English Wine Producers Tasting on St George's Day

I have here a report I wrote on English Wine Week last Thursday. Sorry I have not posted it sooner I have been running around with dinners, cricket, politics etc the last couple of days but here it is:
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I have just attended the English wine week preview tasting. It was set to be a good one this year with events all over the country from Cornwall to Yorkshire. Today’s launch is a mouth early as they thought it would be a prohibited to hold it on St George Day, but the English Wine Week itself is from Saturday 23rd till Sunday 31st of May. So if you’re keen on your wine I would say take a couple days off to go up or down to a vineyard. You can even sleep over at some of them, have a good meal and enjoy some exciting wines. You can find out what going on where HERE.
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The same week our Celtic brothers in Wales are have their wine week so why not take a break at Ancre Hill Estates, Monmouth where they are launching their first release of a white wine made primary from Seyval Blanc.
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Today’s fun was at the Chelsea Football Club, Stanford Bridge. Stalls were set out separated by region. The main table was for the mass wines separated into sections of wine type. I feel today event sums-up English wine as it was a professional operation featuring a mix of slick commercial wine houses mixing in with amateur small wineries. There was still a lot of wine being made with off-dry Germanic grapes. They might be interesting grapes but they are still and I think always will be wines for people in the know.
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The pick of the whites for me today where:
The two Wickham's from Hampshire, Special Release Fume 2008, £8.50; could be French.
The other Wickham is there Vintage Selection Dry 2008 for £6.75; it is a simple wine with a lot going on.
Two from Leventhorpe from right at the top of England in Yorkshire, £7; this little powerful dry white has hints of apple and other green fruit it would turn even the syncs of English wine to lovers.
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I went over to the nation’s favourite wine in the summer months, Rose. If any country should be able to make a rose it's England, as it is the most popular wine in pubs. We have seen what the new world bland pub rose' do and I was hoping for something new and exciting. I just found that we are making boring bland wines. There was one wine which stood out and gave me hope for our roses:
Lady Geraldine's Blush 2006 from Ickworth, a National Trust estate in Bury St. Edmunds, and well worth a visit during English wine week or in-fact any time if passing. There Lady Geraldine's Blush is 100% Rondo and is a dry rose which is pack with subtle flavours of blackberry, damson and redcurrant's. The flavours come together instead of insulting your pallet with bold, over powering, almost article flavours you might find in other English roses.
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Reds have never been the English strong point there is a lot of heavy imbalance wines but I did come across some gems:
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There two wines from Welcombe Hills, Stratford. This vine yard on land once owned by Shakespeare’s family is worth a look at. Their experimental Pinot Noir Special Reserve £10.95; don't read to much in the reserve bit, that is just there to make it sound good but do read the special as it is a special as it was aged in 3 oaks it comes out with an extremely pale colour which might put of a traditionalist who will judge a book by it cover (or wine by it colour) but they did not muck around with it, they kept it with a pale red, almost see-through. When you drink the wine it does something most English reds don't do, that is to make you think. There is a lot going on, with cherry flavours and a smoke taste coming off the oaks. Their other wines which are worth a look at is the Pinot Noir, Precoce blend they can boast to be one of two in the country to grow Precoce. This wine has a lovely soft red cherry flavour to it.
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Going back to Wickham there is a Special Reserve Red 2006, Pinot Noir, £11.99; is worth a buy and keep back for Christmas 2010 as by then it will be a great well balance wine with its dark cherry and blackberry to make perfect with you Christmas dinner.
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Two from Bookers in West Susex, their Pinot Noir, £10.95; is a new world flavoured Pinot Noir. It could have been take off the ship for New Zealand with its red cherry and red plum. The other one is there Dark Havest 2006, £8.95; its packet with light fruits like a fruit salad bar, a great one if you’re not normally a red drinker not to dissimilar to a Italian Primitivo.
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England might be on the up with their whites, learning about Rosa and finding out that Pinot Noir should be the grape of choice for UK Reds. But our sparkling is just brilliant. There are so many I could pick.
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The Ridge View wines are and have been, as long as I have been tasting them, a first class wine. I have written about them before HERE. There whole range is worth a couple of glasses. I was happy to find out that they are expanding and will be even better place to take the French on at there own game.
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There were other big boys present like Chapel Down and the excellent Nyetimber but, I found my self drawn to the new guys, wines which will be household names in 5 years who came with a well presented package. They had pro PR guys running their stalls, I was ready to demise these houses, as Barack Obama once said as “a pig in lipstick” but, I was wrong.
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The Balfour Brut Rose is by far UK's best sparkling rose it could almost be Champaign Gosset. A good balance of flavours, redcurrant, strawberry and pears which can all be found on the nose, a perfect wine for the 'season' of Ascot, Wimbledon and Henley. Now don't think this is a small guy making good, this is a slick well organised operation, but who said this is a bad thing if they can make the wine to match their slick PR. It comes from the Richard Balfour-Lynn who is responsible for Hush Heath apple juice, Hotel Du Vin, Malmaison Hotel, Liberty’s of London and other luxury companies. You won’t find this wine in supermarkets just yet as they are starting in indie wine shops around London first, as well as in all their hotels, but in time they will be the sparkling rose of chose for middle England.

Darling Would You Like A Drink?

After weeks of bad press and headaches over what to do with the economy Brown and his Darling need a drink, but tomorrow they just might make that even harder as tomorrow Darling will go before the house to give his second Budget speech and one which will not be happy reading for any one who likes a tipple now and then.

