A walk through the English vineyards

South of England is more and more attracting interest and attentions of sparkling wines lovers.
The everyday-warmer climate, the good soil and the hard work of some people, strongly believing in the idea of producing high quality English wines, made this dream reality, and now these wines are often awarded more than Champagnes in international competitions.
I have to say that I am not writing this post following the beginning of the English Wines Week, or the gossips about  Barak Obama drinking them at Buckingham palace and Camilla's declarations on the subject. Last Saturday I actually had the unexpected chance to visit a couple of wineries in Mid Sussex, and a walk through their vineyards.

One of them the Court Garden Farm is a very small one with the vineyards planted only 6 years ago. It is owned by Howard a funny retired architect who took us around and explained about the grapes and the hard work in the fields. One week ago he had to get up during the night to light the candles in the vineyards as the temperature had gone down!
He organises tours every Saturday and will take you around and finish with a couple of glasses. The sparkling wine we tasted there was a 2008 vintage, his first vintage, and even if not the best sparkling I had in my life it was certainly enjoyable, fresh, not that much yeasty (which I personally appreciated), with strong citrusy flavours but also balanced and elegant. Howard has also some German red varieties that he mainly use for his rose' , but unfortunately the one we tasted (more an experiment than a proper wine to be sold) was not great: a lot of peach at the nose and not enough flavours in the mouth.

The second winery we visited is one of the best known of England. Ridgeview estate is a family ran business. They have around 30 acres of 16 years old vineyards. Their production is growing as fast as their popularity and they decided to buy more grapes from other producers unlike Nyetimber that prefers to buy land and grow their own fruit. Our guide was James who owns his vineyards management business and takes care of the Ridgeview vineyards. We had a chat about the issues of applying organic viticulture in England, the difficulties of this latest dry year and all the processes of vinification A sparkling wine requires a long, careful and scrupulous work; this is one of the reasons of their high prices. And it's something most people doesn't know!
We finally tasted a couple of their productions and the elegance of these wines would definitely surprise any skeptical people ( as I was few years ago).

Before closing this brief (well, I know not that brief!) post on English wines I'd like to leave you with a picture...this is where the grapes are at this moment of the year....

...still a long way to taste this vintage!

Any plans for next weekend?

Are you looking for inspiration for a last minute trip on next weekend? Or by any chance you already planned to spend it in Italy?
Well then in both cases you shouldn't miss the chance to visit one of the almost 1000 wineries taking part of Cantine Aperte (Open Wineries). For the 19th consecutive year on Saturday May the 29th in Italy lots of wineries will be open to be visited and they will organise tastings, food matching and guided tours.
It is a great opportunity for wine passionates or just curious to get a closer view on how a winery is working and to have wine experts guiding you through all wine production processes.
Most wineries are organising seminars, tastings of local products such as cheeses and charcuterie and wine pairings with the local wines.
Plus it would be lovely to have a walk among the vineyards under the warm sun of May.
Therefore if it happens to you to be in Italy next Saturday have a look at this website where all wineries partecipating to the event are listed.
And if you need any suggestions....let me know!

Nothing serious....just Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc has always been seen as an easy drinking wine. And normally everyone likes it, especially as an aperitif because of its freshness, lightness and not serious character. Most of wine snobs do not consider it because it is not enough structured and complex. But I am a wine hippie and even if it is not my favourite wine I still drink it and enjoy it sometimes.And even if my education in old world wines makes me appreciate the classic Sancerre and Pouilly Fume' from France I honestly have to say that to me New Zealand is the country where this grape can express its best . Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand and New Zealand is Sauvignon Blanc.

Of course I am not considering those bland, flat and watery Sauvignon Blanc from big productions. When I think about an intense Sauvignon Blanc with a strong personality the first that comes to my mind is the Kim Crawford Spitfire.Highest range of this brand, from a small parcel, Spitfire name derives from the basing of Spitfire Squadrons in Blenheim during WW2. This wine is just everything you could ever expect from it. Strong, punching vegetal aromas: fresh cut grass, green pepper, tomato leaves, basil and a hint of tropical background. In the mouth all these flavours are coming back and exploding. It's crisp, deeply refreshing and with a lovely texture. It also has a long intense finish.
This is not just an aperitif. This is a steady, serious Sauvignon Blanc.