Something For The English Summer?

It’s hard to beat an English summer’s day – and equally hard to remember one sometimes. But no – the lightest of breezes, new mown grass, leather on willow - and when the barbie lights up, what will you be drinking? Often a cold beer is just the job, but what about wine? Rosé perhaps? No, don’t turn your nose up at the thought – by far the fastest growing wine style in the UK market is rosé, resulting in winemakers putting a lot more thought into it. Maybe some fizz, a chilled, bright white, or indeed a chunky red?

Well what I’m going to suggest may have some purists reaching for something to steady themselves, but read on anyway. For English summers, try English wine. I don’t mean exclusively of course, and not all English wine is worth the effort (in fact a lot of it isn’t). But there are over 300 vineyards throughout the UK, and some of them are producing very good stuff. You can forget the chunky reds (we don’t have the heat for them), but examples of fizz, white and rosé may really surprise you.

Geologically much of southern England is the same as Champagne in northern France, and the climate’s not dissimilar. They’ve recently had to expand the AC region of Champagne due to demand, but why not give English sparkling a try? The best is made in exactly the same way as champagne, with the same grapes, and in recent international blind tastings it’s been winning plenty of awards. Of course they’re not allowed to call it champagne (because it’s not made there), only ‘méthode traditionelle’. Recommended wines: Camel Valley, Nyetimber, or Ridgeview.

Good rosé has the grapes macerating on the red skins for a short while to get that lovely colour, before draining off – unlike a lot of rosé champagne which has a splash of red added and then ups the price for pinkness. Chapel Down English Rose from Kent fills the mouth with freshness, and almost has summer strawberries jumping out of the glass. For white, look for a grape called Bacchus (again Camel Valley’s a good bet), which will zing your taste buds like a decent sauvignon, and show well balanced fruit.

I’m not saying all English wine is great, just suggesting you give some a go. Waitrose stocks quite a bit, and there’s Booths Wine online – or why not visit one of the vineyards for a (hopefully sunny) day out.

Tip

The kitchen’s not a great place to store wine - too many extremes. It doesn’t have to be a cellar, but somewhere with an even temperature and little light is best. Sponsored by Taste Of The Grape