I here on the grape vine (and the grapes are not at all in joy with this) that tax will go up on our Wine, Beer and any thing which responsible grown ups like to drink after a long day. If the Pre-Budget any thing to go by our drink is going to be hit. In the Pre-Budget we had a 15% VAT cut but our Drink dutty was increase to sub the VAT cut.

36% of adults drink more than 4/3 units of alcohol on at least one day of the week. So it no wonder why they won't to put up tax. £400.60 billion we have spent on bail outs so far. Brown happy to have mass bail out for failed bankers like 'Fred the Shred' but to do this they take money out our pockets, throw drink tax .

There a reason why 90% of licensees believe that the Chancellor will once again ignore the pleas of the pub trade and increase duty which will kill of villege pubs nation wide. If the pubs go, so do 59,000 jobs and that not including the people who make the drink, the people who inport,sell and market and of cource write about it. I would like to know if whisky a drink made in Brown and his Darling constituency's will once agin be exempt for a tax increase? Or whether it will affect the price of the cheap drinks in the Commons in there non-licence bars?

So tomorrow we will find out if it is doom's day or just a budget day.



I will be in a pub in Westminster for the Bugget to get the latest news and the reaction of people in the pub from landlord to puber.

If you like a go at making your own Brown and his Darling South Park pic click HERE. If you like to do something to stop any tax hikes on drink click HERE.

England Vs France in the Wine Rivels

This weekend England and France battle out century of war and political dispute. In a 80 mins game of rugby. We will see the French and English reenact the battles of: Agincourt, Trafalgar, Waterloo; I can not not think of a battles France won with my selective memory.

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So in light of this rugby game; which like most 6 nation games have more to do with historic rivalry than on current forum, we have a new 'Wine The Rivals'. It be unfair to put the hole of France wine production against England's s we put up a French region and as I wont England to do well I put up our best tipple, fizzy pop, but is seems that the frogs do fizzy pop as well in a place could Champagne. This puts England on the back leg as Champagne has 33,500 hectares of vineyards around 319 villages that are home to 5,000 growers who make their own wine and 14,000 growers who only sell grapes. Where there are only 362 registered vineyards comprising of 923 hectares in England and Wales.

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Don't write of the English just yet in 2007 the Theale Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay 2003 beat off stiff competition from fine Champagnes and top sparkling wines to make it into the world’s Top Ten Sparkling Wine at the world’s only dedicated sparkling wine competition, French-based Effervescents du Monde (sparkling wines of the world). The Theale Vineyard it self is a 50 meters by 20miters vine yard in front of a massive warehouse office block on a industrial estate which is surrounded by the M4 motorway, the A4 and a busy train line. I know a lot about this as the office was my old office in fact I helped with the 08 vintage by doing a bit of pruning and I own the last bottle of the amazing 03. So English wine can hold there own.

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So today the challenger is from Champagne, France we have the Bredon Brut NV and the defending champ from West Sussex, England we have the South Ridge Cuvée Merret 2006.

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Top Trumps.
Price: Bredon £14.24 from Waitrose Vs South Ridge £15.99 from Laithwaites. Bredon wines.
Vintage: Bredon NV Vs South Ridge 2006. South Ridge wines.
Alcohol:Bredom 12% Vs South Ridge 12%. Draw.
Awards: Bredom Silver IWC Vs South Ridge Silver IWC, Draw.

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So it all square after the Top Trumps. Now let put them to the taste test. The Bredon Brut NV is a full flavored crisp wine but with a creamy richness with touches of fruit. What you would expect from the guys behind Piper & Charles Heidsieck. A cracker of a wine. A good party or reception tipple. The South Ridge Cuvée Merret 2006 has a fantastic ripe melon and honey taste to it with just a hint of creamy mousse to it. What can I say but it under prised!

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It a close one both are class wines I will have to give it to....... Well I am biased it is England with South Ridge Cuvée Merret 2006! Go out and buy a couple of bottle of both wines and see if you think I am right.

Wales Vs England in the Wine Rivels

To day is one of the longest rivalry in world sport Wales Vs England in rugby this is some thing more than a game for the Walsh it 80 miners worth of rugby to play out 1000 years worth of epression. For the English it is chance to put one over there neighbors and beat the one of the best teams in the world.
So to help celebrate this game of games I dug throw my tasting notes to find the best wine from England and Wales to see who win the in the first Wine rivels- England Vs Wales.
The south east coast of England has perfect terroir for the Champaign grapes Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier with it chorkie rich sole and good distance from the equator. The Fizz come from they parts are making head lines in the winey world. For what they make it well priced and excellent wine. Take the South Ridge Cuvée Merret 2006 from laithwaites.co.uk. Made by the old pro of English wine Mike Roberts it retails at a delightful £16.49 per bottle it has a fantastic ripe melon and honey taste to it and a toast and biscuit nose with just a hint of creamy mousse to it.
Wales has been perdition wine since the time of the Romans and with the rolling hills and rich ground it is a great place for growing grapes found in German or northern France. So from the valleys we have the fantastic Ty-Hafod a lovely drop of a off dry white blend whitch has hints of apple and white stones on the nose with crisp apple fruit and a hint of lemon. You can get your hand on it from Tesco for £5.22.
I think it hard to find a winner here so I leave it up to up and as alway please comment on the wines and tell me which one you think wins.