talkTV: Jubilee Drinkies!

The platinum Jubilee bank holiday is here! Time for fun frolics and fiestas. Here is an eclectic mix of fabulous booze that will suit all kinds of celebrations.

Soave, 2021

Made for M&S by Casa Girelli in the Veneto, which is the home of Soave, this is a really lovely, refreshing, pear-scented Soave for a ridiculous price. Soave is named after the production area rather than the grape used to make it, which will always be Garganega. It was a style famous before Pinot Grigio but it’s coming back with a bang. Their £7.50 version is even lovelier. 

Find it at M&S for £5.50 in store.

Nerello Cappuccio, 2020

Cappuccio means hood and it describes the shape of the vine leaves that cloak the grapes to protect it from the hot sun. A Sicilian variety that loves the volcanic soils of Etna particularly, this is a grape that used to be used in blends a lot but is now finding its feet as a single varietal. Usually deep in colour with lots of fruit but not too heavy or tannic, this is a textured red that works well lightly chilled. It’s part of the M&S ‘Found’ range championing less known grapes. 

Find it at M&S for £7

The Society's Exhibition English Sparkling Wine NV

Produced exclusively for The WIn Society by the well-loved producer Ridgeview who are based in Sussex, this fizz is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, the three champagne grapes. With notes of baked apple and topasty spice, it’s apple pie in a glass!

The Wine Society, £24

English sparkling wine to celebrate the Jubilee

With the Platinum Jubilee around the corner, it feels ridiculous to reach for Champagne when we have properly world class fizz on our doorsteps. English sparkling wine has come of age with even the most ‘basic’ bottles now really packing a punch in terms of flavour and complexity. This is thanks partly to more and more stocks of ‘reserve’ wines, which is wine from previous vintages held back deliberately to add to more recent, non-vintage blends. These older, reserve wines tend to add the toasty, brioche and apple pie crust notes to sparkling wine that we have come to love in the traditional method of sparkling wine. Here are some top English sparkling wine picks that should be on your radar.

Hampshire

Hattingley Valley, Classic Reserve

Hattingley Valley winery is found in rural Hampshire where the first vines were planted in 2008 and the first wines released in 2013. Made by multiple award-winning female winemaker Emma Rice with 53% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir and 16% Pinot Meunier grapes, the Classic Reserve is Hattingley’s most widely available and most loved wine. A non-vintage sparkler based on the somewhat challenging 2015 vintage, this is the wine that gives you a true flavour of the Hattingley house style: Golden with fine bubbles, elegant notes of brioche, nougat and a touch of oak with a characteristic hedgerow note on the finish.

Find it at Waitrose for £30 a bottle.

Hambledon Classic Cuvée

Established in 1952 by Major-General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones, Hambledon is England’s oldest vineyard and can be found nestled in the home of Cricket at Hambledon in Hampshire. Their Classic Cuvée is again, a blend of all three traditional grapes, (56% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, 17% Pinot Meunier). Grapes are handpicked on the estate and this cuvée uses the 2017 harvest as a base with 20% reserve wines added, giving it the characteristic toasty richness that Hambledon has become famous for. Hambledon also does fantastic tours, tastings and events. 

Find it at Majestic for £34.99 (or £23.99 as part of a mixed 6 case)

Sussex

Rathfinny Estate Blanc de Noirs 2018

Rathfinny has an enviable position on the sunny, south-facing slopes of England’s South Downs in Alfriston, Sussex. It has quickly made a name for itself as one of England’s finest wine producers. Blanc de Noirs is a sparkling wine made only from black /red grapes which in this case are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and these wine grapes came from just one single harvest in 2018, which has been dubbed the vintage of the decade. Rathfinny has a style that is rich but precise with a fantastic, lean, mineral character. Seriously elegant and will keep for a while. Rathfinny is another great place for a vineyard picnic too!

