The CECI 1938 wineries are thrilled to introduce the new Otello Ceci Brut collection, a brut sparkling white from the Otello Ceci range, presented in bottles the colours of the rainbow that express the winery's distinctive character in terms of aesthetic research and attention to design. With CECI 1938, the packaging reflects the spirit of what lies within, a personality-packed lifestyle manifesto that engages all the senses.

The new Otello Ceci Brut dresses the original Otello bottle – with its sleek, sinuous shape, the first bottle with a square base – in vibrant colour. The iridescent metallic shades explore the full colour spectrum including red, yellow, bright blue, purple, green and light blue, a total of 8 versions.

Otello Ceci Brut adds a dynamic touch to the bold colour choices of its "outfit" with the holographic printing on the labels that change colour with movement and in the light. Otello Ceci's distinctive square label celebrates simplicity in its design, emphasising the name of the wine and the winery logo.

CECI 1938 draws on the vital energy of colour to share its message of positivity and joie de vivre. The elegant charm of brut sparkling wine is enhanced by the vibrant colours of the bottles. Choosing a wine becomes a stylistic choice, a way to express your individual taste and personality. The table is alight with colour, cheer, conviviality and emotion.

CECI 1938 uses Pinot Bianco grapes to produce a sparkling wine with a pale straw-yellow colour and an elegant, persistent sparkle.

Served at a recommended temperature of 6-8°, Otello Ceci Brut sparkling wine is a well-structured beverage with floral and fruity notes on the palate, complemented by a distinct minerality.

On the nose, delicate, elegant white floral notes such as jasmine, hawthorn and aromatic herbs emerge, leading to fruity, citrus and sweet scents.

Otello Ceci Brut sparkling wine is a youthful, on-trend choice ideal for an aperitif or to accompany a lunch or dinner.

Much like the name doesn’t suggest, Oktoberfest is an annual event occurring in mid-September and ending on the first weekend of October in Munich, Germany. It is the world’s largest Volksfest. For those of you who don’t understand German culture so much, a Volksfest is a beer festival accompanied by a traveling funfair. The event attracts more than 6 million people every year from all over the world and has been in operation since 1810.

Perhaps the biggest attraction of the festival is the beer itself. The local breweries will produce a special beer, labelled Oktoberfestbier which is a registered trademark by the Club of Munich Brewers, which will be sold exclusively during the progress of the event. The beer sold at the event must have been brewed within the Munich city borders, and conform to the Reinheitsgebot, also known as the German Beer Purity Law which states exactly which ingredients can be used. There are six brewers permitted to sell their product at the festival grounds; Augustiner, Spaten, Löwenbrau, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Hofbräu-München. Oktoberfestbier is a type of Märzen that is typically lighter in colour. It is served in the iconic Maß glasses, also known as a Stein, which hold a litre and can be filled within 1.5 seconds by experienced staff.

In 2015, the festival officially sold 7.3 million litres of beer, which in perspective is almost enough to fill three olympic sized swimming pools. Needless to say, it is a huge part of the Bavarian culture and a central element of the festival.

It is also a celebration of Bavarian culture. The locals are quick to showcase their Dirndl and Lederhosen which are the traditional Bavarian clothes, usually in the colours of blue and white to represent the Bavarian flag. There are a number of traditional food stands around the festival serving traditional Bavarian dishes such as Knödel, Bratwurst, Brezel and Weißwurst. There are also traditional practices such as the tapping of the first keg of beer at exactly mid-day after the opening parade in the Schottenhammel tent. Once this is complete, 12 gunshots are fired on the stairway of the Ruhmeshalle and the festival is declared open. Bets are even placed to see how many strokes it takes the mayor to tap the barrel before the beer flows; the lowest recorded number is 2 and the highest is 19.

The festival began as a wedding celebration for the marriage of Kronprinz Ludwig who would later become King Ludwig I and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to join in the celebrations at the grounds in front of the city gates which were named Theresienwiese which is where the festival is still held today. The festivities were repeated again the following year, and have since developed and bloomed into what we know as Oktoberfest today.

Oktoberfest is a family friendly event, and since 2005 there have been noise restrictions until 6.00pm to accomodate for elderly attendees and families. The sound is limited to 85 decibels and quiet traditional brass music is heard around the festival grounds. After 6.00, the party begins, and the Schlager (german drinking songs) and pop and electronic music is played so that attendees and drink and dance with each other. Restricting this to after 6.00 has helped to lift a weight from security and to keep festival and drinking related violence to a minimum, and to help to include people from all ages in the festivities.

There is a reason why the rest of the world models its beer festivals on Oktoberfest, and so it is worth the pilgrimage for any beer enthusiast who wants to immerse themselves into german culture and to have a party. In 2018, the festival will commence on the 22nd September and finish on the 7th October in the Theresienwiese grounds in Munich, and there is a large infrastructure for tourists wishing to visit and to stay in Munich during this time including transport to and from the festival and hotel packages. Knowledge of the German language is not essential for visitors as most Germans can speak excellent English, however it helps to know the word Prost! which means Cheers! to mix in with the locals.

Often overlooked by tourists in a rush to see Berlin or Munich, Nuremberg is a beautiful city located just south of the centre of Germany with a lot of history and charm. While much of the old town was destroyed during the war, it has been rebuilt brick for brick to resemble the town that existed before and to retain the history of the region. If you are spending some time in Germany, it is worth spending a couple of days in Nuremberg, and here are a few things you can occupy your time with.

Visit the Altstadt - The old town of Nuremberg is contained by some impressive city walls that more or less circle the whole of the historic part of the city. Within this space, there are plenty of cobbled streets to explore, old wooden beamed houses, and of course the castle at the top of the hill. Other highlights here are the house of Albrecht Dürer, the famous artist, which has been turned into a museum, views of the river Pegnitz weaving through the historical buildings, the beautiful market square (Hauptmarkt) which contains the gothic Frauenkirche and Schöner Brunnen statue, and the iconic and picturesque Henkerhaus and Weißgerbergasse which are worth a visit just to take those jealousy invoking Instagram photos.

