english wine, expert's choice,
english wine, expert's choice,
(Image credit: english wine, expert's choice)

London wine merchant Bibendum has revealed a list of wines that will be served at the London Olympics this summer.

Along with classics such as a 2008 Meursault Cuvee Charles Maxime Domaine Latour-Giraud and 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Castello Banfi, corporate guests will be served 2010 Best’s Dolcetto, a 2006 Quinta do Seival Castas Portuguesas from Brazil and a 2009 Quinta do Vallado Tinto from Portugal.

In a nod to the host nation, the 2008 Hush Heath Balfour Brut Rosé (pictured) will be on offer. The 2006 Balfour Brut won Silver at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year. This is the only English wine in the list of 18 wines so far announced.

Twenty-five percent of the revenue from each hospitality package – premium packages designed for companies to entertain clients – goes towards funding school tickets and underprivileged groups.

Altogether there are 100,000 hospitality packages spread across the Games, 80% sold within the UK and 20% overseas, with some 68% of the inventory already sold.

The spirit behind the hospitality service is to showcase the best of British food, a spokesman said.

Dishes to be served include Kettyle beef and lamb, 18-hour-smoked Faroe Island salmon and unpasteurized Cheddar from Westcombe in Somerset, along with other local and fresh British produce.

Meals will be accompanied by wines supplied by Bibendum, whose staff will be working with Prestige Ticketing, the company organising catering for the six Olympic venues – the Olympic Park in East London, Wimbledon, Wembley and other sites.

‘We’ve tried to find handcrafted parcels we think will provide interest and individuality to match the food concept so that there’s a bit of a story,’ said Bibendum’s managing director Michael Saunders.

In a separate contract, Bibendum will also be supplying the three official Olympic wines, a red a white and a rosé, to be sold to the general public in catering outlets at the Games.

The wines will be under £20 and will be supplied in PET bottles so that they can be taken into the events. Their identity is, for now, under wraps.

Written by Anthony Rose

Anthony Rose
Anthony Rose
Decanter Magazine, Wine Wwriter & DWWA Judge
Anthony Rose is the wine correspondent of the Independent and i newspapers and contributes to various other publications, among them Decanter Magazine. He was a solicitor in a previous incarnation but decided it was time to get a steady job. He is co-chair of the Decanter World Wine Awards Australia panel and has won a number of awards for wine writing. In 2014 he published The Tapas Bar Guide (Grub Street, £10.99), co-authored with Isabel Cuevas, a guide to tapas bars in the UK. Anthony spends far too much of his time nosing his way around the world in wine competitions, having judged in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, California, Japan, China and France. He is fascinated by Japanese sake and is co-Chairman of the Sake International Challenge in Tokyo and teaches a consumer course at Sake No Hana in London. Anthony is also a published photographer and a founding member of The Wine Gang at ,. Anthony lives in South London and in what spare time he has, he likes to cook, eat and drink the best wines and sakes he can afford on a wine writer’s budget.