Find it at Lea & Sandeman for £38.95 (or £36.95 when in a case of six) 

Kent

Balfour Brut Rosé 2018

A renowned winery located on the Hush Heath Estate in Kent, the Balfour sparkling brut rosé was the first ever English wine to win a gold medal and the Trophy at the International Wine Challenge. This 2018 vintage wine is only ever made in tiny quantities from a single vineyard and it has a special story. The estate has belonged to the Balfour-Lynn family for three generations, but it was Richard and Leslie’s idea to plant vines at Hush Heath in 2002, with a view to making a pink sparkling wine like their favourite ever Champagne: Billecart Salmon Rosé. Their thinking was “If we can’t sell it, we’ll drink it”. But they did sell it and the rest is history. It’s a great place for lunch and a tasting with a lovely walk around the vines and the apple trees too. 

Find it at Waitrose for £39.99

See what else Helena has been tasting with talkTV here.

Pop Your Corks For English Sparkling Wines

Words by Aidy Smith

It’s no secret that English sparkling wines have continued to develop a solid reputation across the country over the past decade. With over 800 vineyards and 178 wineries calling the United Kingdom their home, we’re now at a point where English sparkles are no longer a ‘surprise’ but are becoming an increasingly embraced phenomenon. 

For the factually curious amongst us, let’s backtrack for a second and look at how far English sparkling wine has come. In 2010, they overtook still wine production in the UK and now sit at 64% of total output. Industry folks are now familiar with the style itself, but production rates are still a little unknown, so I decided to delve a little deeper.

I’d like you to clear your mind for a second and take a guess at how many bottles you think could be produced each year. Could it be 500,000? Perhaps 1,000,000 at a stretch? Well, the latest figures show that a staggering 10.5 million bottles were produced in 2019, a colossal increase from the 5.9m in 2017.

But why are our bubbles so good?

Let’s start with the biggest link, the soil. Millions of years ago various parts of England were in fact directly connected to Champagne and as you might have guessed it’s those parts which have the best reputation for producing our sparkles. The soils are full of chalk and rich with minerals giving the grapes a unique and distinct character.

Then there’s the temperature – a steady increase of warmer and drier summers over the years due to climate change has resulted in better vine growth, quality of grapes and has placed us at the sweet spot for producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – the 3 major grapes for both English sparkling wines and coincidentally, champagne too.

It would seem that the two have quite a lot in common, especially their production methods which see the same lengthy process of maturation, taking anywhere from 15 months to 2 years. But while champagne has sat atop the pecking order for as many years as one can remember, our crown jewel bubbles are beginning to knock them off their perch.

English wine in the world

Year on year we’re seeing an increase of awards and the highest-ranking medals being presented to English wine producers. In fact, to date, no other country has achieved accolades on such a consistent level during such little time.  We’re now at a point where English sparkling wine is continuously beating both Champagne and Prosecco in universal competitions and when placed in front of some of the most renowned wine experts for blind tastings, they always seem to come top of the pile. There have even been occasions where some of the most reputed and recognised names in the champagne industry have listed English sparkling wine as their top choice when battling the two varieties against one another in a blind competition.

So what should you look out for?

Our most cherished English sparkling wine seems to be produced mostly down south, so look out for those from Kent, Sussex, Hampshire or Surrey.  In terms of variety, much like your favourite champagnes, you can expect Brut (dry), one of my personal favourites being Hambledon’s Premiere Cuvée Brut. We also have a stunning range of rosé brut, of which you simply cannot miss a producer called Gusbourne. Jenkyn Place serves up a cracking Blanc de Noir with Hoffman & Rathbone producing a beautiful Blanc De Blanc. While produced a lot less, you may even find a Millésime or Demi-sec floating around too. 

Finally, one of the biggest misconceptions is that English sparkling wines are too expensive when in actual fact they can hold a similar value to champagne. Not only do the entry level English sparkling wines retail at around £25, their quality rivals that of even established champagne houses.

