ProWein is a massive wine and spirits fair, held each year in Dusseldorf, Germany. It’s enormous. 6200 exhibitors, and 55 000 trade visitors. I’ve just returned, and these are some…
More on the proposals for a Sussex PDO
A glass of Sussex anyone? I’ve written before about the proposals for a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO; basically, an appellation) for Sussex wine. It’s an issue that has raised…
Wiston Estate Cuvée Rosé NV England – impressive pink fizz
I was very impressed by this pink English sparkling wine. It’s a non-vintage blend made by Dermot Sugrue. It’s 50% Pinot Noir (about 12% of this is red wine for…
More Christmas wines: the English contribution
These were three English wines that took part in yesterday’s festivities. The first two were served blind. Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée NV Hampshire, England Tasted blind I reckoned this was…
Taittinger becomes the first Champagne house to buy vineyards in England
English sparkling wine has been a talking point for a while now. There’s no doubting that there is some very good English fizz being made, as the recent Noble Rot…
Exton Park: another top quality English sparkling wine producer
Exton Park is based in the Meon Valley, in Hampshire’s South Downs. With its chalky soils, this area is rapidly becoming a hot spot for sparkling wine production, with Hambledon…
Black Dog Hill: an interesting new English sparkling wine
This is the first release from a new English sparkling wine producer, Black Dog Hill. This is a vineyard based in Ditchling, East Sussex, at the foot of the South…
Video: an introduction to English sparkling wine
It’s an exciting time for English sparkling wine. I shot this short segment as an introduction for a blind tasting that was being held in Vancouver, including the first English…
English sparkling wine versus Champagne – the Noble Rot tasting – my results
I mentioned a while back that I’d taken part in a tasting of English sparkling wine versus Champagne. Organized by counter-culture wine publication Noble Rot, it pitted a carefully selected…