Paul & Natalyia English Vineyard Tour

Well the weather was kind to us having poured down the previous day. Natalyia had treated her significant other, Paul, to a great day out, wine tasting in glorious East Sussex.

Pelham Hotel in Lewes for coffee, tea and croissants in the garden, surrounded by art, wisteria in full bloom and happy looking breakfast-ers! Fed, watered we set off for the first stop at Carr Taylor Vineyards near Westfield in East Sussex. The vines are flourishing, flower burst had turned into bud burst with grape bunches now developing nicely. Standing amongst the rich greeness, sun on our backs it was almost transcending, very beautiful and idylic indeed.

Having viewed and discussed an established vineyard we took a look at a recently grubbed-up and re-planted vineyard. Swiftly followed by a look into the workings of a winery, followed by the tasting.

Ah the tasting, this is where it gets good. We are always amazed at others reactions to how good English wines are. "Wow I really never knew English wines were this good!!" A regular exclamation and one that brings a smile to our faces, we moved elagantly from dry/aromatic whites, to rose through to three sparkling wines and then onto the versatile fruit wines!

After a lovely Sussex Ploughamn's Lunch we drove only 15 minutes further down the road to the village of Sedlescombe and into Sedlescombe Organic Vineyards. Roy was pottering about on his tractor, Irma was charming and their vines looked great. The Solaris swelling up magnificently, the Regent too also looked great. True eco-warriors they exemplify what others talk about but never do! From the converted caravan into an office, their self-build home, lazy door-stop cat, flourishing vegetable plot, self-maturing manure, hand-sewen clover ground cover for added nitrogen the list is endless. It is always a tremendous pleasure in bringing our guests into this unique and much loved vineyard. The wines are not too shabby neither!!

A great day was had and once again Georgie & I are honoured to be playing hosts cum tourguides to an array of such really wonderful people, may it continue...........

Taylor and Shroff with Rajesh Suri at Imli

The project continues with Taylor and Shroff, English Wines made for Curry!

Having now confirmed and finalised the Sussex Launch for 6th August at Jali restaurant in Hastings we needed to get our skates on to secure a London Launch too. There are many many top curry restaurants in London, Tamarind, Imli, Quillon, Benares, The Brilliant are just a few but there are many!

We met with one of the most respected, energetic and dynamic figures in the London Curry Scene, Rajesh Suri at his unique QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) Imli in Soho. A very funky design, attracting a healthy lunch crowd as well as early evening diners, Imli has been a superb success.

Upon arriving there, Rajesh introduced me to Samir and Mohit his able assistants at Imli and it was obvious from the start that Rajesh new what he was talking about. The wines were enjoyed and really suited the venue and style of their cuisine and presentation. So we have a tentative date of Thursday 8th October for our London Launch at Imli as well as gaining our first London listing for Taylor and Shroff which is really fantastic news indeed!!

Rajesh and Samir will create 5 types of canapes to match each of the 5 Taylor and Shroff Wines to be followed by a set buffet. I can't wait and I am confident that Imli are going to do fantastically with these new unique wines! I look forward to working with them, it is always great working with somebody of such calibre and knowledge.

The Dentists do Wine

Wednesday 15th July, 2009. The weather looked over cast and there was a distinct possibility of rain! The West Terrace Posse where mustering in numbers, gathering at 8.45am outside their house for the enamellay challenged (aka - West Terrace Dental Practice).

The chiefs, Toby and Sam had arranged a half-day vineyard tour with a nice lunch as a group day out, team bonding or just a jolly to a vineyard?! The weather was holding, which I was glad about as Sam was wearing a decidedly (rich) blue light summery number with a lovely pair of matching sandals. Whilst a nice summer outfit indeed, not great for a muddy vineyard with lashing rain, so I quietly prayed to Bacchus, Dionysus and anyone else whom I thought would listen to me.
Having safely arrived, traversing the beautiful East Sussex countryside, the historic town of Battle, quaint Westfield we arrived at our vinous destination of Carr Taylor. Tea and coffee dispatched off we set to look at these things called vines. Rich green, and healthy looking the vineyards looked a picture of billowing green-ness and the prospect of a bumper harvest remains whispered but unspoken as not to tempt fate too much!

