Three English sparkling wines, all quite new to the scene. The first, Jenkyn Place, comes from a 5 hectare estate on the North Hampshire downs, and the wine is made…
The fabulous Dow 1963 plus other special wines
Simon Staples of Berry Bros & Rudd is a top bloke. He treated a few of us to a lovely dinner in the boardroom after Thursday night’s screening of red…
London Cru, an urban winery in Earls Court
It’s 8 am on a Wednesday morning in September, and I’m in a slightly sketchy part of west London, just down the road from the Earls Court exhibition centre. There’s an articulated…
An ambitious high-end English sparkling wine
I was very impressed by this new single-plot English sparkling wine from Nyetimber. It claims to be ‘the first single vineyard sparkling wine from England with all the grapes specifically…
Another new English sparkling wine, Digby Fine English
Here’s another new English sparkling wine. It’s cleverly branded, and the winemaker is Dermot Sugrue, a specialist sparkling winemaker who worked for Nyetimber for three years. Dermot is now based…
In pictures, a photoshoot at Denbies
So I spent this morning with the lovely crew from The Sunday Express S Magazine for a photoshoot, which took place at Denbies, the largest vineyard in the UK. It’s…
Some interesting wines at cricket
On Friday I spent the afternoon playing cricket. Yes, more play. Less work. Still striving after the elusive balance. It was for the Wine Trade XI, against a touring Aussie…
Ambriel Classic Cuvee, a new English sparkling wine
Now this is interesting. It’s the first release of a new English sparkling wine, called Ambriel. It comes from a 9.5 hectare vineyard in West Sussex, planted as recently as…
Capturing Englishness, in wine
I have just spent a lovely evening playing cricket in Marble Hill Park, Twickenham, with a great bunch of guys. There is something so English about cricket. Pass through a…