do you think you’ll perform at Hencote?

A good mixture of pop, rock and soul, something for everyone to enjoy and dance to.

Katie will be performing Dec 13th 6pm-8pm with guitarist Katie Williams as the entertainment for our first Christmas party night.

You can book your tickets here and experience her amazing vocal talents – a night not to be missed.

End of the harvest

As the estate basks in the early morning autumn sunshine our dedicated vineyard and winery team pick the final few grapes of the harvest.

It’s been a season full of challenges, often dictated by mother nature. But through a late spring frost, inclement summer and reduced daylight we have been able to harvest an abundance of high-quality grapes which are vintage focussed and that will play an integral part in producing the very best Hencote Estate wines.

 

Harvesting is a busy time of the year for all concerned and we are extremely grateful for the support we received from our volunteer pickers. They braved the elements to select only the finest grapes, sorting them by hand in our winery to eventually moving them onto pressing and maturation.

We began harvesting on October 4th, two weeks later than our 2018 vintage and also ended two weeks later. The fruit has benefited from an extended period of hangtime on the vines enabling us to optimise their maturity that has led to the production of healthy grapes.

The climate always plays a part and despite the challenges faced we are very pleased with the purity and elegance of the fruit supported by a fine acid structure. Now we get ready for the winter months and work doesn’t stop just because the harvest has ended.

We are already planning for 2020 where we will have several new wine launches which we are very excited about and cannot wait to share with our guests and diners.

First Birthday and New Menu Launch a Huge Success

Last night we celebrated our first birthday and new menu launch in style at The View Restaurant, Bar and Balcony.

Guests were treated to an Evolution Sparkling wine reception with delicious light bites provided by two exceptional local companies – Shropshire Salumi and Moyden’s Hand Made Cheese.

Will and Martin showcase their homemade Shropshire cheese and salumi

The cocktail bar had a calm and relaxed atmosphere as people chatted and perused over a selection of sumptuous dishes from our new menu.

Starters including Line Caught Mackerel and Chicken Liver Parfait with Hencote Chutney was followed by main courses featuring 28 Day Aged Beef Ribeye, Potato Gnocchi with Charcoal Roast Beetroot and Pan Seared Stone Bass.

Pianist Steve Parry elegantly played for diners with an array of romantic classics and familiar modern-day hits – he even took a few unusual requests.

Dessert arrived and for those with a sweet tooth, the decision was particularly hard. The Sticky Toffee Pudding provided comfort in a bowl, perfect for these cold winter nights, while the Tiramisu Baked Alaska capped a delicate finish to a stunning culinary evening.

Our Tiramisu Baked Alaska

We had some wonderful feedback about the food and the evening itself. Our brigade of chefs worked tirelessly throughout the day to make sure that guests left happy and wanting to come back for more.

If you missed out last night, don’t worry, our new menus are available here. Our next major event is happening November 29th when we launch our first Estate Red Wine – the Mark I.

You can book your table or for more information contact [email protected] – we would love to see you.

5 Tips for Planning Your Corporate Event

Organising an event can be a tough task. Whether you are planning a Christmas party, team building event or you need a venue to host clients, there are lots of things to think about to make it a success. Below are five tips for planning your corporate event.

The venue

To make your event a huge success, you are going to want to plan. Finding a venue is always difficult as you have to make sure that it is going to fit your proposed number of guests as well as have all the necessities for it to run smoothly.

 

Set a budget

Deciding on how much you have to spend on your corporate event is key. Everyone wants to put on a great event but be careful not to overspend. Creating a detailed spreadsheet of all your potential outgoings will give you a clear picture of what you can and cannot afford.

Consider your guests

Your guests are the main reason that you are planning your corporate event. It could be the end of year Christmas party, a team-building away day or business product launch. Whatever the event make sure you consider your guests. Are they looking to let their hair down or do you want them to learn something?

 

Catering

People’s lasting impression of a successful event aside from the venue and general ambience will be the catering. This can be difficult to plan as your guests will have various likes and dislike as well as dietary requirements. Ideally, you need to make sure that the menu offers a choice that will suit everyone. Don’t be afraid to ask the venue for help in creating a menu.

 

Accommodation

Depending on the style of event you might wish to offer accommodation to your guests particularly if some have to travel. The Christmas party is the ideal time to help organise accommodation as it will allow people to have a drink and enjoy the occasion without having to worry about travel arrangements afterwards.

 

It’s not too late

At Hencote we have the perfect location (and view to match) to host your next corporate event. With Christmas just around the corner, we have space for our party nights on Friday, December 13th and 20th – with amazing food and estate wines as well as great entertainment.

If you are looking to celebrate New Year in style our Great Gatsby Gala is the perfect place to see in 2020. To book your table or to enquire further about how we can help you plan your next corporate event get in touch with us at [email protected] or call 01743 298 444.

Win two tickets to our new menu launch

It’s a double celebration at Hencote on November 7th as we launch our brand new menus here at The View Restaurant and Bar.

Our dedicated kitchen brigade has designed and created a fantastic selection of dishes ranging from British classics to modern cuisine, all of which celebrate the terroir of our region and incorporate our popular ‘Charcoa grill’ while matching with our wines.

 

The event marks the first anniversary since we opened The View and to celebrate we are giving away two complementary tickets, a bottle of our lifestyle wine and a wine tour and tasting for two people.

If you would like to enter all you need to do is head over to our Facebook page and like and share the competition post that is pinned to the top of our page, as well as tag the person you would love to spend the evening with.

The competition closes Wednesday 6th November at 12pm where we will announce the winner.

Good luck and we look forward to sharing a glass of ‘Hencote Estate Evolution’ English sparkling wine with you!

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*Wine tour valid until March 31st 2020.

*Lifestyle wine can be used for consumption on the night or taken away from our wine shop.

Setting the benchmark for red wine in Shropshire

As we approach the end of the October Harvest there is no time to rest on our laurels. Vinification is a demanding process and after the picking, pressing and eventual bottling of our wine we can enjoy and share the fruits of our labour with others.

November 29th sees the launch of our first Hencote Estate Red from 2018. Winemaker Gavin Patterson and his team have worked tirelessly to produce a wine that is a carefully crafted blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Précose and Rondo; components of which are representative of the estate and history of the property.

The seamless integration of all three brings a crucial element to the texture and flavour of the wine. Pinot Noir is the backbone, while the Pinot Noir Précose provides flavours of black cherry and additional cranberry notes leading on to the deliciously savoury palate which finishes with gentle persistence.

The Rondo, while only a small percentage of the overall trilogy, still plays a large part and adds the colour component which gives the wine its dark and brooding nature. With twelve months of quiet oak maturation, the result is a wine that will set a high benchmark for red wine produced in the UK that others will be inspired to follow.

 

Deciding on a name for our wine is just as important as the vinification process itself. With this latest addition to our selection of estate wines, we have not only drawn inspiration from our family but from the dedication and passion to produce a wine that is befitting of the area and heritage.

We would like the public to join us as we ‘mark’ the occasion with our launch event which will be hosted by Hencote Estate General Manager Mark Stevens and Winemaker Gavin Patterson.

It has always been the vision of our family to produce a red wine since planting the vineyard, and now all the years of hard work and nurture have led us to this defining moment for the estate and vineyard.

If you would like to find out more about the event as well as book your table you can get in touch with the Hencote team here or email [email protected]