Viticulture (growing grapes) was far more interesting for most than I am sure they had expected and the trip into the actual winery where vinification (wine making) is explained was also educational for most. Thus the tour over, on with the wine tasting! We sampled at least 10 wines from Carr Taylor (Carr Taylor Vineyards, Westfield, East Sussex). Sparkling Rose, Sparkling Brut, still whites, still rose and fruit wines. Whilst not everyone enjoyed every wine, which is normal for a group of this size (14) they were enjoyed by most and opened up a whole new world of possibilities to another dedicated group of wine drinkers. Drink English, it's good for the planet!!

After a sumptuous Sussex Ploughman's Lunch, the group waded in with their boots, wallets and all and seriously raided the shop before departing. A really good day out for everyone was had.

Wine & Dine with English Vine Tours

Well the weather was not great and slightly damp under foot but at least the deluge had abated for the time being. Lucy and her mum, Henrietea, made their way from London to Battle in East Sussex. Ready for a superb day out in glorious East Sussex visiting one of the UK's finest examples of an organic vineyard then to be followed by a superb lunch at one of Sussex's finest restaurants.

Sedlescombe Vineyards in the village of Sedlescombe is a unique experience. Roy and Irma cook have embraced organic viticulture to its full, not only growing grapes and making wines organically but building their own home, growing their own vegetables and recycling everything. Roy is a fine example of a wannabee eco-warrior.

We toured a vineyard and looked at the various ways in which organic growing works and discussed the various benefits of it, as well as in general smaller production and on the whole the vibrancy and dynamism of English Wine. Irma talked us through the wines, sampling a wide variety starting with their sparkling rose, soft and fruity barrel matured red and various aromatic whites and their unique rose made from Roy's current favourite grape variety - Regent.

Now with a fine taste of wine on the palate we swung by Carr Taylor Vineyards for a brief look and a quick sample of their wonderful sparkling brut. From their we made our way to the famous Wild Mushroom Restaurant. Owned by the ubiquitous Paul Webbe and we were warmly welcomed indeed. Lucy and Henrietta enjoyed a lovely meal and by the end were suitably pink-cheeked and ready for the journey home.

Le Raj, Enam Ali and Taylor and Shroff wine for curry

8th July 2009, a good date! Gathering at arguably the UK's most celebrated Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant, Le Raj in Epsom Downs. Taylor & Shroff on the eve of our UK launch arranged a meeting with the famous and influential Enam Ali MBE at his flagship restaurant - Le Raj.

Amongst us, as well as Enam were Peter Grove from Mood Food, Shamin Hoque and Mark Gray from Currys Online as well as Taylor and Shroff's driving force and raison d'etre Mr David Carr Taylor.

Meeting Enam and Shamin & Mark was a complete pleasure, industry leaders, proud Brits and incredibly lovely human beings indeed. On discussion was Taylor and Shroff wines for curry, we sampled all five flavours to guage the response. Well we couldn't have wished for more. The meeting lasted from 12 until 4pm and could have continued. Enam arranged some fantastic dishes from the kitchens of Le Raj, one of which was his world famous Chiken Tikka Massala. Each dish was in turn matched with the Taylor & Shroff wines.

Although Enam & Shamin did not drink, they could nose the wines aromas and feel the heat of the debates that ensued. Offering wines by the glass to match individual dishes dependent on heat is a revelation withn the indistry and all present were tremendously excited by the idea. Taylor & Shroff are offering sampling stock along with point of sale materials and a branded back bar light with all accounts opened.

Enam seemed confident of listing the wines, with UK stocks available from the middle of August. Additionally we discussed the idea of Taylor and Shroff sponsoring the drinks reception at this year's UK Curry Awards. To be discussed. It seems that the wines went down extremely well and both Enam and Taylor and Shroff will meet again very soon to discuss listing the wines at Le Raj and his other restaurants as well as introductions to others and the future for enjoying your curry with wine to match looks good indeed. Many thanks to Enam Ali MBE for his kind and warm-hearted hospitality!

For further information regarding Taylor and Shroff please contact Ben Furst at ben.furst@btinternet.com