Well, there you have it, the next time you’re looking for a bottle to celebrate or quite simply want a great glass of bubbles, give your native English sparkle a try!

Try These English Sparkles:

Black Chalk classic 2017, £38.99 from Vivino
Chapel Down Kit’s Coty Coeur de Cuvée 2015, £100 from The English Wine Collection
Gusbourne Rose Brut 2016, £48 from Vivino
Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2018, £33.50 from Vivino
Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvée, £30 from Waitrose
Hambledon Vineyard Premiere Cuvée Brut, £45 from Waitrose
Hoffman & Rathbone Blanc de Blanc 2012, £52 from Hoffman & Rathbone
Hush Heath Estate Balfour Blanc de Noirs 2018, £40 Balfour Winery
Lyme Bay Brut Rose NV, £30 from Lyme Bay
Nyetimber 1086 Prestige Cuvée, usually £150 from Nyetimber
Rathfinny Blanc de Noir 2016, £34.50 from The Champagne Company
Ridgeview Bloomsbury NV, £22.49 (on offer) from Waitrose
Wiston Estate Cuvée 2015, £35 from Hennings Wines
Wiston Rose Brut, £28 from Waitrose

For more English sparkling wine recommendations, take a look at English Sparkling Wine to Celebrate the Jubilee or Your Wine Travel Guide to Kent.

Top Jubilee Tipples for Every Budget

Whether you’re having a street party or not, with a double bank holiday, chances are there will be some celebrating going on! Here are a few Jubilee- tastic drinkies that will suit every budget. 

La Gioiosa Prosecco Rosé Millesimato Brut

La Gioiosa Prosecco has released a Limited-Edition Prosecco Rosé Millesimato in collaboration with British designer Yvonne Ellen just in time for us to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!

The label features Yvonne’s pet budgies, Paul and Simon as well as a parakeet - a breed found in abundance in London’s Hyde Park. The flowers are versions of some beautiful native Italian plants intertwined with leaves from Glera and Pinot Nero grape which are the two grapes used to make this fizz. It’s elegant and aromatic with notes of pear, cherry and almond. 

Find it for £9.50 - £10.99 at Sainsbury’s (on offer),  Waitrose and various supermarkets.

Lateral Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile 2021

With the cost of living crisis, everything is getting more expensive. Enter Tesco to save the day, with a range of wines for £5 and under. This Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon does a great job of actually tasting like the grape it’s made from with notes of ripe blackcurrant, mocha and spice. It’s smooth and medium-bodied - awesome with steak and grilled meats. There are 11 wines in the range from Malbec to Pinot Grigio and Chenin Blanc. 

Find it for £3.89 at  Tesco

M&S Strawberry Gin Liqueur (20% abv)

With a bottle that is so pretty you might not want to open it, M&S are offering a sweet, Strawberry gin with very very subtle juniper notes that’s a bit of a guilty pleasure. Try it neat over ice, with lemonade or in cocktails. Made by the famous Warner’s Distillery in Northamptonshire and a great idea for gifting. 

Find it for £16 at M&S in stores only

Buckingham Palace Gin (42%)

Your splash out option is this small batch, elegant and aromatic gin that has been made with botanicals hand-picked from Buckingham palace’s very own grand including Lemon verbena, hawthorn berries and mulberry leaves. This is an exclusive bottling for Waitrose and it would make the perfect gift. You’ll want to keep the bottle afterwards too.

Find it for £40 exclusively at Waitrose

See what else we’ve been tasting on talkTV here. 

Top white Wines from Sainsbury’s Under £10 for 2022

We’re all feeling the pinch at the moment and it doesn't look like things are going to change any time soon. The impact of Covid, Brexit and war in Europe is taking its toll on the availability and the pricing of  so many things we used to take for granted and wine is no exception. The good news for wine is that as technology and winemaking has come on so much, a cheap wine doesn't have to mean sulphurous vinegar; these days, you can actually taste what the wine is meant to be! Here are four wines you should get into your fridge right now.

