Gaja Day 2 - 23rd September 2011

Day 2 - #gajaday on Twitter

For day 2, the focus had moved primarily to hotels and restaurants who had been promoting Gaja wines during September so we took Gaia on a whistlestop tour to see how the activity had been working and to thank each one for their efforts. This is where we went..

Bistro du Vin

We were welcomed into the stunningly colourful library area at Bistro du Vin, Soho to meet Romain who had Rossj-Bass Chardonnay as one of a select number of wines available to taste from the Enomatic machines. We spent a while discussing the different Gaja wines and properties.

Mennula

Our next port of call was Mennula who had created a fantastic feature on their menu offering a Gaja Experience including Promis 2008 and Ca'Marcanda 2004.

The Gilbert Scott

The Gilbert Scott restaurant in the magnificent St Pancras Hotel welcomed us next. They had been successfully promoting Sito Moresco 2008 by the glass.



Uncorked

In between restaurant visits we visited Uncorked in Broadgate. Nestled in amongst the office blocks, we found ourselves in an Aladdin's Cave of wine with a welcoming window display dedicated to Gaja. Orders had already been flooding in from an online offer and we were primed and ready to welcome some thirsty office workers for a tasting over lunch. Gaia took groups of customers through the range and bottles were once again flying out of the door clearing out the stock of most wines. A huge amount of effort had been put in by the team and the event was a great success.

L'Anima

This had built up our appetite and led us to L'Anima where the charming Francesco Mazzei had created a special dish paired with Magari selected by sommelier Alessandro. The Gaja fans were out in force as we spotted several glasses and bottles being delivered to a packed restaurant requiring us to prise Gaia away from a table of fans who were in no hurry to leave.


28'50

Fortified and refreshed, we began the long list of afternoon visits starting at 28'50 where the restaurant was still packed with lunch customers enjoying Barbaresco 2006, Magari 2008 and Rossj Bass Chardonnay 2010.


Lutyens

We moved around the corner to Lutyens where we were welcomed by Andrew Connor who had chosen to focus on Sori Tildin 2003 and Brunello di Montalcino Rennina 2004.



The Chancery

After a lengthy discussion about the wines and different Gaja properties we raced to The Chancery for a brief visit with Zak Jones. We were greeted by a display of Gaja bottles which had been promoted including Rossj Bass Chardonnay 2010, Promis 2008 and Sito Moresco 2008.


At this point we realised that maybe we had attempted to fit in too many visits for one day but were determined to fit in everything and to thank everyone involved for their support.

Harry's Bar

A brief meeting and handshake outside the exclusive Harry's Bar where diners had enjoyed Sperss 2005, Barbaresco 2006, Alteni di Brassica 2008 and Rosj Bass 2010 was followed by a race to The Opera Tavern.

Opera Tavern

Here we were treated to some of the most incredible ham and olives I have ever tasted and Pepe chatted to us about the success of Promis 2008 by the glass in addition to Rossj Bass Chardonnay.


Roast

Our final port of call was touch and go as we checked train times to ensure Gaia's safe return to Italy! The charming Anne at Roast had waited patiently for our visit and we were not going to let her down. They had been selling all of the Ca'Marcanda wines and when we saw the beef being finished off for dinner, we all wanted to stay.


A final sprint to catch the train to the airport was nearly a disaster but we succeeded.

Thank you to everyone who participated and embraced the concept of Gaja Day by promoting the wines to their customers. Special thanks to the unique Joe Wadsack for the interviews on our travels and for keeping our spirits up!

Here's to making Gaja Day 2012 even better.......

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