With global warming and balmy summers English wine making has really taken off. We visited and tasted from some of the best vineyards in Surrey and the surrounding areas.
Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking has been winning awards for
its sparkling
wine, its Chalk Valley English Sparkling Brut (non-vintage) won the Which Award for best taste last year and scooped one of the Best Buy awards at the same time. I did a fashion shoot a while back at Denbies and they were a terrific bunch and very knowledgeable about the terroir and the different grape varieties. One fascinating snippet of information was that they have to warm up the vineyards during the winter with candles or cables to keep the grapes from freezing. That’s an early morning call out when the temperature drops. The cellar where they keep the barrels is well worth a visit and I highly recommend the wine tasting tour.
www.denbies.co.uk
Albury Vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey Hills. Producers of fine quality sparkling wines, their vines are the traditional Champagne varietals of Chardonnay, Pinot
Noir and Pinot
Meunier, as well as some Seyval and Pinot Gris. They are committed to fully organic production, without the use of chemicals such as herbicides and fungicides. They also keep Bees and are now serving a very fine Surrey Hills Mead. Well worth trying as it is wonderfully smooth and reputed to be one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks. Always popular in Ireland, it is now making a comeback worldwide due to the TV series “Game Of Thrones”.
www.alburyvineyard.com
Nyetimber are practically a house hold name now for English sparkling wine and are becoming renowned internationally too. Their Cuvées regularly win Gold at various prestigious wine challenges and their success has been well deserved, for the wines are consistently excellent with their own fresh English take on French Champagne. They recently launched a Secret Garden at The Rosewood in London where you can enjoy a creative menu from head chef Calum Franklin paired with a carefully selected refreshing glass of Nyetimber. First planted in 1988, then purchased in 2006 by Eric Heerema who recruited Head Winemaker Cherie Spriggs and Winemaker Brad Greatrix to oversee every step of the wine making process, this is now one of the great wine houses of England.
www.nyetimber.com Yves de Contades
surreymagazineonline.co.uk 61
Bluebell Vineyard Estates make the very tasty Hindleap sparkling wines. Their goal is to create something distinctively English: terroir-driven, bottle-fermented, hand-crafted sparkling wines bursting with fruit character. During a recent tasting I can confirm that they have achieved this and more. The sparkling wine has a superb and robust fizz, with a unique light, fruity, zesty taste all of its own. More refreshing than Champagne, yet more developed and complex than Prosecco. Their expertise is second to none, I could have written a treaty on wine making after two hours with their viticulturist. Winners of over sixty national and international awards in just 5 years, they are a perfect example of what can be done with the right terroir, skills and determination.
www.bluebellvineyard.org
Exton Park Vineyard are a relative newcomer to the scene, but they bring serious expertise with them to this newish venture. The Vineyard manager Fred Langdale is charming and helpful and has worked vines all over the world. The head wine maker Corinne Seely started as oenologist at chateau’s in Bordeaux, then in Australia, so their combined experience has produced some exquisite sparkling wines that easily rival their French peers. The wines here are as close to Champagne as any I’ve tasted in England. The terroir is chalk which is excellent for the growth of just the right grapes and the hills are south facing so they make the most of the available light. I highly recommend a bottle of bubbly from this up and coming house if you wish to impress knowledgeable wine drinkers.
www.extonparkvineyard.com
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