Organic English Wine

Owner, wine maker and gentleman Roy Cook established this organic estate about 20 years or so ago and both him and his partner Irma are at the forefront of organic English viticulture today. The estate is managed with minimum interference, rustic looking and Roy and Irma’s office is a converted old caravan. Set in the beautiful East Sussex countryside their wines speak for themselves.

Sedlescombe Organic Sparkling Bodiam Brut - £17.95
100% Seyval Blanc. A wonderful lively moussed of small elegant bubbles. A creamy and yeasty nose, followed through onto the palate. Notes of citrus, cream and buscuits. Delicious!

Sedlescombe Organic Rose - £9.95
Made from Solaris and Regent grapes.
Crisp, clean with summer berry bouquet and great stuffing on the palate. Youthful tannins and a long finish on this wonderful dry rose English organic wine.

Sedlescombe Organic Sparkling Rose Pinot Noir - £24.95
88% Pinot Noir and 12% Kerner. Dark purple in colour with a wonderful red berry and cherry nose. Great mousse and concentration on the palate that lingers and lingers. This is arguably one of the very best English sparkling rose wines that we have ever tried.

Sedlescombe Organic Dry White - £9.95
From the heart of Sussex, Sedlescombe are at the forefront of organic English wine production. Small production family run estate. Made from Reichensteiner, Bacchus, Rivaner, Kernet and Regner grapes.
A citrus, crisp and clean refreshing and elegant dry white from England.

For purchase information visit www.thesussexwinecompany.co.uk

Keep it Local, Keep it British

With the now all too familiar impending doom on the high street, in the financial markets and general baa hambug around at the moment, it would be all too easy to throw our hands up in the air and feel pretty darn down in the dumps. It's easy to feel powerless to stop this rollercoaster of doom and according to the pundits, it will get worse before it gets better. I say NO!

Are we a nation of whingers or are we going to get up and do something, no matter how small. I believe we are the former and as a fan of John Wayne I believe in the concept of 'true grit'. It's hard out there, there's no denying it but expecting someone else to pick up the pieces or roll over and just not care anymore, won't do. Yeap I'm ranting but as a parent, a business owner and a consumer I'm only too aware of job losses, price increases, stealth tax, greedy energy suppliers, cynical bankers et al.

We can all do something to help our economy right now, we can support British business, British produce, local suppliers and community. Farmers markets, delivery schemes, high street shops, it's there for the taking. Don't 'just pop out to the supermarket', who stand to make the most out of the recession as we all look for the cheapest option. They are ripping us off more than anyone and couldn't give a damn.

In our fight against the big brands and superstore b******ds who have ripped our economy to shreds and destroyed our sense of community and identity we constantly seeking new and interesting companies, sites, people who are working for posiive change. Here's a few useful sites we have found recently...

http://www.choosebritish.co.uk - a nice resource with potted history articles and information about all things British from actors and musicians to cars and food.
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk - find all your local producers here.
http://www.localfoodshop.co.uk - buy from your local food producers online.
http://www.naturalcollection.com - green and gorgeous stuff to buy, In November the clever people at the Natural Collection launched Ooffoo, currently a beta site, we think it promises to be a fantastic resource for the future. It's an "eco space where it's FREE to swap, sell, give away, recycle and share ideas with like-minded people". Check it out http://www.naturalcollection.com/natcolnew/Marketplace/marketplace.aspx
http://www.ecoescapemembers.co.uk - shaping the future of sustainable tourism in the UK and Ireland. It's all about connecting ideas, people and places.
http://www.eatingbritain.com - a UK food site with some useful articles about....food actually.
http://www.uniquescrapstore.com - a social enerprise, this online scrap store has all sorts of bits and bobs at cheap prices rescued from a fate in the landfill. As a parent of little ones the PVA glue at £3.40 (ex VAT) is a winner. They run a membership scheme that could be useful for teachers or those running community projects when you need to buy in bulk.
http://puredesigncompany.co.uk - fab eco products made from recycled stuff, making great gifts for Christmas. The jewellery made from discarded vinyl records look excellent.
http://www.tescopoly.org - growing evidence indicates that Tesco's success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment.

Recommended English Wines and Tasting Notes

Whilst promoting English wine and English vineyards it's become apparent that many people are unaware that English wine is a force to be reckoned with and seen perhaps as more of a gimmick. In fact we've even had people saying that they didn't even know that England could be considered a wine producing country.

So what's the fuss about English wines then? Thanks to the onset of a warmer climate, more experimental winemakers and brave open minded wine retailers, English wines should be a definite on any wine lovers 'must taste' list.

Here's a few wines we've tried to get you started. Many of these wines can be tasted on a number of our wine tours packages. For inquiries on how to buy the following English wines, contact The Sussex Wine Company 01273 477 205.

Carr Taylor Vineyards, East Sussex
Alexis Dry White - £9.95
A lovely fresh and clean refreshing dry white from East Sussex.

Bookers Vineyards, Sussex
Dark Harvest Red – Bronze Medal Winner - £9.95
Still fresh with some noticeable acidity. A medium bodied dry red wine, lots of red fruit flavours and hints of tannin in the background. Lovely red fruit aromas with hints of leather. Complimentary oak notes. Very elegant. Purple/Ruby in colour. A very easy drinking wine. Made from a blend of Dornfelder and Rondo grapes.
Autumn Spice White - Bronze Medal Winner - £9.95
Lovely aroma with hints of lychee and floral notes. In the mouth there is a lovely balance between crisp acidity and rich floral, grapefruit and spice character. The wine is light to medium bodied. Made from a blend of Muller Thurgau, Reichenstiener, Schönburger and Wurzer grapes.

