Category — England

Another event to celebrate English Wine Week takes place on Saturday 31 May 2008 at Duncan Murray Wines in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, with free in-store tasting of English wines (noon-2pm) - from Three Choirs (Gloucestershire)and local vineyard Welland Valley, with proprietor David Bates.

We’re a rapidly expanding independent wine merchants in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. Our mission? Well, we want to offer our customers a superb range of wines, beers and spirits that they’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

We’re especially enthusiastic about Southern French wines: Duncan Murray dedicated (?!) 2 years to tasting the best this region has to offer and getting to know the winemakers. The result is an extensive (often exclusive) selection of fantastically-flavoursome yet affordable wines from an area that still has oodles of potential.

The selection of wines looks very interesting with a number of little-known wines, but all with good information and tasting notes.

Duncan Murray Wines
10 Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 7LT - Tel: 01858 464935

I have to confess that I did not immediately associate the fair county of Essex with vineyards, but Carter’s Vineyards at Boxted near Colchester are clearly a well-established (1990) vineyard of 40 acres.:

We are pleased to be able to offer an extensive range of English wines, which reflects well this region’s suitability for fine wine production. Serve any of these wines to your guests with pride to represent Colchester and East Anglia.

We are delighted to have had our wine recognised at various wine awards and most recently with our King Coel 2003 vintage winning East Anglian Wine of the Year 2006.

Visitors are always welcome to see how the grapes get from vine to bottle at Carter’s Vineyards with a self-guided tour through the vines and a tasting (£4.00). There are also picnic areas and a 1 mile nature trail.

For English Wine Week (24 May - 1 June 2008) they are also offering a complimentary bottle of wine for every 2 adults purchasing tickets for the self-guided tour and tasting.
Carter’s Vineyards
Green Lane, Boxted, Colchester, Essex CO4 5TS
T: 01206 271136 F: 01206 273625
E: enquiries@cartersvineyards.co.uk

Down in Worcestershire near Upton-on-Severn (Elgar and cider country) Titlridge Vineyard is offering a free guided tour of the vines with a tasting of their wines and some local cheeses on Sunday 1 June 2008 at 12.00 noon.

Three varieties of vine are currently in production - Schönburger, Huxelrebe & Seyval Blanc - while a fourth variety, Phoenix, will be cropping shortly. England lies on the northern limits of vine production & the wines we produce here at Tiltridge are clean, crisp & fruity - typical of the English style. Our two small vineyards of 0.5 acre & 1 acre are grown on the double guyot system where the vines are pruned back to two replacement canes each winter. On average, we produce about 3,000 bottles each year, but there are large seasonal variations as the harvest is very dependent on the weather conditions each spring & summer brings.

This is part of English Wine Week, a week long celebration of English wines which runs from 24 May to Sunday 1 June 2008. However, you might need to take this opportunity whilst you can, because over on www.spittoon.biz Andrew is reporting that within 80 years England may be too hot for wine-making, which if true should mean that at some point between then and now conditions should be perfect for making great wines!!

Titlridge Vineyard
Upper Hook Road, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, WR8 0SA
Tel: +44 (1684) 592906 / 592266 Fax: +44 (1684) 594142

English Wine Week runs 24th -31st May 2008 and the Purbeck Vineyard near Corfe Castle in Dorset is offering guided tours of the vineyard and winery as follows:
Tuesday 27 - 11:30 Tour of Vineyard and Winery & 5:30pm Tour of Vineyard and Winery
Wednesday 28 - 5:30pm Tour of Vineyard and Winery
Thursday 29 - 11:30 Tour of Vineyard and Winery & 5:30pm Tour of Vineyard and Winery
Friday 30 - 5:30pm Tour of Vineyard and Winery
This looks to be a very classy operation, aided of course by its rather ideal situation on the Isle of Purbeck and within easy reach of Studland, Swanage and the Dorset coast.

