Spirits Juniper Green Organic London Dry Gin 70cl 40% UK


Does anyone do Christmas without gin these days? Has lovely juniper, coriander, and dry spice flavours. Not heavy this is a very good, G&T gin! LIST £22.50 OFFER £19.95


HEV02 Walcher Gin - La Vita è Bella’ 70cl 40% ITALY


A splash of the Mediterranean on a cold winter’s day is a rare treat! 24 Mediterranean botanicals make an impression on this flavoursome Italian gin … think Sicilian lemon, rosemary and coriander too.


HIZ05 LIST £36.00 OFFER £32.00 Rose Gin by Tinkture 50cl 44% UK


Pretty as a picture. Perfect gift for your English rose… (or Scottish, or Welsh!) Sprightly gin with floral aromas. Golden amber in colour, it takes on a pink hue when you add tonic. Magical. LIST £44.00 OFFER £40.00


HEV26


Calvados Vieilles Réserve Bio - Claude Pepin 70cl 40% FRANCE An after-dinner, appley delight. Great gift too.


Impressively complex! Apples, pears, roasted hazelnuts and vanilla. LIST £37.00 OFFER £34.00


HFZ21


Cognac VSOP - Guy Pinard et Fils 70cl 40% FRANCE Impressive aperitif and stunning in a Pink Life cocktail (see below)


Velvety smooth, bold, with enticing floral notes. HFZ02


LIST £40.00 OFFER £38.00


My Dad and Serge Faust


12


Vinous Memories


Well, it was Dad who first showed me how to use a corkscrew, all those years ago! Literally was instrumental in sparking my interest in wine. Always encouraging, he helped financially too, lending some money to help me get Vintage Roots started with two friends, back in 1986, on the ‘Enterprise Allowance Scheme’.


Even though he was a keen explorer of good wines, and built up an interesting cellar over the years, including many vintages of Château Palmer, he quickly became one of our top and most loyal customers, leaving much of his old collection to gather dust. He often used to remind me (I started Vintage Roots at the age of 26) that this was the age that he got to try his very first wine!


Dad enjoyed driving too, mainly Citroens, and with my mother they often travelled from East coast rural Suffolk round the recently finished M25 in the late 1980’s, to meet me at South Mimms service station. Backed up boot to boot, 30 cases of organic wine would be transferred for onward delivery around Norfolk and Suffolk, to early shop and restaurant customers. A great help, and you could not beat the personal touch.


What has this got to do with Serge Faust, you may well ask? Well, the ‘Cuvée Reserve’ from Faust was his favourite fizz by far. It’s what we drank when we met, at family gatherings and celebrations and of course Christmas time. He never liked to go out of stock, and in the rare times Vintage Roots had none, he would arrange a detour on his French trips to visit Serge Faust (with whom he became friends) himself and buy stocks direct!


Cheers to Dad, bless him. We’ll be toasting him this Christmas! 29/09/1931 to 30/11/2020 Neil Palmer


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