MENU dorset issue 12 issue 12 | Page 16

NEWS L oc a l H e roes Taste of the West award winners after the ceremony at Exeter Cathedral From The Wine Rack Our wine expert, Rachel Gibson of wineutopia.co.uk picks three bottles for Christmas Day… Mionetto Sparkling Rose, Veneto, Italy £13.95 I 16 t seems polish and a soft cloth are key items for Dorset food and drink businesses, in order to keep all the awards they keep winning nicely buffed and shiny looking. From restaurants to breweries, artisan producers to pubs, Dorset has proven its food and drink is world-class and worthy of acclaim. The only problem is fitting all the accolades in one magazine! So here are the edited highlights from 2016’s awards season. Taste of the West Awards 2016 – Dorset Winners Lemon Sorbet – Baboo Gelato Ltd Olive Sourdough – The Wobbly Cottage Apple Juice – Marshwood Scrumpers Best South West Deli – The Purbeck Deli Best South West Casual Dining – Taste Brasserie Dorset Magazine Food, Drink & Farming Awards 2016: Best Seafood Restaurant – Crab House Café, Wyke Regis Best Hotel Restaurant – Conservatory Restaurant, The Eastbury, Sherborne Best Restaurant - Roots, Southbourne Best Gastro Pub - The Anchor Inn, Seatown Best Chef – Jan Bretschneider, Roots Best Tearoom – Worth Matravers Tea & Supper Room, Swanage Best Food Product/Producer Of The Year – A Jar Of, Sturminster Newton 2016 Food & Farming Hero - James Warren, The Salt Pig Taste of Dorset Awards 2016 Best Brewer – The Brew Shack, Wimborne Best Butchers – P. Keating Butchers, Wimborne Best Cider Producer – Cranborne Chase Cider Best Dairy Producer – Baboo Gelato Ltd, Bridport Best Fish and Chip Shop – Something Else Fishy, Milborne Port Best Independent Tearoom or Café – Platform 1, Gillingham Best Meat or Fish – Daisy's Woodland Chicken, Dorchester Best Restaurant or Dining Pub – La Fosse at Cranborne Eat Their Words Start the day with a glass of this truly stunning fizz! Produced in the same area of Italy that is famous for Prosecco, this is made from the red Raboso grape. Fairly deep in colour, but dry and elegant on the palate, with brambly red fruit notes and fine, persistent bubbles. Two pairings for Christmas dinner and all the trimmings… Seresin Viognier 2011, Marlborough, New Zealand £26.95 A white wine that could rival the best Condrieu in the Rhône Valley. Subtle, complex layers of honeysuckle, dried apricot, floral notes and mixed spice on the palate make this the ultimate white wine for roasted meats. Also certified organic and biodynamic. Our favourite book this month On the Menu: The World's Favourite Piece of Paper by Nicholas Lander (Unbound, £30) The title says it all – this book features over 100 stunning menus for the restaurant obsessed to pore over. From the historical – an 1870 menu served during the siege of Paris that included zoo animals – to the cutting edge contemporary – the final menu from Ferran Adrià’s three Michelin-starred elBulli in Spain. Between the reproductions, restaurant critic Lander explores the subject with the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Michel Roux and Ruth Rogers. www.menu-dorset.co.uk Botanica Pinot Noir 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa £22.95 This is our ultimate match with turkey. Aromatic and elegant, with lifted cranberry and raspberry notes, this has just the right balance of baked red fruits and mellow tannins.