Glass of Bubbly
Cremant
Sparkling wines designated Cremant (“creamy”) were originally named because their lower carbon dioxide pressures were thought to give them a creamy rather than fizzy mouth-feel. The wines must also be aged for a minimum of one year. Though they may have full pressures today, they are still produced using the traditional method, and have to fulfill…
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Napa Valley
Napa Valley is one of the world’s great wine destinations and features more than 450 wineries. Though just 30 miles long and a few miles wide, Napa Valley is home to diverse microclimates and soils uniquely suited to the cultivation of a variety of fine wine grapes. California sparkling wine traces its roots to Sonoma…
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Cava
Cava is a sparling wine from spain produced in Catalonia. It can be white (blanco) or rose (rosado). The macabeu, parellada and xarel·lo are the most popular and traditional grape varieties for producing cava. Only wines produced in the champenoise traditional method may be labelled cavas. About 95% of all cava is produced in the Penedes area in Catalonia, with the village of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia being home to many of Spain’s largest production houses. The…
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Searcys Champagne Bar St Pancreas
Imagine 1,372 Champagne flutes lined up side by side and you have some idea of exactly how vast Europe’s longest Champagne bar at St Pancras International actually is. The 98 meter space housing the St Pancras Grand Champagne Bar is breath-taking thanks to its location which allows a panoramic view of the entire terminal whilst…
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Henriot Champagne
It was in 1808, under Apolline Henriot, that Champagne Henriot was officially founded. She was the niece of the very famous Abbe Godinot, who contributed to improvements in viticulture and the making of the Champagne wine. Apolline, an enterprising woman of great character, sold her wines both in France and abroad. The champagne wines became a…
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Nyetimber
The Nyetimber Estate is the largest vineyard in the UK, with 438 acres and is the only one to produce premium sparkling wine exclusively from estate grown fruit. There vineyards are in West Sussex and Hampshire. Planted near Pulborough, West Sussex in 1988 by Stuart and Sandy Moss from Chicago, the Nyetimber Estate has a perfect…
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Ridgeview
Ridgeview was founded in 1994 by Mike and Chris Roberts and is dedicated to creating world class sparkling wines in the South Downs of England. Ridgeview’s trademark MERRET™ is in honour of Englishman Christopher Merret. In 1662 he presented a paper to the Royal Society in London which documented the process of making traditional method…
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Mersea Island Vineyard
Mersea Island lies between the estuaries of the Blackwater and Colne rivers, about nine miles south of Colchester. The present Mersea Island Vineyard was established in 1985. Today there are about ten acres, five grape varieties, producing some twenty thousand bottles each year. Legend has it that the Romans grew grapes on the Island and…
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Chapel Down
Chapel Down is one of the UK’s longest established wineries. The Chapel Down Winery is home to England’s largest wine producer. The vineyard at Tenterden is the home of Chapel Down. The vineyard has 23 acres of vines. There is also a second vineyard in Aylesford, Kent which has 112 acres. Half of their wine production…
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