Taste The Difference Portuguese Alvarinho, £7.50

In the UK, we tend to know this grape better in its Spanish guise as Albarino. It’s equally famous in Portugal, where you’ll find a lot of it in the north of the country both as a single grape wine or as part of a blend in teh famous, light and spirtzy Vinho Verde wines. This one is still very light and elegant with subtle, peach and lemon notes and a hint of smoke. Super refreshing. 

Find it here at Sainsbury’s.

Taste The Difference Viognier 2021, £8

Viognier is the famous white grape of the Rhone Valley in France, famous for its oily weight nda texture and its gorgeous, ripe aromatics and flavours of peach, honeysuckle, white chocolate and citrus. Made by top French producer Laurent Miquel, this Viognier hails from a little further south. It’s beautifully balanced, showing great Viognier character - hard to do at this price level, but they’ve smashed it.

Find it here at Sainsbury’s.

Taste The Difference Grüner Veltliner ‘Traisental’ 2021, £9

Gru-V, as I like to call it, is the flagship Austrian white grape that is really finding its way into people’s hearts today - and this one is sensational for the price. Steely, bone dry and minerally with notes of baked apple, white peach, white pepper and a ginger kick on the finish. Serious and easy going at the same time. This rally punches above its weight.

Find it here at Sainsbury’s.

Taste The Difference Jurançon Sec 2021  £9 on offer for £7

Jurançon is a little region in South West France in the sun-drenched foothills of the Pyrenees. Here, they use lots of indigenous grapes including the brilliantly named Gros Manseng & Petit Manseng, which are the two grapes in this particular blend. Often, these grapes can make sweet wines but this one is dry, zesty and incredibly refreshing while also having a ton of ripe greengage, tangerine and melon notes. A bit different and totally loveable. 

Find it here at Sainsbury’s.

See what else I’ve been tasting with Mike Graham on talkTV here!

3 Ways to Get Better at Smelling Wine

[Partnership post with TasterPlace]

They say that the more you know about something, the more interesting you find it and nowhere is this more true than in the wonderful world of wine. The good news is, you can train your nose over a relatively short amount of time to pick out more complex smells in wine. The great news is, however, that any kind of smelling practice can have hugely positive effects on your wellbeing and can even help to stave off degenerative diseases like Alzheimers! Never has there been more reason to pay even more attention to what’s in your wine glass, so in this article, you will find three ways to help you do that better. 

What are the benefits of smelling practice?

Last year during lockdown, we put together this piece on the benefits of certain scents on our wellbeing, such as lavender for sleep or sandalwood for focus and calm. There are also links to articles on the psychology of smell with emotion and memory as well how we can stave off Dementia with smelling practice. One study, published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, also states that wine experts and those who work with olfaction-based industries such as perfume-making are less likely to develop Alzheimer's and Dementia compared to those in other professions. This is because those who train their noses in this way have ‘enhanced’, stronger or thicker parts of the brain that are tied to smell and memory. This is super important as it is these areas that are also linked to neurodegenerative diseases. 

Practice picking out aromas in wine

When first getting started with wine, it all just smells like… well.. wine, doesn’t it? We go to tastings and hear the expert bang on about crunchy red fruits or stewed purple plums and think, really? Is it possible to get that specific? Suddenly though, as soon as a specific smell is mentioned then wham! You find it right there. Has this happened to you? As one of those ‘experts’, I'm here to tell you that it is not all suggestive rubbish; the more you dive in and pay attention, the more you really do ‘see’ or in this case, smell. Here are three ways you can get better at playing the wine aroma detective:

1. Pay attention. That’s right! Just like driving a car after doing it for years, often when we drink wine, we literally just drink it without thinking about what it tastes like. Instead, ask yourself some questions: Does the aroma jump out of the glass or is it more reserved? Does it smell very fruity and if so, what kind of fruit? Can you pinpoint it? Is it blackcurranty like Ribena or more tart like cherries? Or maybe it’s jammy like ripe strawberries? The same goes for anything that isn’t fruit. Is it herbaceous? Are there hints of spices? If so, always ask yourself what kind!

