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...........

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.

Hastings Sea-Food Festival, 19th September

Forth Coming, must see event!

One of the most successful recent Sussex events is without a doubt the Hastings Sea-Food Festival. A celebration of local food, wines and sustainable fishing. Organised by Hastings Borough Council this event has grown from 8,000 to 50,000 in only 3 years. So much so that hotels gain bookings from France, Germany, Spain and even further a field.

This year, English Vine Tours are organising the Events Marquee for Saturday 19th September. Promoting local wines and foods in 3 one-hour tastings at the low cost of only £12.50 per ticket per event.

First event, 12-1pm is Organic English Wine with Sedlescombe Vineyards. Established by Roy and Irma cook, Sedlescombe are amongst the finest English producers of organic wines. Located in the gorgeous Sussex hamlet of Sedlescombe Roy and Irma completely embrace the organic lifestyle, even to the extent of building their own home. 6 wines will be on offer with an insight into the difficulties and the joys of producing organic wines in the UK.

2nd event, 2pm-3pm, is a combination entitled English Wines with Curry. Matching the unique wines from Taylor and Shroff (Carr Taylor) made exclusively to match hot and spicy foods with some fine Indian nibbles provided by Jali Restaurant. Presenting will be Alex Carr Taylor, the award winning wine maker at Carr Taylor and Benjamin Furst of Taylor and Shroff. Having enjoyed a sample of these wines with Jali's Indian cuisine people can enjoy the full experience at Jali as they will be the very first Indian restaurant in the UK to be listing the unique wines from Taylor and Shroff.

3rd event, 4pm-5pm is entitled, The Art and Science of Making Wine. Presented by Plumpton College, Paul Harley and Plumpton students. Plumpton is now one of the finest viticulture and vinification colleges in Europe with students from across the globe. An institution we should all be very proud of indeed. Sampling 4-6 wines as made by the students at Plumpton and available for sale on the day after or during the presentation.

For any further details or ticket enquiries please contact Ben or Georgie from English Vine Tours or Stephen Potter from Hastings Borough Council. Tickets are available to reserve from July onwards.

Enjoying Taylor & Shroff

What a glorious day for an English Vine Tour and wine tasting. The temperature was into the 80's (old money that is!), the vines are on the point of bursting forth into vibrant life just before flower set and bud set. David and Linda Carr Taylor, along with Ben Furst entertained a most wonderful couple! Peter and Colleen Grove from Mood Food.Com. MoodFood.Com is arguably now the UK's foremost and most influential online magazine focusing on ethnic cuisine, with it's main emphasis being towards the curry industry in the UK. over the past 10 years or more Peter and Colleen of MoodFood have delivered solid advice, acted as a point of reference, promoted and influenced the curry industry in the UK. With strong working relationships with Atul Kochar, Enam Ali, Cyrus Todiwala et al.

It was with anticipation that Peter and Colleen ventured down to sample the newest wines about to be launched in the UK. Produced in the heart of East Sussex uniquely to be matched with hot and spicy foods. The range of Taylor and Shroff consists of an off-dry white, an-off dry red, a cherry wine, a ginger wine and an apricot wine. Each wine was served with ice and with the food. Food and wine matching is not always easy and not always an exact science but with Taylor and Shroff it's made easy. Not only were the wines matching and enhancing the food like other wine has ever done, they were fun and exciting with each wine bringing a different experience and opening up over ice wonderfully.

Taylor and Shroff aim to launch in the UK around end of July, early August, starting at Jali restaurant in Hastings on 30th July and being followed by a bigger event to be held at The Nehru Centre in London towards the middle of August and via several events throughout Sussex thereafter. The superb response from Peter and Colleen and their desire to work with Taylor and Shroff in helping to create a successful launch will ensure that these new wines are going to be a massive hit!

The Grand Hotel Eastbourne & English Vine Tours

The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, a bastion of old fashioned style, elegance and tradition in today’s modern fast, sometimes trashy and throw away society. Situated on the Kings Parade Seafront in Eastbourne, commanding superb views over both The Downs and The Channel.

Andrew Boon, the Food and Beverage Manager of The Grand is on a half-day vine tour experience so taste first hand the sights of the Sussex countryside, the quality and charm of local wines and vineyards as well as enabling us to sign off combined experiences with The Grand and English Vine Tours. The weather was glorious and the day looked good.

Bud set is now taken place and all the future grapes are in fact in place now as tiny bud sets on the vine growth spurs/shoots. The crop for this year already looks great, the vines looks incredibly healthy, a great omen for this year’s crop and wine.

Having just returned from Champagne Andrew was amazed and pleased to see how clean the vineyard was at Carr Taylor and how fresh and healthy everything looked. Again experiencing a smaller vineyard he got a better grip and understanding of what a vineyard is all about, unlike his recent visit to Champagne where production is so vast that you can’t get a true feeling and taste of a working vineyard.

Carr Taylor, not being satisfied with their recent awards for their wines, are in the process of replacing an entire vineyard, as well as new plantings and vineyards near Bodiam Castle, the future of this venerable English estate has never looked better.

Suffice to say that Andrew thoroughly enjoyed his visit, enjoyed the wines and hopes to be working with Carr Taylor more in the future. Additionally for those of you who wish to experience the joy of The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, coupled with an English Vineyard Tour, look no further!

Three Cheers for English Wine

Three Cheers for English Wine

It was International Wine Awards time again this week, another year where accolades of medals are handed out to the wines that tickled the judges fancy. Most years a plethora of medals are awarded to wines bottled under multiple labels (Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference etc), as well as the usual plethora of French and Australian wines. Seeing as they enter the most wines for judging it is no surprise. One does wonder if the wines being entered by these giants are in fact what is finally or has been put in the bottle, or am I just being cynical.

Anyway, hurray!! A fantastic year for awards to English wines. A reflection of the strides forward the industry has made in a short period of time. Proving that we have the capability, the right climate, soil and desire. No longer are we a laughed at being a backwater wine producing country, as each year passes our wines grow in respect. Indeed possibly too much as much of the land in the south and south east seems to be falling into Johnny Foreigner’s hands. As a cynic it may be the case that the land and vineyards that are bought by French interest might be a sign that Champagne may not be all it’s hyped up to be?

So the English awards tally was great – 24 medals, 1 Gold (Camel Valley Bacchus), 4 Silver, 7 Bronze and 12 Commended. Out of that 4 were for red wines, this is very interesting. Whilst the awards were for Rondo, Dornfelder and Pinot Noir, I would expect Pinot Noir to continue to develop here and in the not so distant future we will be challenging New Zealand’s Pinot achievements. 13 awards for sparkling wines, they don’t get better anywhere in the world!

A big big well done to Camel Valley, Chapel Down, Whickam Vineyards, Astley Estate, Sharpham Vineyards, Ridgeview Vineyards, Carr Taylor Vineyards, Balfour Estate and anyone else that I may have forgotten.

We all need to be drinking more English wine, it’s clean, fruit driven, made locally and you know where it’s come from, cheers!