Well hello Winston! A rather large Rhodesian Ridgeback. I think all Rhodesian Ridgebacks are fairly hefty, but Winston was particularly large. We last encountered a Ridgeback when Trish and I popped down to Cornwall for dinner last year. It was a real treat to have such an impressive beast visit us in the shop. I reckon he’d eat you out of house and home. He certainly made short work of the treats we gave him.

A big thank you to Paul for bringing him in to see us. Just look at that frown – so adorable.

The time is here – rose time! We are delighted to have all three of our favourite roses here in new vintage bottling. As has become customary, we will run our usual competition throughout the year to see which of the three sells the best and is therefore crowned your top choice.

Chateau de la Deidiere (our house Provence rose): £13.95/bt
Puech Haut: £16.95/bt
Whispering Angel: £21.95/bt

We have good stocks of all three. Whispering Angel we have in both bottle and magnum format (and some halves of 2020 last vintage) and Puech Haut we have bottles, magnums and double magnums, the latter being for anyone wanting to make a statement at the village barbecue.

A couple of dates to remind you of for tastings coming up:

Thirsty Third Thursday Tasting – Summer Wines
Thursday 19th May 1.30-3.30pm
(£25 per head)

With the change in the weather, the sun shining and the mercury finally rising why not book yourself on a fun summer wines tasting here at the shop? Amanda will be running through a series of summer favourites in this Thursday afternoon session so you can get yourself sorted for the season ahead. Booking essential for this one.

Italian Tasting
Saturday 21st May 2-5pm
(£20 per head, redeemable against purchases over £100)

On Saturday 21st we will be welcoming our friends from Berkman Wine Cellars to share with us some of their best wines from their portfolio from all over Italy. There will be representatives here to talk to you about the wines and explain terroirs, wine making approaches and family stories. For lovers of well made Italian wines this is one not to miss. Booking advised or you could take a chance and turn up on the day, but we may have to hold you if there are too many folk in the room.

To book onto either please email me (shane@sheldonswines.com) or give us a call at the shop on 01608 661409. Both tastings will be held in the cellars so bring warm clothing, whatever the weather!

Last Sunday saw your Sheldon’s Wine Cellars team attempt to complete the Walton Hall 10k charity run. Participation was the key theme with the objective of getting round safely, completing the course with a minimum number of injuries. Our group was split into two – those who were keen to walk the course and the less sensible folk who thought ‘running’ it was a better idea. At 10am we gathered at the start line with the other 190 participants. The hooter went off and so did we, shooting off like greyhounds out of their traps on our epic adventure.

The ‘flat’ course took us up an incline into the woods which soon turned into a hill followed by a mountain climb. Each member set their own pace, except me who had the benefit of a pacemaker in the form of Steve Cram, oops, I mean Nathan to keep me company. The group was soon well spread with the ringers shooting ahead and the walkers adopting a steady, sure-footed pace at the rear.

After racing through the woods, along a path next to the river, past the horses and all the way to Wellesbourne we then turned about and headed for home in the sunshine with a cool breeze. The long tarmac road back to the Hall was a bit of a slog but each team member came home in good shape, enjoying the positive reception of earlier finishers and Shipston Home Nursing volunteers as we crossed the line.

I know some of you want to know the times, so here we go:

Rosie: 51 mins
Derwin: 53 mins
Nathan: 58 mins (my paceman, he probably would have done it in half an hour otherwise)
Shane: 1 hour 1 min
Charlie: 1 hour 2 mins
Trish: 1 hour 15 mins
Esther, Amanda & Jude: 1 hour 52 mins (walking)

Each and every one of us was pleased with our results and with no major incidents it was considered a successful outing.

Of course the key purpose was to raise funds for Shipston Home Nursing, the local palliative care charity. Through your enormously generous contributions both on the giving website and through cash donations at the shop you have reached a total of over £3100. This goes well beyond expectations and is simply amazing. Here’s the latest Donors Wall of Fame:

You have been such a supportive community, you should all be very proud of what you have achieved. As a team we are so grateful for your support – both financially and for all of your positive comments of encouragement – it has made a real difference to the way we have approached the challenge. We all felt a sense of responsibility not to let you down after your extraordinary levels of generosity.

Should any of you feel you would like to make a final donation you can do so by hitting the below button and then hitting the pink ‘donate’ button on the giving webpage.

We cannot finish without saying thank you to all of the headline sponsors for the event (A Forsyth Farm Work, Tubbs End Farms, Hutsby Farms, G Hutsby & Sons) and particularly Paddock Farm Butchery for the incredible bacon and sausage baps readily available at the finishing line. And to the dedicated volunteers supporting the event with registration, marshalling, and all sorts of other support. And Rebecca, for your unwavering faith in the team.

A final huge thank you to you, the Sheldon’s Times readership from all of us here at Sheldon’s Wine Runners – you have been amazing. We couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have done it without you. THANK YOU!

I’ve been weening myself off purchasing Bordeaux and Burgundy this week, instead we have some fun stuff from other parts of the world:

Beer
Big Drop Poolside DDH IPA 0.5% low alcohol (£1.95/330ml can)

Spirits
Wildjac Natural Dry Gin from Bewdley, Worcestershire (£36.95)
Wildjac Fresh Citrus Vodka -ditto- (£36.95)

South Africa (all three of these will be on taste tomorrow, until the bottles runs out)
Steenberg 1682 Brut Cap Classique Sparkling Wine (£17.95)
Rustenberg Red Muscadel (£11.50 per half)
Rustenberg Muscat of Alexandria (£11.50 per half)

Napa, California
2018 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (£60)
2018 Chateau Montelena Napa Cabernet (£70)

…and finally…
Australia
2016 Ben Glaetzer Eye of Ra Barossa Shiraz (£325)

We had car park mayhem last Friday. The combination of a 4-way traffic light system set up in town by BT (with no prior notice), a hearse, two funeral limos and two delivery drivers in the car park all at the same time made for a challenging half hour. In our favour however there was one particular car that got stuck in the car park which was no trouble at all.  It is a rare thing to see a car like this. It is an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Why rare? Because only 500 were made in Italy, only 40 imported into the UK with just 25 remaining on our shores.
Originally presented back in 2003 as a concept car, production ran from 2007 to 2010. While based on a unique platform the car shares some components with the Maserati GranTurismo and a V8 engine assembled by Ferrari. This is supercar territory for sure with 0-62 in 4.2 seconds and a limited top speed of 181mph.

Many thanks to Mr S for treating us – to both the car and some rather tasty cakes. Now that made up for all the car park craziness.

As the sun is beating down here in the shop and we are conducting a small tasting for research purposes, it is time I closed tonight’s edition of Sheldon’s Times. The weather is forecast to be much the same tomorrow. Lots of sun. We have plenty of summer wines to choose from here at the shop so pop over and pick up a bottle or two. Jude and I will be here tomorrow to find something right for the occasion.