The Purbeck Vineyard was established in the year 2000. The Vineyard planting programme nears completion with some 3,000 vines, the grape culture includes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and lesser known but increasingly successful English grapes such as Regent, Rondo and Phoenix. Our on site winery enables us to harvest the wine grapes, press and vinify them into wine that truly is Chateau bottled.

In addition to the vineyard there is also a smart 4-star boutique hotel and restaurant.

The Purbeck Vineyard, Valley Road, Harmans Cross. Corfe Castle, Dorset BH20 5HU
T: 01929 481525

The Flying Corkscrew is holding two rather special tastings in June:-

Friday June 13th - Tindall Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand and Stanton & Killeen Rutherglen Muscats

The Sowmans, owners of Tindall Vineyards, will be showing the latest vintages of their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Peter Mulford will be taking us through the classic Muscats of Rutherglen, which are sublime on the rocks or over ice-cream, so not just for your Christmas pudding!

Friday June 27th - DEREK SMEDLEY MW - A Vertical Tasting of the Wines of Warden Abbey Vineyard, Bedfordshire.

Derek has been consultant to Warden Abbey for some years now and their wines have become amongst the best in England. He will be raiding their cellar for some older vintages as well as showing the latest vintage. Be prepared to have your view of English wine changed for ever!

For more info see

To book either reply to this e-mail with a contact number or call 01442 412311.

English Wine Week is celebrated 24 May - 1 June 2008, when vineyards around the country will be hosting special events and tastings to promote the improving quality of English Wines.

One of the participating vineyards is Sharpham Vineyard just south of Totnes in Devon. Bordering the River Dart makes it possible to reach the vineyards by ferry from Greenway between Sharpham and Dartmouth.
To coincide with English Wine Week Sharpham is open everyday for vineyard tours and tastings. Wines Cheeses and Devon Strawberries!
Sunday 25th May - Concert at Sharpham Vineyard. Exeter Chamber Choir, Summer songs in the winery
Wednesday 28th May - Belly Dancing at Sharpham Vineyard!

Sunday 1st June - Slow Food Tasting and Lunch at Sharpham Vineyard, to include Blue Grass Music

Classic English wines are produced at Sharpham vineyard as a result of a happy marriage of soil, climate and grape variety known as terroir, and nature has bestowed her gifts freely upon us here at Sharpham. In the winery, we employ both New World and traditional techniques to best develop our unique regional characteristics. Our tally of International Awards confirms our position as one of England’s foremost quality wine producers. We invite you to visit, sample, and make up your own minds about our fine English wine.

For more info see www.sharpham.com

A wide number of events including open days, tastings, music, wine and food across the country from Cornwall as far north as Cheshire and Derbyshire.

See www.englishwineweek.co.uk

A refreshingly different approach is evident as soon as you enter Cadman Fine Wines website. Its crisp design and great graphics tempt you with some good special offers, yet also provides easy navigation of the site to find what you want.

The tagline “Quality is merely a starting point…” is more than merely words - they do seem to have a real commitment to sourcing their wines:-

Cadman Fine Wines stands for quality, exclusivity and selection

We bring you the world’s finest wines from the world’s finest producers: classic labels from famous names and regions that sit at the pinnacle of their craft; rare gems that have never been seen in the UK, plus exciting, cutting-edge wines from newly emerging stars of the fine wine world.

Our wines are intelligently and skillfully sourced by an international team of experts based in Italy, France, Spain and the UK. Through desk research, field trips and tastings, our experts seek and source hand-crafted wines from producers and winemakers who reaclly care about the contents of the bottle. To achieve a Cadman Fine Wines listing, a wine must score at least 88 points on our quality rating system or from the world’s most authoritative wine critics.

The wine list is extensive covering a wide range from New and Old World, some classic fine Bordeaux and Burgundies together with an eclectic mix of lesser-known wines such as Spanish Jumilla DO, French Cour-Cheverny AC and Otago wines from South Island, New Zealand.