2. Compare and contrast. Wine on its own tastes just like wine. With two or more, however, you will be able to play spot the difference. Take two different grape varieties for example, like Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Compare their looks; which one is more cherry red and which is more purple black? Next, compare the aromas. Is one more like raspberry or cherry and the other like cassis? Comparison is good because it’s the differences between them that help you learn. If ever you need an excuse for that second glass of wine, this is it!

3. Invest in a smelling kit. One very simple and effective way to regularly boost your sniffing skills is to invest in a blind smelling kit. This way, you can test yourself a little every day and start getting very specific about the exact notes that you are picking out in your favourite glass of wine - and all without feeling obliged to pop several corks a day! Kits such as the AROMAS made by TasterPlace come with small vials of aromatic oils, each with a specific scent often found in wine. The white wine kit, for example, has twelve vials of aromas, each numbered underneath so you can test yourself again and again until you can get them all right. Learn how to spot the difference between lemon and grapefruit, pear and green apple, honey and butter - and more! 

TasterPlace AROMAS collections 

Italian-owned TasterPlace currently has five kits on offer: one for red wine, one for white wine, one for beer, one for olive oil and one for chocolate. There are twelve vials in each kit as well as a full tasting guide that talks you through colour and flavour as well as aromatics. The aroma samples are produced with stable aromatic solutions which means they can be used over time without losing their intensity. They come in elegant black boxes the size of a hardback book and we think they make amazing gifts for the wine lover in your life! 

The AROMAS collections are on sale on TasterPlace’s website www.tasterplace.com, where you can also find a variety of information on the world of tasting and the TasterPlace blog.

What are the key styles of Malbec?

It’s World Malbec Day on the 17th April! As if we needed an excuse to open a bottle of this chocolatey, velvety wine. To celebrate, let’s get up close and personal with some of the keys styles of Malbec, from France to Argentina. 

While Malbec may be the flagship red wine grape of Argentina these days, its heritage is actually French. It hails from the small French appellation of Cahors in France, which lies inland from Bordeaux on the river Lot. Malbec here is better known as Côt or even Auxerrois in some places and will be found in bottles labelled ‘Cahors’ (remember, in France, wines are very often named after place rather than grapes). When from Cahors, Malbec is darker; more inky, tannic and intense than in its fruitier, Argentinian guise. 

It was only in the 1780s that the grape was planted in Bordeaux by a Monsieur Malbeck and the name for this ‘new’ Bordelais blending grape stuck. It flourished here for a while but gradually got replaced with Merlot as it was a hardier grape for the weather. Its real moment came in the 1880s when French immigrants arrived in Argentina, bringing with them vine cuttings from Bordeaux. Malbec, who had not exactly shone in Bordeaux with the cool weather, flourished here in the sunny dry conditions and the rest is history!

Here’s a Cahors and three Malbec wines from Argentina’s three key provinces: Patagonia, Mendoza and Salta.

Cahors, France

Malbec from its homeland in Cahors is full-bodied and inky black with notes of dark, mulberry spice and a flash of baked red fruit. This is an approachable starter Cahors. The more you go up the price scale, the more intense and heavy they become. Try with hard nutty cheese and braised meats!

Cahors, M&S

Find this one for £8 at M&S

Patagonia, Argentina

Cooler than the more famous region of Mendoza, Patagonian Malbec from the south of the country tends to have a little more elegance, silkiness and freshness with crunchy raspberry and black cherry notes. Think of frozen raspberries dipped in dark chocolate! This one has a bit of age on it too so enjoy those secondary aromas of spice and leather. 