Fill your pie hole - traditional Franconian cuisine is delicious and an excellent insight into the culture of the region. All around the Altstadt, you will find little market stalls and shops that are selling Drei im Weckla which is three Nürnberger Bratwurst inside a bread roll, which makes an excellent snack during your old town sightseeing. The most important dish to the region is arguably the Schweineschäufele - a slow roasted pig’s shoulder which is usually served with Knödel and falls off the bone when you poke it with your fork. Of course, Nuremberg wouldn’t be German if it didn’t have a beer scene, and the regional beer is very special. Perhaps the best place to sample some of the beer of the local breweries is by taking a trip to Wanderer - a small pub which can be seen spilling onto the streets outside the Albrecht Dürer house on a sunny day. Here, they have a whole plethora of local beers which they will sell to you to consume, most likely on the street amongst all of the locals and students who come to soak up the sun amongst the historic city buildings.

Visit Großer Dutzendteich and Dokuzentrum - the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (there’s a fun way to practice your German pronunciation) is a massive unfinished piece of third reich architecture in the south east of the city. This has been turned into a museum which details the happenings of the second world war and the involvement that the city of Nuremberg had in both fuelling and ending the war. The grounds around here are where the city tends to host festivals such as the bi-annual Volksfest (beer and funfair) and also the Rock Im Park music festival. There are also some relaxing walking paths through the parks and around the lakes which will take you past more third reich architecture and, of course, plenty of beer gardens and places to relax.

Reflect on the past at Zeppelinfeld - This is the piece of ground where Hitler held some of his rallies, and so therefore an important historical sight to reflect upon the mistakes of the past. While some of the architecture was symbolically destroyed here at the end of the war, the main structure still remains and is explorable by foot for those wishing to visit.

Visit the Fränkische Schweiz and Lauf - just a short bus, train or even cycle trip away, you can find yourself immersed in the Fränkische forest. One of the more known and iconic villages is Lauf, which contains a lot of old beautiful buildings and winding cobbled streets. The area contains lots of hiking, climbing, lakes for recreational activities and natural spaces for those wishing to escape the city and to find something a little closer to nature. There is also a beer hike that bounces between five different breweries over roughly ten kilometres (Fuenf-Seidla-Steig) which will provide a good cross section of local beer and culture.

The Faroe Islands is a collection of 18 rocky volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean. Much like Greenland, it is part of the Danish Kingdom, although it is a self-governing entity. The islands are connected using ferries, bridges and tunnels, and the area has become popular among hikers and bird watchers due to the unique and fascinating nature.

Faroe Islands is (temporarily) closed to tourists this 2020 cause of COVID annoyingly but you can still read about them here :) As the Faroe Islands are part of the Danish Kingdom, Danish is widely spoken and throughout history, has even had its moments as the language of the church, the written language, and the language for all official matters, however the official language of the Faroe Islands is now Faroese, along with Danish. It is estimated that fewer than 80,000 people in the whole world are able to speak this language which was, for a long time, threatened with extinction.

The language has nordic roots and is very similar to Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, all of which are widely understood (at least when spoken slowly enough) by the islanders and vice versa. The population of the Faroe Islands is around 50,000 according to the 2017 census, and roughly a further 25,000 people living in Denmark and about 5,000 people living in Iceland can speak Faroese. It is one of the most important factors of the culture and identity of the islands, and huge measures are being taken to retain this little linguistic gem.

The language derives from the Nordic settlers who arrived in the 9th century. Before this, the general presumption is that the residents of the islands spoke some form of old Irish. Between the 9th and 15th century, the language developed and grew apart from the other Nordic languages spoken around Scandinavia, become more distinguished and separated. The other main influence on the Faroese language is Gaelic, as many of the Norse settlers were descendants of settlers in the Irish Sea region or married women from this area before settling on the islands. A lot of place names in the Faroe Islands have arguably Gaelic roots.

Up until 1938, the schools and churches were only permitted to use the Danish language, however, a Lutheran minister by the name of Venceslaus Ulricus Hammersheimb created a spelling system for the Faroese language and therefore developed it from a purely spoken language to a written one as well. In 1938, Faroese was given equal status to Danish in the schools and churches to hep retain some of the culture of the islands.

In 1948, Faroese became the principal and official language of the islands after the Home Rule Act was introduced. To this day, Faroese remains the main language of the islands, and Danish is the second language which is taught to everybody in school. Almost everybody on the islands today speaks, reads and writes in fluent Danish as well as Faroese.

Faroese its not yet a registered language on Google Translate, so the islanders have some up with their own translation service at faroeislandtranslate.com powered by volunteers who will translate phrases assigned to them at random. There are also a number of different video clips of volunteers speaking popular phrases which are helpful for tourists who want to come across as a little more polite, and for those wishing to retain a little bit of the culture of the magnificent islands. The website is partnered with Atlantic Airways and the tourism group Visit Faroe Islands.

While it can be a difficult language to learn for those who have no experience in speaking and listening to Nordic languages, visitors to the island will be relieved to hear that like its Scandinavian siblings, it will be difficult to find somebody in the Faroe Islands who doesn't understand and speak English. Be that as it may, a few words in the local language always go down well with the local people, so if you intend to visit, it is at least worth knowing that hello is simply halló (hahloh) or hey (huhy).

The Faroe Islands are a simply magical place with breathtaking scenery and are well worth a visit, if not to stretch your tongue and to try your luck with Faroese, to experience the awesome nature. Farvæl!