Yet for each and every wine there are thoughtful tasting notes and good background information - very impressive. What’s more each delivery comes with “full tasting notes and background information for each wine, including grape varieties, when to drink the wine and reviews from our own experts and the world’s leading critics where applicable. This leaves you free to argue/ discuss the merits of wines with your friends and family. Their inclusion also makes each order an ideal gift.”

Cadman Fine Wines
Freepost NAT21632, Northampton NN3 6BR
Tel: 0845 121 4011
sales@cadmanfinewines.co.uk

Region Wine is a new Chester-based online merchant with a retail shop in the heart of historic Chester. The website is attractive and offers a wide range from around the world, including Greece, Oregon USA and Hungary in addition to the usual New and Old World sources. In addition to offering selections by region, grape variety and price there is also the opportunity to choose from a selection by “experience” - i.e. Aromatic white, exotic white, fruity white, quaffable red, red with herby notes, red with spicy notes, red, big and dark, refreshing rose, refreshing white, smooth red etc

Our company started out as a quality online wine merchant in 2006 by Ian Wildboar, fulfilling a twenty year ambition to turn his love of food and drink into a business. His aim is to help maintain diversity in wine choice throughout the UK at excellent prices and value for money.

As reported in the Guardian (14 Mar 08) the French have agreed to expand the officially designated area where Champagne grapes can be grown to meet rising demand. Suddenly the austere strictures than real Champagne can only be made in the area delineated in 1927 are overturned - despite the fact that the French have so often jumped to defend their heritage and monopolistic trademark on grounds that the special “terroir” which makes Champagne distinctive (and expensive) is only to be found in the designated area.

As ever such decisions have little to do with quality or the interests of the consumer, but are the result of politics and finance.

It’s the most sacred real estate in French viticulture, just a few thousand acres that have been blessed with a coveted seal of approval. If it comes from here, it’s champagne. If not, it isn’t.

But last night, France moved to redraw the boundaries of the fragmented area designated as champagne land in the biggest shake-up of the industry for 80 years, in an effort to cope with surging world demand, particularly from China and Russia, but also Britain and the US.

The changes promised booming business for the areas around 40 villages - not to mention soaring property prices. For the lucky villages that suddenly find themselves chosen for champagne-growing, in some cases the value of land could suddenly be 200 times what it was.

Personally I like Champagne, but not all Champagne is good, and it is often too expensive compared to alternatives such as Spanish Cava, Loire Valley Cremant and even superb English sparking wines like Nyetimber.

The EU Council has agreed to a permanent exclusion of the UK from the planting rights regime.

This planting restriction had been the greatest challenge to the continued development of the wine industry in the UK, which has been growing very successfully over many years. Under this EU planting ban, UK wine producers would have had to stop any further planting once production exceeded 3.3million bottles (25,000 hectolitres), averaged over 5 years. Although the EU Commission wanted to get rid of the planting restrictions, they were forced to compromise and extend the ban to 2015, in order to get other reforms through, which are designed to make EU production more competitive.

The Planting Ban was introduced in the EU in 1999 in response to the over production of poor quality wine in the larger member state producing countries which resulted in the infamous ‘wine lake’. The current EU Wine Reform, introduced by EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, aims to revive the languishing European wine industry. Meanwhile, the UK has been steadily producing more and more quality wine, especially within the sparkling wine sector, and demand from both domestic and overseas markets has never been higher. The UK’s representative industry body, the UK Vineyards Association (UKVA), therefore argued that capping the expansion of this vibrant industry, which is completely unsubsidised, would fly in the face of the new Common Agricultural Policy.

EU wine reform amendments have also lifted bans on unlisted grape varieties, as well as the listing of grape varieties and vintage on table wine labels. These reform measures have been put in place to increase the competitiveness of European wines in the face of stiff competition from New World producers.

An English sparkling wine has once again triumphed in an international competition. 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) 2007.

