Jascots: Serving restaurant-quality wine at home

Jascots at Home is a wine club delivering bottles to the doorstep that are usually only found in restaurants, as Peter Ranscombe discovers. FLITTING from wine tasting to wine tasting, there are names that come up again and again. Names of the mainstream wine merchants, names that will be familiar to professionals and consumers alike,…

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Awards to recognise enterprising former students

A new entrepreneur network for former students of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is being launched at an awards event next month. The SRUC Alumni Entrepreneur Network will allow enterprising former and current students, and staff, to network and share their experiences for the benefit of the whole community. A central focus of the network will…

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Two new appointees at Wildlife Estate Scotland

Wildlife Estates Scotland has made two new appointments to its leadership groups. WES is an internationally recognised accreditation scheme promoting habitat and wildlife management best practice. Deirdre Stewart, estate manager at Dalhousie Estates, has been appointed a board member of the WES Advisory Board, which steers the long-term direction of the scheme. Lyn White, Forestry…

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Made From Grapes: It’s time to subscribe to sustainability

Made From Grapes, the wine shop in Glasgow, has launched a monthly subscription service with some very special bottles, writes Peter Ranscombe. THERE’S a phrase on one of the bottles from Made For Grapes that really caught my eye: “Grapes from healthy vineyards – cultivated by real farmers”. It’s a mantra that could apply equally…

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New season springs into life at National Museum of Rural Life

New-born lambs and a series of special family events and activities at the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride this spring. The museum’s Spring Explorers event runs from 11-14 April and features fun-filled story-telling sessions from Monday to Wednesday and sustainable craft activities for families. A Bird Bingo trail will run throughout April…

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Addressing the worries people have about rewilding

Rewilding has recently generated more media interest than ever before, with the heightened focus on nature recovery following COP26. And there is widespread recognition that Scotland has become one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. According to a recent poll carried out by YouGov, 77% of Scots support rewilding – the large-scale recovery…

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An insight into changing Scotland in the 1700s

Scotland’s greatest historical controversialist brings us an engaging and very readable examination of the exemplary yet volatile political, economic and cultural landscape of 18th century Scotland. Among the many subjects the ever-provocative Michael Fry examines is the gradual, and often painful, evolution of a feudal land that shook up every facet of society, detailing how…

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Farmers talk to 20,000 in ‘Talk to a Farmer’ week

Earlier this month, 20,000 Scottish school pupils were given the chance to ask farmers how they produce food and look after their animals. This interaction was all thanks to the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET), in partnership with e-Sgoil, who delivered the ‘Talk to A Farmer’ programme of sessions via the DYW (Developing the Young…

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New awards launched by Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Scotland’s leaders in sustainable food and farming will be celebrated in a new awards programme launched by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s Scottish Forum. Entries are now open for the inaugural RBST Scotland Food & Farming Sustainability Awards, which will celebrate people and businesses throughout Scotland’s farming and food industry who have placed environmental sustainability…

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Scots estates offer homes and jobs for fleeing Ukrainians

Rural estates in Scotland have said they are ready and able to welcome Ukrainian refugees and to offer accommodation and employment. Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), which represents rural businesses, said more than 40 estates had volunteered to help those fleeing war and arriving in Scotland. SLE said it had written to the Scottish Government…

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