Sedlescombe Organic Vineyards, East Sussex
Dry White - £11.95
Roy Cook's ancient Gothic recipe has created a Reisling-style English Wine. A lively young wine with a zesty grass and elderflower aroma, hints of honey and grapes and a clean crisp finish.
Regent Red - £11.95
A bold, medium-bodied red matured in barrique oak barrels for 5 months. Robust colour, smokey, fruity bouquet, loaded with blackberry and raspberry fruit flavours, ample tannins and oaky complexity.

Nutbourne Vineyards, Sussex
Sussex Reserve - £12.95
Made from a blend of Nutbourne grapes, this is a dry, fragrant wine with delicate fruit - perfect as an apertif or with lighter meals.

Biddenden Vineyards, Kent
Gribble Bridge Ortega Dry White - £9.95
Crisp, medium dry wine produced from the Ortega Grape. To enjoy this wines fresh fruity character and off dry style, it is best served slightly chilled as an aperitif or with pasta, poultry, seafood and salad.

Follow The Path From Grape to Glass - English Vineyard Tours NOW BOOKING!

It's official, we've launched and we're taking bookings. After a fantastic evening at The Sussex Wine Company portfolio tasting at the Needlemakers in Lewes, we took this opportunity to tell this fine bunch about the English Vine Tours exclusive service.

We tasted some fab English wine too including those from Plumpton College Estate (tasting notes to follow), Breaky Bottom and Carr Taylor wines. We were lucky enough to have David and Linda Carr Taylor join us for the evening too. We really appreciate their encouragement and support on the English Vine Tours project. Olly Smith also joined us and again would like to extend our thanks to him for coming and supporting this super event.

So now we're looking to January 2009 to get the ball rolling and get out amongst the vines. Celebrate the New Year: never mind the dark cold days because you'll never cease to inspired by just being in the vineyard.

For January we have a couple of great tours including Heath Speedwell Half Day Wine Tour to Carr Taylor Vineyard in Sussex. For only £49 you will all the usual benefits of transportation to and from the vineyard, a tour, tasting, lunch and complimentary bottle of wine.

Also we've running a super offer on the White Clover One Day Wine Tour for only £79 (reduced by £20! per ticket). Visit Carr Tayor vineyards and then go onto Biddenden vineyards in Kent.

All information can be found at www.englishvinetours.co.uk or call us 0273 48 33 12

Make Your Own English Wine

'Grapes of Good Hope', is an article that appeared in this weeks Sunday Times (9th November) reporting the boom in English winemaking. What's great is that maybe, just maybe, with a warmer climate and a little bit of investment we may well be producing the winemaking superstars of the future and become a recognised and respected wine producing country across the world.

English sparkling wines have received the most rescent positive PR and just remember, it was an Englishman, Christopher Merret who introduced the first receipe for sparkling wine to the Royal Society in 1662 - 30 years before Dom Perignon.

Peter Hall of Breaky Bottom, Lewes talked about the boom in English winemaking in the ST article: “In the past three years, something extraordinary has happened...People with money from the City are getting into it – it is strictly sparkling wine that has caused this lift off." If there is anyone left in the City with money to invest, "it will be an important addition to agriculture."

To view the whole Sunday Times article click here.

English Wine Tasting 2009

A date for your diary:
English Wines & English Sparkling Wines. A selection of Sussex wines with English Cheeses, 16 Market Street, Lewes on 12th February, 7-8.30pm. Featuring Plumpton College Vineyard wines. £25.00

Tickets can be purchased from The Sussex Wine Company.

Word on the UK Grapevine - News from the Vineyards

Pessimists have been heard saying that the English 2008 vintage could have been an utter disaster due to a wet summer and lack of sunshine. However, news from the vineyards is, with a little help from a good October, the quantity of grapes was lower than expected but the quality was good.

Unfortunately the South-West was adversely affected by the wet summer, however the rest of the country is looking positive. Sugar levels are good and acids are higher thanks to a warm autumn. Official harvest data will be available in the spring of 2009.

We should remember that English vineyards and wine-makers are a sturdy lot. In true British spirit just when you think that things couldn't get worse and the odds are against us, we end up producing some of our best stuff. It has been said that when the grapes are facing tough times that's when they actually build their quality.

Harvesting is pretty much over now for English wine-makers so the next few months will be interesting to see how the English 2008 vintage goes. In the meantime good years to check out for English wine are 1999, 2003 and 2005.

Launching English Wine Tours

The English Wine Industry has been somewhat overlooked in the not too distant past. Yet English wine from vineyards such as Bookers, on the Bolney Wine Estate and particularly sparkling wine from artisan winemaker Peter Hall at Breaky Bottom has received some great PR lately. Not only are the English vineyards set within some of England finest countryside they are run enthusiastically and passionately by foolhardy winemakers who have made it their life's work to make these wines work.

We thought it was about time to bring attention to this wonderful industry and boy, are we excited!
At English Vine Tours we're giving the public the opportunity to visit some of England's finest vineyards, taste the delights of English wine and enjoy the beauty of the English countryside. Half day, 1 day, 2 day wine tours are available all accompanied by a wine expert from English Vine Tours and driven in a private minibus. We're also offering special day wine tours which will include the tour of a vineyard, wine tasting and lunch before being taken to the horse races for a flutter or perhaps even the opera.

This venture is clearly about promoting the English wine industry but also local produce, local business and our homegrown talent. It's about celebrating England and supporting our local economy when the global one has let us down so badly!

Welcome to English Vine Tours