Since its first wine was launched in 2006 this small vineyard, which measures only 200 square metres (2150 sq feet), has received a growing list of top plaudits from the world’s best wine judges. The same wine also received a Silver Medal at the world’s premier wine competition, The International Wine Challenge, held earlier this year.

The Theale Vineyard is sited in front of the offices of Laithwaites, Britain’s leading mail order wine merchant, in Berkshire. When Laithwaites built their new premises on a brown field site in 1998, a shrub border was due to be planted over debris from the previous building. However, Tony Laithwaite, the company’s owner and a geographer by training, saw an opportunity to experiment with growing vines to produce a unique English wine. An artificial hill facing south was fashioned with suitable topsoil and planted with Chardonnay vines imported from Champagne in 2000. The vineyard is managed by award-winning sparkling wine producer RidgeView Wine Estate, who also makes the wine under contract.

Only 756 bottles of this 100% Chardonnay wine were made. It can be purchased in person for £22.99 per bottle from the Laithwaites shop in Theale or by calling 0870 4448282 for home delivery.

Tony Laithwaite is delighted with the wine’s success:

“We don’t really know why the sparkling wine from this vineyard has proved so successful. Perhaps it is due to the carefully built south-facing slope or the shelter and heat from the surrounding buildings? Certainly Ridgeview’s skills and the dedication of the team who keep the vineyard immaculate have lead to its success.”

Another English wine produced by Ridgeview, this time exclusively for The Sunday Times Wine Club and Laithwaites – Ridgeview Merret South Ridge 2005 – added to the English success in the same competition with a Silver medal. The wine, with a cepage of predominantly Chardonnay, with Pinots Noir and Meunier, has enjoyed consistent success in this competition, with Silver medals awarded twice before to previous vintages. South Ridge is available from the Sunday Times Wine Club and Laithwaites, price £15.99 per bottle.

English sparkling wine specialists RidgeView have been awarded one of the highest honours in the food and drink industry by the British Academy of Gastronomes. Egon Ronay founded the epicurean organisation and each year the Academy awards the Grand Prix of Gastronomy to the person, venture or product which has done most for gastronomy in the previous 12 months. The 2007 trophy has been awarded to RidgeView Merret Sparkling Wines. This very prestigious honour is a first for English Wine and highlights the recent renaissance in the sparkling wines being produced in this country. RidgeView are in very good company as previous winners of the trophy include Jane Grigson, Albert and Michel Roux, Somerset Cheddar and Prince Charles for the revival of mutton.

The trophy was awarded to RidgeView last night at the British Academy of Gastronomes Grand Prix Dinner at the Dorchester. Founder and Director of RidgeView Mike Roberts said “It was a wonderful honour from such a prestigious group of people. It is a fantastic mark of respect for our family Company and English sparkling wines in general”. The British Academy of Gastronomes was founded by Egon Ronay in 1983. Its aim is to encourage the improvement of the standard of food and beverages in the UK and Ireland. All members of the Academy are non-professional and exceptionally well informed gastronomes from all walks of life.

RidgeView have been producing sparkling wine for the past 8 years. The family run company has had incredible success in such a short time with 80 medals and 16 trophies. Past accolades include the Trophy for the Best Sparkling Wine in the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2005, Best International Rosé in the French competition Rosé du Mondial 2007 and last year their wine was served for Her Majesty’s 80th Birthday banquet. Due to such fantastic successes RidgeView are only just satisfying current demand for their sparkling wine and are now preparing a five-fold increase in production.

If you have always dreamt of managing your own vineyard and are looking for an established estate then the sale of Old Luxters/Chiltern Valley Wines on the South Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire border may be of interest.

Perhaps an English estate was not your first choice but there is more to Old Luxters than just wine. They have a thriving brewing industry there too. The production of the Barn Ale, Dark Roast Ale and others forms an integral part of the business; they also bottle other producers ales.

The Barn Ale, incidentally, is the only micro-brewed ale to be awarded a ‘By Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen’.

The estate which includes a five bedroom house and swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and garden with orchard, the out-buildings hired out for events, the brewery and vineyard are on the market for £4 million.

