Sussex wine served on Royal barge
10:37am Saturday 2nd June 2012 in News By Siobhan Ryan
Two English wines from Sussex feted as world beaters have been selected to be served on board the royal barge as it carries the Queen and her party down the River Thames tomorrow.
The wines are an award-winning sparkling and a still white.
Familiar to wine connoisseurs will be the Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 2007, from the award-winning West Chiltington -based producer regarded as one of England's leading names in sparkling wines.
The wine is produced from the three classic champagne varieties: chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, and is their latest vintage, released in time for the jubilee.
Also being served to the royal party will be a Stopham Pinot Blanc 2010, a dry wine produced from the pinot blanc grape from the producer's 16-acre vineyard near Pulborough The wines were selected by the caterers to the Royal barge, Spirit of Chartwell, with the help of Taurus Wines, an independent family-run wine merchant.
Owner Rupert Pritchett said: “These wines are world beaters, and it couldn't be more fitting to have some fine English wines on this very patriotic occasion."
Source: www.theargus.co.uk
Kvitova scrapes past Bratchikova in third round at Roland Garros - Daily Mail
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Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova survived a test in the third round of the French Open, eventually getting past Nina Bratchikova 6-2 4-6 6-1.
The Czech has a tendency to be erratic and, after powering through the first set, she found herself trailing 5-1 in the second to her Russian opponent, who is ranked 109th in the world.
Scraped through: Petra Kvitova just about made it
Kvitova always looked to have too much power and quality, though, and, although she could not save the set, she was relatively untroubled in coming through the decider.
The 22-year-old is much more of a force on faster surfaces and will be looking to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time.
In the fourth round Kvitova will play unseeded American Varvara Lepchenko, who ensured there will be no third final in a row here for Italy's Francesca Schiavone.
The 14th seed, who beat Sam Stosur in 2010 then lost to Li Na last year, took the first set reasonably comfortably but was pegged back by Lepchenko.
Denied: Nina Bratchikova could not progress
The third set was a topsy-turvy affair, with the American serving for the match at 5-3 only for Schiavone to level, but Lepchenko broke again and then saved four break points on her own serve before finally taking it 3-6 6-3 8-6.
The victory means Lepchenko is certain to qualify for the US team at the Olympics, leaving Venus Williams vulnerable because Sloane Stephens, who is ranked lower at the moment, is still in the tournament.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Kent State tops Kentucky in 21-inning NCAA tournament marathon, 7-6 - Cleveland Plain Dealer
GARY, Ind. — Lefty Michael Clark got a strikeout with two on and two outs in the 21st inning to give Kent State a hard-earned 7-6 victory Friday night in the opening game of the NCAA regional baseball tournament in Gary, Ind.
It was the second-longest game in NCAA Tournament history, trailing only Texas' 3-2 win over Boston College in 25 innings in 2009.
"I'm glad we didn't get it," KSU coach Scott Stricklin said of the 25-inning record. "It's certainly better to be on the winning side of that one."
Twice Kentucky used its potential final at-bat to extend the game at U.S. Steel Yard, scoring in the ninth and 18th innings to tie the Golden Flashes. But Kent scratched out a run in the top of the 21st, and Clark, despite letting runners get to second and third with two outs, got the strikeout he needed.
"I only remember the last hitter," Clark said of the 3 innings he pitched. He got two straight strikes on Kentucky's Thomas McCarthy, but did not waste the next one. "I went high and hard" and whiffed him on a checked swing.
That led to an eruption from a crowd that grew from 756 after nine innings to more than 5,000 by the end. Most seemingly waiting to see two Indiana schools, Purdue and Valparaiso, play the second game of the regional. The winner of that game will play Kent tonight at 7.
Clark isn't worried about the Golden Flashes being emotionally spent.
"If anything, I think this will help us. We're running on adrenaline."
Kent's winning rally in the top of the 21st began with a bunt single from senior Joe Koch. The ball just got past the outstretched hand of Kentucky pitcher A.J. Reed, who started the game as the DH for the first 10 innings. Reed then played two innings at first and pitched the final nine.
A sacrifice moved Koch to second, and with two outs, freshman Alex Miklos hit a triple to center that scored Koch. Derek Toadvine then became Kent's 26th strikeout victim of the game, but the good deed was already done. Twice before Kent was three outs away from victory, leading 5-4 in the ninth and 6-5 in the 18th, but could not close the win out.
"But I said it out loud in the dugout, 'Third time is the charm,' " Stricklin said.
The Flashes had a sweet opportunity to blow the game open in the second inning. They loaded the bases with none out behind a pair of singles and a hit batter. Kent picked up a run when the Kentucky shortstop booted a potential double-play ball, keeping the bases loaded with no outs.
But the next three batters were retired on two strikeouts and a soft liner.
The Wildcats scored twice in the third behind two singles and a hit batter to take a 2-1 lead. The hit batter was the third in the game, the second for Kent ace David Starn. That led to a warning for both teams.
Kent posted three runs in the fourth on a bunt single from Toadvine, a balk from Kentucky starter Alex Phillips, and a double from George Roberts, who went 5-for-10. But for the second time in four innings, KSU hitters could not deliver with the bases loaded. It was a pattern that lasted all game as KSU stranded 20 runners.
With Kent leading, 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth, relief pitcher Brian Clark gave up a first-pitch single and the runner was sacrificed to second. A Kentucky single up the middle followed to tie it, 5-5.
The two teams would then go scoreless until the 18th. But there was plenty of drama.
The Flashes got a huge break to start the bottom of the 12th as Kentucky's Michael Williams hit a rocket off the left-field wall for an apparent double. But he missed first base, and Kent threw the relay to first to beat him back to the bag. One pitch later, Toadvine made a diving catch for the second out of the inning, saving another potential double. Then an infield out ended the inning.
In the bottom of the 15th, the Wildcats loaded the bases, but were retired on a pop-up on a pitch that looked like ball four.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ealexander@plaind.com, 216-999-4253
Source: www.cleveland.com
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