Glass of Bubbly
Emptying carefully filled bottles at Ridgeview
On seeing that Ridgeview Wine Estate in Sussex were doing a monthly tour, Susan and I thought we had better get ourselves down there. We had booked a while in advance and when the day came it was the morning after heavy winds and storms; we even wondered whether it would be cancelled. Our journey along normally busy…
Read More
Thoughts on Champagne, English Sparkling Wine and Sea Monsters
Now that I’ve finished unloading the car of treasures from the Montagne de Reims (it’s taken a while) I thought I’d try and give my thoughts on the question of what’s so great about Champagne. As much as I like English wine, and English sparkling wine in particular, I love Champagne. Not just the wine but…
Read More
Does ‘Terroir’ matter for Champagne?
The term ‘Terroir’ is one of those for which wine enthusiasts have a good feel but find it hard to accurately define. It’s the expression or the link the land has with the wine. The silky complexity and array of smoky sensations aroused by a glass of claret or the fresh flinty aromas and lemon…
Read More
Riddling. A dying art with gyropallets in full swing?
On our recent visit to the Champagne region and our search for new wonderful Champagnes, my wife bought me a birthday present. I was the lucky recipient of a 36 bottle pupitre, often referred to as a riddling rack. For those not familiar with a pupitre, it is the traditional wooden rack which is used…
Read More
Crémant de Limoux
AOP Crémant de Limoux Our Blanc de Blancs is a chardonnay-based mouthful of pure pleasure. A second fermentation in the bottle is followed by at least two years on the lees. Elegant, fresh and zingy, this wine is sure proof why Limoux has been so famous for its fizz ever since medieval times. Grape variety: Chardonnay – Chenin…
Read More
Blanquette de Limoux
Limoux is the undisputed fizz capital of the Languedoc. We are proud to continue a tradition which goes back hundreds of years, long before Champagne was even invented. This is the first sparkling wine in the world, invented and enjoyed by the Benedictine monks in Limoux around 1500, more than a century before Champagne’s Dom Pérignon…
Read More
Chateau Rives-Blanques
Jan & Caryl Panman lived and worked in over a dozen countries in all corners of the world before Limoux’s stunning wines stopped them in their tracks. Chateau Rives-Blanques is a 22 ha family-run estate near Limoux, surrounded by woodland in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Seriously committed to environmentally sustainable wine growing, we make our…
Read More
Three Choirs Vineyard
The Three Choirs Vineyards estate is one of the largest in England at 75 acres. Three Choirs Vineyard is also one of the oldest – the first vines were planted here in 1973. The first vintage produced in 1976. Nestled in Newent, near Gloucester and deep in the Cotswolds, the rolling hills and valleys provide…
Read More
Polgoon Sparkling Rosé Wine
A Methodé Traditionelle sparkling rosé wine with a deep rich pink colour. The fruit forward nose of the Pinot Noir gives way to the ripe berry flavours of the Rondo. Well balanced and delicious, with a lively mousse of fine bubbles, with raspberries and strawberries on the palate, finishing dry & crisp. Grapes: Seyval Blanc, Rondo…
Read More