The results from the English & Welsh Wine of the Year Competition 2007 have just been released. There is a wider base of winners this year, showing a growing spread of top quality producers in the industry.

The judging panel – all Masters of Wine – was headed by Patricia Stefanowicz MW in her first of a three year tenure as Chairman of Judges. Other judges included David Wrigley MW, Maggie McNie MW, Anthony Foster MW, Sarah Jane Evans MW and Julian Brind MW.

This year saw a record number of entries from a large number of vineyards, of which 142 gained an award (8 gold, 13 silver, 61 bronze and 60 highly commended), equating to 68% of the entries. The line up of award winners included some of the best known commercial producers to new vineyards with their first vintage. Trophies to individual category winners were awarded to a diverse number of producers, reflecting the increasing developments and quality in all sectors of the industry.

The top accolade, the Gore-Browne Trophy for the ‘Wine of the Year’, was awarded to Camel Valley Vineyard for their sparkling rosé, ‘Cornwall’ Pinot Noir Rosé 2004, which also gained the Vintners’ Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine. (£22.95 available on line)

The McAlpine Winemaker of the Year award was this year won by Sam Lindo of Camel Valley Vineyard, who receives this award for the first time. Sam, son of Camel Valley’s founder Bob Lindo, has been working in the family business of a number of years, and has had training and experience in New Zealand.

Chapel Down won two trophies for their Bacchus Reserve 2005 - Wine Guild Trophy for Best Wine of Other Year’s Vintage and The Tom Day Trophy for Best Single Varietal Wine.

Although fewer wines from the 2006 vintage featured in the line up of medals, there were some that earned notable awards. The trophy winner in this category – the Jack Ward Memorial Trophy - was won by Astley Vineyard for their Severn Vale 2006.

The Bernard Theobald Trophy for Best Red Wine was awarded to a single varietal 2004 Pinot Noir from Sandhurst Vineyard. A red wine also won The English Wine Producers Dudley Quirk Trophy Best Wine Produced in Commercial Quantites, awarded to Denbies Redlands 2004. (available online for £8.99)

The accolade for the Best Rosé - The Waitrose Rosé Trophy - was awarded to a new vineyard entering its wines for the first time this year: Polgoon Vineyard near Penzance. Another first time trophy winner this year is Ickworth Vineyard in Suffolk, with their Walled Garden White 2005 winning the President’s Trophy for Best Small Production.

The judges noted that the oaked section was particularly impressive. Consequently, all the oaked wines entered in to the competition won an award. The McNie Trophy for Best Oaked White was won by Wickham Vineyard for their Special Release Fumé 2006. The competition’s newest trophy, The Berwick Trophy for Best Unchaptalised Wine was won by Wroxeter Roman Vineyard for their Madeleine Angevine 2005.

Pebblebed Vineyards from Devon, with their distinctive labels bearing a black and white photo, took The Montagu Trophy for Best Presentation for their Rosé 2006.

Commenting on the competition, Patricia Stefanowicz MW remarked: ” It has been a fascinating competition. We agreed unanimously that the main stars of the show were rosés – both still and sparkling - and sparkling whites. Infact, the top winner this year is a sparkling rosé. This style clearly works well in England. Two areas to note in the still wine section are both single varietals: the most outstanding single varietal was Bacchus, whilst Pinot Noir stood out as the best of the reds.“ Pinot Noir for the first time this year was judged as a single flight.

Earlier vintage wines overall showed better than the 2006 vintage – partly due to a more difficult year last year, compared with earlier vintages. The 2005 vintage wines showed particularly well.

The competition takes place each year in one of the six UK vineyard association regions, which take it in turn to host the event. This year’s competition was run by the Mercian Vineyards Association, representing the vineyards of the Midlands and North, who arranged an admirable event in Shrewsbury, despite torrential downpours and floods.

A full list of the awards is available in the competitions section of the EWP website www.englishwineproducers.com.