Vinalba Patagonia Malbec

Find it for £10 at Morrisons

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is the best known wine region in Argentina and for good reason. Its warm, dry climate and fabulous light give Malbecs that are ripe and velvety, packed with baked blueberry and milk chocolate notes. Seek out higher altitudes such as this one and you’ll be rewarded with more concentration and complexity. It’s a Fairtrade Malbec made sustainably from grapes grown in the Finca Altamira vineyard in the premium sub region of Uco Valley, 1,100 metres above sea level. It’s aromatic and vibrant red wine with notes of red fruits, herbs, and a great mineral character.

Argento Altamira Single Vineyard Organic Malbec

Find it for £13.50-£13.99 from urbangrapes.co.uk and allaboutwine.com.

Salta, Argentina

Way up in the north of Argentina with extraordinarily high altitude vineyards (think 1700 ml ASL and above!) and exquisitely pure sunlight, is the province of Salta. Within Salta, sits the town and region of Cafayate, which is surrounded by the dramatic, red rock and desert Calchaquí Valleys. Wines from Salta have their own personality. As the light is so strong here and the attitudes bring huge diurnal temperature swings, the malbec grapes develop a thicker skin here (like their own sun protection), which gives the wines a darker colour and more tannic structure together with a cool elegance. Think sea salted dark chocolate with mint at that’s the style. Yum!

Cafayate Estate Malbec

Find this one for £11 at Sainsbury’s 

See more of what we have tasting on the Thursday Club with Mike Graham on talkRADIO TV here!

Alternative Drinks To Have With Curry

When it comes to Indian curry or Thai food over here in England, light, refreshing, not-too-gassy beer is a firm favourite. Brands like Kingfisher, Cobra, Singha and Jaipur are absolutely leading the way. But what if you don’t want to drink beer? Here are a few alternative suggestions for the best drinks to have with curry as shown by me on talkRADIO this week: 

Wine

When spice is involved, whether aromatic or chili hot, the best sort of wines to have with curry are white and aromatic with lots of flavour and ripe fruit notes. Off-dry wines work brilliantly here too, even if you think you might not normally drink them. It’s because that touch of sweetness really tames the heat and the riper, richer flavours stand up to the stronger flavours of the curry. Key wine styles to seek out for curry would be Alsace Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Marsanne, off-dry Riesling. A crisp, sparkling wine will work too, especially when there is a touch of residual sweetness. Try these:

Wolfberger Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is a soft skinned grape that makes wines that are low in acidity, very soft and incredibly aromatic, with notes of lychee and rose petal with a touch of ginger. That kick of sweetness is the perfect foil for spice. 

Find it at Co-op for £9.95

Irresistible Marsanne

This wine blew me away at the press tasting. Marsanne is a grape that hails from the Rhone valley in France - usually blended with Viognier and/ or Roussanne to make the famous, weighty white Rhone wine. Standing alone here, it needs nothing else. Ripe, round and peachy with notes of apricot and honey. Incredibly gluggable and excellent value. Nice label too. 

Find it at Co-op for £8

Bowler & Brolly, Classic Cuvée English Sparkling Wine NV

Bowler & Brolly is ALDI’s new own brand English wine range and this one is made with the three Champagne grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Meunier) in the traditional method. Hailing from Lyme Bay in Devon, this is super crisp and refreshing with a good amount of fruit and a chalkiness that battles the spice. The perfect upgrade tipple for your spicy cuisine.

Something Different

Sollasa & Tonic

A gin alternative created specifically to complement Indian Cuisine by co-founders Vishal and Sajag along with leading chefs and mixologists. It was named after a 12th century book called “Manasollsa’ written in Sanskrit which is considered to be the first ever Indian cuisine recipe book. Lower in ABV than most spirits at 20%, it has delicious, complex flavours of orange zest, lime, lychee, mint and basil, with notes of coriander seed and cardamom. Serve it long with Indian Tonic. Find recipes on their website too.

Find it on Sollasadrinks.com for £29 (70cl)