Mince Pies and Fizz For Christmas

Nearly 800 million mince pies are enjoyed each year by the British public alone, with Mr. Kipling being the largest producer of them, creating up to 2,160 mince pies every minute.

Mince Pies were first created in England during the 13th century, back when they were first made, they were known as Christmas pies, mutton pies or shrid pies. they used to be made with pastry, meats, dried fruits and spices – like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves – these ingredients were brought back from the Middle East by European crusaders. Nowadays they’ve removed the meat and most Mince Pies sold today are vegetarian friendly, but it is still worth checking the packaging as some will have meat in the suet.

The Mince Pie has been enjoyed around Christmas for a long time, because of this the Pie began to be associated with Catholicism/Christianity, so during the English Civil War, the Puritan authorities frowned upon them. But that didn’t put an end to the Pie, they continued to be eaten around Christmas through the Victorian era and are still very much enjoyed to this day.

Metlika – Slovenian Sparkling Wine

The cooperative of Vinska klet Metlika was first founded over one hundred years ago in Slovenia, on November 14th, 1909. They have a vast history in the country of Slovenia, with them releasing their first bottle of Sparkling Wine in 2000.

United by their ancestors, the grape growers and wine producers of the area came together to help push their creations, but when the cooperative first started, they didn’t have their own wine cellar, because their first mission was advising the winegrowers, both in terms of work in the vineyard and in the wine cellars.

In 1929 they joined forces and built the first cooperative winery, but it wouldn’t stand the test of time, during World War II it would be bombed and destroyed, although they wouldn’t stay down for long, after the war had ended, the Cooperative Union of Slovenia started the construction of its wine cellar in Metlika which lasted from 1952 to 1958.

The Wine Cellar, once completed, measured 108 meters long in a tunnel-type cellar, completely underground, with a constant temperature between 12 and 13 degrees Celsius, they have the capacity to store 3 million litres of wine, with them producing around 500,000 litres of wine a year.

Vinska Klet Metlika – Metliška Penina Rosé – Tasting Notes

Aroma – “Red berries, raspberries, vegetables, signage, garden herbs, wet hay and Wensleydale cheese on the aroma.”

Flavour – “Very smooth with raspberries, apricot, peach skins and minerals, then during the mid-palate to the close you get a lovely sweet burst of very ripe (coming on syrupy) raspberries, orange, apricots, peaches and more on the palate.”

Silver Medal in the Meditation Category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2022

Vinska Klet Metlika – Metliška Penina Zelo Suha – Tasting Notes

Aroma – “A cream base, the likes of a lemon meringue pie, with a sprinkling of edible flowers,  floral notes, hay and ripe white pears, peaches and apricots on the aroma.”

Flavour – “A touch drier with sweet textures of white chalk, minerals, white pears, green apples and floral notes on the aroma.”

Silver Medal in the Creamy Category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2022

The Mince Pie and Sparkling Wine Pairings

Rosé Pairing Experience – “A beautiful blend of characters, the Sparkling Wine enters with a party of peach, peach skins and soft ripe red berries, joining forces with the minced meat and subtle sweet spice flavours, with the pastry letting way to the icing sugar which really benefits from this pairing.”

Zelo Suha Pairing Experience – “A little ride of differences, the silky ripe green fruits come through for a moment and take with them the icing sugar and most of the pastry as it quickly leaves, then the minced meat is displayed until the end.”