Sparkling Wine News
Chilean Wine
The first Vines planted in Chile were transported over on Spanish ships, we sort of know the grape variety as well and it could have been ‘País’ or ‘Vitis Vinifera’, they planted them in the middle of the 16th century in 1554 during the Spanish Conquest. There is even a legend of conquistador and former…
Argentinian Wine
The Spanish transported Vines from Spain over to Argentina during the early Age of Discovery, the first time a European stepped foot into Argentina was in 1502. The city of Santiago del Estero serves as a birthplace for Argentinan Wine, housing the first commercial Vineyard in 1557, planted by Jesuit Missionaries The country has in…
Candover Brook Panel Discussion
“Our commitment to the environment, the unique chalk stream habitat and our community is deeply reflected in the distinctive elegance of our award-winning wines” Mark Sainsbury On Tuesday 24th September 2024, Mark Sainsbury welcomed members of the UK wine press to a panel discussion on the story behind his award-winning sparkling wines, Candover Brook and…
Portuguese Wine
In Portugal, vines were planted in the Sado and Tagus valleys in at least 2000 BC, it was in the 10th century BC when the Phoenicians introduced new grape varieties and some new Winemaking techniques to the country. The main wine regions of Portugal are the following: Vinho Verde Trás-os-Montes Dão Bairrada Beira Interior Lisboa…
Celebrate Christmas at Squerryes
Squerryes in Westerham, Kent, has a calendar of fantastic events for Christmas 2024 including, for the first time, the opportunity for family and friends to enjoy Christmas Day Lunch in the festive surroundings of the two AA Rosette award-winning Winery Restaurant. A very warm Squerryes welcome awaits visitors on Christmas Day and doors will open…
American Wine
During the Age of Exploration, Spanish ships would carry with them bottles of Wine, leading to the first bottle of Wine on U.S. soil. It’s slightly unclear on a definitive answer for when Wine was first made in the U.S. but it seems to point towards the 1500s. Although we do know that the first…
Does Prosecco Go Off?
When you buy a bottle of Prosecco, sometimes it will have a year on it, letting you know that it’s a vintage or even sometimes telling you when it was bottled, but it never gives you an expiration date, is it because there isn’t one? Let’s find out. The simple answer would be that Prosecco…
Chinese Wine
The production of turning grape juice into Wine in the powerhouse of China dates back to at least the Han Dynasty which lasted from 206 BC to 220 AD, an imperial envoy led by Zhang Qian opened diplomatic relations with a number of Central Asian kingdoms, that at the time, did produce Wine from Grapes….
Breaky Bottom – Peter’s Notes – August 2024
I was recently rummaging through folders of ancient newspaper cuttings and bumped into this – an article from the ‘Sunday Express Magazine’ (circa 1987) by my old chum Oz Clarke. I was one of a small number of UK vineyards back then, all of us still winemakers. I feel embarrassed reading much of the text,…