Alternative English Wines
I’ll be raising my glass to the scaly one this St George’s Day in honour of its rather thankless annual cameo. For English wine, quality is finer, styles more varied and value is there if you know where to look. Established fizz producers, such as Nyetimber, are showing promise and packaging shows innovation with good wine in cans. Homegrown can mean sustainable, so perhaps the dragon’s cycle of destiny isn’t in vain.
OLLY’S PICK OF THE BUNCH
Gerald 2019 Bubbly (11.5%), £5 for a 250ml can, wearetheuncommon.co.uk. Portable canned fragrant froth with enough refreshment to last all summer.
New Hall Bacchus 2019 (11%), £11.50, newhallwines.com. Zingy, scented and lighter than wings of elderflower, this sharp white is ace.
Vagabond Pet Not 2019 (13%), £15.95, shop.vagabondwines.co.uk. Nectarines and mangoes erupting in rose-petal fizz – a lively, fruity gem!
Balfour The Red Miller 2018 (12%), £35, laithwaites.co.uk. Soft, bright and silky, this elegant English red is beyond brilliant.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Busi-Jacobsohn Cuvée Brut 2018 (12%), £38, busijacobsohn.com. Splendid new Sussex fizz: it made me feel ludicrously happy for days!
This article was originally published in YOU Magazine, Mail on Sunday, 18th April 2021 – Prices, stockists and vintages correct at time of publication.
