Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Enter Veganuary With Bonne Maman

To many people Veganuary is all about delicious vegan pasta bakes, a delicious vegan casserole or a pizza made using vegan cheese. But what about a gorgeous and somewhat decadent vegan dessert to follow the vegan main course? 

Not sure how to go about creating a lovely vegan dessert? Why  not add a spoonful of fruitiness to Veganuary 2025 with a selection of delicious vegan recipes from Bonne Maman?

Using a selection of classic Conserves plus flavours from the Compote and Intense range – made with an exceptionally high percentage of ripened fruit, Intense has a slightly softer set and naturally contains 30% less sugar.

Apricot Intense Overnight Oats

A super quick and delicious breakfast that can be made the night before in an empty jar, perfect for on-the-go.  A healthy mix of chia seeds, rolled oats and almond milk topped with nuts, seeds and a generous spoonful of Apricot Intense.

Super Green Smoothie Bowl

For an extra healthy start to the morning, blend together fruity Bonne Maman Apricot Compote with avocado, banana, spinach leaves, fresh ginger and coconut water. Enjoy on the go or serve in a bowl and top with extra fruit, granola or coconut flakes.

Vegan Apricot Crêpes with toasted nuts & seeds

These vegan crêpes with Bonne Maman Apricot Intense and dairy-free Greek style vanilla yoghurt are packed full of flavour and an extra crunch of cinnamon toasted nuts and seeds. A perfect recipe to get practising for a vegan Pancake Day!

Vegan Strawberry & Orange Traybake

A simply delicious vegan traybake to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee or as a sweet treat after dinner. A vibrant combination of a light, moist citrus sponge with an intensely fruity topping of Bonne Maman Strawberry Intense, orange zest and coconut.

Chocolate Cherry Truffles

Enjoy a chocolate treat after dinner by making a batch of these scrumptious Chocolate Cherry Truffles. Bite-sized pieces bursting with Bonne Maman Black Cherry Conserve, plant-based milk and chocolate, plus a splash off Cointreau.

To learn more about the recipes visit  https://www.bonnemaman.co.uk/recipes

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Top Cambridgeshire Winery Reports Promising Grape Harvest Despite Challenging Weather Conditions

Williams Family Wines, which is based in Buckden, Cambridgeshire, is reporting that this year's harvest is yielding grapes of promising quality and expects another successful vintage despite the challenging changes in weather that it has had to endure. 

The family business is looking to repeat the success of its first vintage, having received multiple awards for its 2023 range. The medal haul included recognition for their Rosé wine which was the most highly rated English Still Rosé at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), and ranked in the top 15 in the world.

Williams Family Wines is operated by husband and wife team, Nick and Julia Williams, who only started to explore planting a small vineyard near their home in Cambridgeshire in 2018, with each vine being cared for by hand to produce the best quality grapes. 

Fruit is also sourced from some of the finest English vineyards and they work closely with those trusted growers to produce wines they can all be proud of.

“Choosing when to harvest the grapes is a delicate balance” commented Nick Williams “but the extremes of wet and warm weather over the summer has presented us with some distinct challenges this year."

He went on to say: "We also had to contend with an early, unexpected frost at the start of October, so have been working long hours to minimise the impact of the Great British weather. However, we are encouraged by the quality of the grapes we have harvested, as they have a perfect balance between sugar and acidity and are bursting full of flavour. 

"We have made a promising start to our wine making process and are excited about how these wines will taste and, following the success of our initial range, we're already noticing interest in the Williams Family Wines 2024 vintage. We'll continue to give the wine-making process our characteristic attention, with every detail closely monitored from grape to glass to produce the best quality wines possible.”

The first Williams Family Wines vintage, released earlier this year, saw the Solaris dry white, and Rosé wines being awarded medals at the IWSC whilst the Solaris and off-dry white wine Bacchus received medals at the 2023 International Wine Challenge. The couple were overwhelmed by the phenomenal results, especially considering the larger, established wineries in more familiar wine producing regions that were judged alongside their own wines.

“For a family business that runs a small vineyard and small-batch winery in Cambridgeshire, we couldn't have imagined that our wines would receive such great feedback so quickly so it's reassuring to know that our attention to quality is already proving worthwhile” added Nick. 

“Receiving a silver medal with 92 points for our Rosé wine in the IWSC was the ultimate accolade for Williams Family Wines in our first year, as this was the highest rating for an English Still Rosé. The success surpassed our wildest dreams, especially when we realised that this also placed our Rosé wine in the top 15 in the world, and we could never have imagined such recognition when we first established our exciting new business.”

Williams Family Wines currently produce four wines – Solaris, a still, dry white wine; Bacchus, a still, off-dry white wine; Rosé, a harmonious blend of Bacchus and Pinot Noir grapes; and Sweet Rebel sweet wine which has just been added to the hand-picked wine list of Michelin starred Pine Restaurant in Northumberland. They are also planning to launch a red pinot noir and a sparkling wine is on the lees, with the 2024 vintage expected to be available from Spring 2025.

We feel these wines would make excellent wines for drinking over Christmas.

For stocking queries and further information, please contact info@williamsfamilywines.com.

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