PERCOL COFFEE LAUNCH NEW AFRICAN RANGE

The people at Percol have teamed up with charity Schools for Africa to launch a new range of hot drinks. The Africa range includes tea, ground coffee, instant coffee and hot chocolate and is as delicious as all the other multi-award winning Percol products.

Percol has created its own new initiative, ‘Children in Africa’, where Percol raises money from the sales of the Africa range to support a number of children’s charities – the first of these being Schools for Africa (www.schoolsforafrica.co.uk), which raises capital to build schools in remote and poor areas of Africa. 30p will be made on every case sold.

Green Row wins Arniston Bay reports PR Week

Green Row Communications has won the retained account for South African wine producer Arniston Bay.

The agency has been retained for 12 months following a four-way competitive pitch.
It will raise brand awareness in the key female lifestyle press such as Eve magazine and wants the wine to be seen as 'relaxing and unpretentious'.
It will support the summer marketing drive for the brand's wine pouch, a product that claims to have an 80 per cent smaller carbon footprint than wine bottles.
Next week the wine brand will launch consumer sampling in mainline city railway stations. The Metro is also running a competition with the brand.
The agency also handles PR for fairtrade wine brand Fairhills.

GREEN ROW TEAM UP WITH COOKIE GIRL

Xanthe Milton is Cookie Girl. She began making cookies at age 6. During a break from her acting career she began selling freshly baked cookies in a basket tucked under her arm knocking on the doors of west London offices and studios - before long her customers were hooked. Her cookies have been sold at Selfridges and she is currently working on a book of recipes with Ebury Press. She writes the popular Cookie Chronicles in Grove Magazine and appearances include Master Chef, Market Kitchen and will be appearing in Diet on the Dance Floor on Living this summer.

In Summer 2008 by the powers of the internet you are going to be able to order cookies online delievered to your door, desk, wherever. Blending magic with reality, sumptuous chocolate with crisp golden dough, London’s best kept secret, Cookie Girl and her veritable feast of cookies are now available all over the UK by delivery from http://www.cookiegirl.co.uk/

Famous amongst the residents and celebrities of Notting Hill, where Cookie Girl sells her wares each Saturday from her bijous1950’s styled stall, she has honed her skills from the age of 6. Learning from her mother and now cooking with her own daughter each cookie is individually hand-made using only very the finest Belgian chocolate and ingredients. Choose from milk, dark or white chocolate or cookies rolled with oats or sultanas all made to Cookie Girl’s exacting secret recipes.

Traditionally delivered only by hand by Cookie Girl herself the new online service will spread the Cookie Girl experience all over the country. Simply visit http://www.cookiegirl.co.uk/ordercookies.asp to order baskets of milk, dark or white chocolate cookies to your office, as a gift or just to indulge yourself, bite into a cookie and let your imagination melt away. Baskets are available in 3 sizes 25 (£40.00) 50 (£60.00) or 100 (£100.00) but Cookie Girl and her team also make bespoke baskets with prior arrangement. Discounts are available for weekly or regularly deliveries.

Russell Brand said; “I’m in love with Cookie Girl and it is making me ill.”
Caprice said; “These cookies are irresistible.”
Jade Jagger said; “The best cookies I have ever tasted.”

Cookie Girl’s clientele include Will Young, Cat Stevens, Gareth Gates, Jasmine Guinness, Sienna Miller, Belinda Carlisle, KT Tunstall, The Gorillaz, The Magic Numbers, James Morrison and the great and the good of Notting Hill.

Carly and co go to The Castello di Gabbiano, Tuscany

As Press Officer for Gabbiano wines my main role is to meet with and speak to wine writers and journalists, send out samples and attend tastings. However, this Spring I had the best three days of my career so far when I got to escort eight journalists to the Castello Di Gabbiano in Italy for the ultimate Tuscan wine experience.

I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling very nervous – “what if one of the journalists forgets their passport?!” I thought. Despite the panic I got myself to Gatwick Airport and luckily enough all of the journalists arrived on time with passports in hand. After a short flight to Pisa and a hot mini-bus ride into the hills (plus numerous head counts) we finally arrived at the stunning Castello Di Gabbiano set at one of the highest points of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany.

We spent the first hour soaking up the amazing scenery and serenity of the Tuscan hills, before we were taken down to cellars and shown the wine making facilities. We were then taken through a tasting of the whole range of Gabbiano wines as the sun set over the Castello. We worked our way up through the range, starting with the entry level wines and the refreshing 2007 Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie, made with 85% Pinot Grigio and 15% Gargenega. We then sampled the 2007 100% Sangiovese Rosé, followed by the entry level Chianti DOCG 2006. Moving onto the premium wines, made with grapes grown purely on the Gabbiano estate, we sampled the Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva and the Super Tucans, Alleanza and Belleza – each glass increasing with flavour and body.

Just up the hillside from the Castello stands Il Cavilaire, an authentic Tuscan restaurant where we were treated to a fantastic meal of smoked goose carpaccio, asparagus and parmesan risotto, ravioli of chicken liver with a saffron sauce, rack of lamb with a Rosé wine and pink peppercorn sauce and a lemon and amaretto crème to finish – each dish paired with one of the Gabbiano wines to compliment the flavour. Despite polishing off five courses and huge amounts of homemade bread with the estate’s own produced olive oil and vinegar I still managed to squeeze in some delicious chocolates and a couple of shots of limoncello!

We awoke on the second day to glorious sunshine and looked forward to a trip to Florence. We arrived at the far end of the city and entered the indoor food market, which was like nothing you will ever see in the UK. Cured meats and cheese hung from every corner, fresh fish and meat lay out on every surface and the smell of fresh pesto and pasta was intoxifying. We were collecting ingredients for the evening’s meal when Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi, of TV and restaurant fame, would prepare us a delicious meal.

Following our shopping trip we wandered through the city soaking up culture and fashion at every turn. We stopped for lunch and ‘gelato’ before heading back to the Castello where Giancarlo and Katie had already begun to prepare the evening’s meal.

After a short rest we all met back I the kitchen for a quick demonstration and then enjoyed another evening of great food and great wine before turning in reluctantly, knowing we had to return back to London the following morning.

So, after a long wait, I finally got to visit the Castello Di Gabbiano for an amazing three days of drinking wine, eating glorious authentic Tuscan food and soaking up the incredible culture up in the hills of the Chianti Classico region, as well as the historical buzzing city of Florence. The journalists were all great and thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we have already started to see some great features as a result. I would definitely recommend the Castello Di Gabbiano as a great place to visit – I know I will be returning one day and not in a professional capacity!

Posted by: Carly Thornton, Account Executive