INDEX travel Creative Cupid A vine romance @ wine estate
We can’t call it “champagne” but many consumers and connoisseurs often cite British sparkling wines as giving its more famous counterpart a run for its money. Denbies Wine Estate on the Surrey Hills at Dorking has been family owned and run since 1984 and is now one of the largest wine producers in the UK. Its range competes on an international level, winning multiple gold awards for sparkling production, the fi rst-ever gold for an English rose and most recently an international gold for Denbies Noble Harvest dessert wine. • Denbies (
www.denbies.co.uk; 01306 876616) offers an exclusive tour for two for £95 per person with the tasting of one sparkling and two still wines from its award-winning range hosted by a wine expert together with a tour of the winery and vineyard and a bottle of sparkling wine to take home. There is also an a la carte restaurant overlooking the vineyard and farmhouse B&B accommodation on site.
Screening romance
If you love fi lm but fi nd your local multiplex full of chattering teenagers and the odour of stale popcorn, then how about your own private cinema? Okay you might have to dig deep to have it all to yourself, but several high-end London hotels now boast screening rooms available for hire (you can even choose the fi lm if you can stretch the budget) and also have regular opportunities to catch up with the latest releases or classics in real luxury and in the company of like-minded cineastes.
Dine with celebrity chef
This one is for the real foodies and requires signifi cantly more in the investment of time and budget. Noma (
www.noma.dk) in Copenhagen carries the heavy mantle of “best restaurant in the world” while its creator Rene Redzepi has a celebrity currency almost as valuable as the Beckhams and Clooneys. Securing a reservation won’t be easy, but if you’re patient and want to wrap it up in a visit to this extremely cool Scandinavian capital (the Danes are said to be the happiest nation in the world!) then it’s certain to be a unique experience. Located in a former quayside warehouse with original beams, handcrafted furniture and an understated colour palette, “local” and “seasonal” are the non-negotiable principles of the menu. Radishes planted in soil, smoked quail eggs, cod roe wafer and fi sh doughnuts are among Chef Redzepi’s signature dishes. • EasyJet (
www.easyjet.com) fl ies from Gatwick to Copenhagen from around £80 return.
Back to (chocolate) school
Squires Kitchen in the Georgian town of Farnham in Surrey is also home to a “chocolate school” presided over by Mark Tilling, a former UK chocolate master. On a one-day workshop, Mark will take you through the intricate techniques for working with chocolate including tempering, colouring and piping truffl es. You’ll fi nd out how to use transfer sheets to decorate chocolate, make your very own mini chocolate bars and delicious truffl es, learn how to successfully colour your chocolate treats and how to use chocolate moulds to their full potential – in fact, almost all you need to know to be a professional chocolatier.
• The one-day chocolate school at Squires Kitchen (www.
squires-school.co.uk; 0845 617 1812) costs £150 per person.
The INDEX magazine
www.indexmagazine.co.uk 27
• Firmdale Hotels (
www.fi rmdalehotels.com) has screening rooms in three of its London properties. Weekend screenings with a three-course lunch or afternoon tea cost £35 per person (£45 with a glass of champagne). Private hire package rates are available on request.
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