sparkling wine

Saturday 14 September sees the flinging open of field gates and winery doors as Hogs Back’s latest major drinks player, Greyfriars Vineyard, holds its first open day under new ownership.

Perhaps best known in drinks terms for its recently re-energised brewery, the Hogs Back near Guildford is also home to acres of south-facing chalk downland. Since taking over at Greyfriars Vineyard in 2010, Hilary and Mike Wagstaff have expanded the number of vines thirtyfold, taking the total to 45,000 over 30 acres.

Back in July, it proved to be a quintessentially English Summer's day for the launch of what promises to be a quintessentially English sparkling wine brand, Digby Fine English, writes Rebecca Nightingale.   

We were greeted at the Hyde Park Tennis & Sports Centre for a spot of bowling and to enjoy Digby's two new wines, its Brut Reserve 2009 and Brut Rosé 2009, served by Digby's friend Chris, a true English butler, on the terrace.

Bright sunlight and birdsong greeted the official reopening of Hambledon Vineyard in Hampshire, as HRH the Duchess of Cornwall toured what had been England’s first commercial vineyard on Tuesday 9 July.

The first sparkling wine of the new regime, the peach-infused Mill Down 2010, was on offer, while guests admired the vines and toured the spangly new winery.

Following England’s successful debut performance in the 2012 Sommelier Wine Awards, English and Welsh wine have been given their own sparkling wine category, alongside Prosecco, Champagne and sparkling wines from other countries.

As deputy director of the competition, I must declare an interest in this. It was wonderful to see the English contingent come from nowhere to score a dozen medals – only three less than California.

Three of these medals were Gold, plus both a Critics Choice trophy for RidgeView’s  “textured” Knightsbridge Blanc de Noirs 2009 and a By the Glass gong for Furleigh Estate’s “complex” Classic Cuvée Brut.