DrinkBritain

A time for celebration

Sparkling wine producer RidgeView has beaten top champagnes costing up to three times as much to win the Decanter International Trophy for Sparkling Wine over £10 for its Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2006.

Founded in 1995 by Mike and Christine Roberts, RidgeView is no stranger to accolades – earlier this year it won Wine of the Year for the second year running in the English and Welsh Wine Awards – but this is likely to command a special spot on its ever-more crowded wall of awards.

continue reading…

Is it a champagne? Is it a sparkling wine? No, it's a beer!

Need a celebratory gift for a beer lover? Someone who won’t thank you for a bottle of champagne’s finest? Look no further. Those groovy guys at Adnams have come up with just the tipple.

Brewed to commemorate 350 years of brewing at the current site, Sole Bay is a 75cl, 10% Belgian-style beer that arrives chicly disguised as a sparkling wine, complete with tin.

continue reading…

Come on down – the grapes are fine

Diary commitments permitting, Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne will be rolling up his sleeves for a spot of harvesting with one of his latest investments, Pebblebed Wines, this Autumn.

Bannatyne invested £60,000 in return for a 40% stake in Pebblebed’s future growth plans during the last run of the popular BBC series. “Pebblebed is a flourishing business,” he told DrinkBritain.com “and the wines are great. We have already trialled them at our Somerset Hotel [the recently purchased Charlton House in nearby Shepton Mallet] where they have been well received.” continue reading…

Champion Beer of Britain brewer Adrian Redgrove, receiving the trophy from Roger Protz for his Harvest Mild

Wondering whether to head to CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court this year? My advice – Go. More than once if you can. Because I bet there’ll be more you want to try than you manage on your first trip.

This year’s event is as awesome as ever, and I use that word in its truest sense. Having been there yesterday for the opening trade day, I’m not surprised 47,000 pints were sold. With over 700 real ales, ciders & perries including a strong foreign contingent, it is a drinker’s paradise.

continue reading…

Best foot forward – some of the many Walking Festival goers

The Boots and Beer Walking Festival began in 2002 when the Black Sheep Brewery took the initiative in the wake of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis to try and encourage visitors back to the Yorkshire Dales. Seven years later, 2009 saw nearly 500 hardy souls take part.

With guided walks, evening entertainment and – of course – plenty of fine ales on tap, this draws a large number of repeat visitors from around the country. Book your tickets early and dust off those walking boots.

Dates: 10-12 September
Location: throughout Upper Wensleydale, centring on Hawes, Bainbridge and Aysgarth.

Registration essential. Visit website for more details.

Take a peak at life on the ocean wave

With a million people expected to watch the 100 Tall Ships cross the finishing point as they sail into Hartlepool, Black Sheep will be the pint being poured in The Village, between PD Ports Victoria Harbour and Hartlepool Marina. With activities running from morn till dusk, from 7 to 10 August, visitors can not only watch the action, but go on board the ships and meet the captains and crew.

See Tall Ships 2010 for more information.

From grape to glass, from hop to heritage

Within striking distance of the big smoke, Kent has it all on the drinks front. For many beer lovers, it’s the home of hops, with now legendary tales of East Enders holidaying to pick the crop. For others, the cider apples are the fruit to applaud and appreciate, while more recently grapes have made a strong appearance.

Biddenden Vineyards already produces both cider and wine. To make the most of your Kentish day out, it has teamed up with the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood across the county for a combined group visit. continue reading…

Bolney’s first sparkling red is named after one of the most visible stars in the night skies, the super red giant, Antares – its radius is about 800 times that of the sun. Made in the traditional manner from Dornfelder, a grape that does well in the cooler climates of England, less than 200 cases were produced, so this is one to catch while you can.

continue reading…

Sparkling success: Pebblebed wins Dragon's backing

Within 12 hours of Geoff Bowen’s appearance on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, he had received 100 requests for more information – not something you’d normally expect from an English vigneron in the rural Devon town of Topsham.

But then there’s nothing that “normal” about the way Bowen runs his business. To begin with, rather than ending up in hock to the bank, he persuaded 20 other families to get involved with his initial Pebblebed vineyard purchase. Currently he has 22 acres spread over three sites.

continue reading…

Hampshire’s Food Festival is heading towards the half-way mark, but don’t let the word “food” put you off – there’s more than a few liquid events included on its list of activities.

Take Wickham Vineyards in Shedley for example, halfway along the coast from Southampton to Portsmouth. In the news this year for buying some of the former wine shops from the now defunct First Quench chain, it continues with its original business – an 18-acre vineyard complete with celebrity chef, Atul Kochar’s out-of-town restaurant, Vatika.

continue reading…

Working in a bar or restaurant and want to expand your beer horizons? Garrett Oliver, brewmaster for New York’s legendary Brooklyn Brewery will be speaking at Imbibe 2010 on Tuesday afternoon at Earls Court.

While you are there, check out the Hop & Apple Garden for a few other fruit and cereal-derived tipples. Taste your way around the globe, from Shepherd Neame’s iconic Spitfire Ale via a medley of world beers from adventurous suppliers like James Clay, continue reading…

Wine: nature or nurture?

What makes a great drink? Obviously it’s down to flavour and taste, but what are the key factors? Is it the ingredients – the fruit, the hops or the barley? Or the weather or the site? Or perhaps the thinking, be it traditionally-inspired or forward-looking? Or is it down to the people or the community from where the product hails?

With UK drinks producers getting their own category in the BBC’s highly respected Food & Farming Awards, a panel of judges led by leading chef Angela Hartnett will be examining just these questions later this year.

continue reading…

Tiny price for a tiny tot

Master of Malt have introduced a mini-delivery charge for its popular Drinks by the Dram whiskies, with a new flat rate of £2.45 for a single 3cl bottle.

For those wanting a few, the standard £4.95 super saver rate  remains the most cost-effective method.

And if you are contemplating a bit of research, the first of a number of tasting sets has gone online, including the Scottish Whisky Regions set and further afield, the Whiskies of the World set. With hundreds of tiny bottles to choose from, Master of Malt sales director Ben Ellefson says they have “many, many more ideas up our sleeve”.

Touring Scotland by dram

A bit of watch that space perhaps…

www.masterofmalt.com

Oz Clarke congratulates Bob Lindo, left, and son, Sam

Sparkling rosé has a strong future in England says the UK’s Winemaker of the Year, Sam Lindo of Camel Valley in Cornwall. Having just been awarded the International Wine Challenge’s Sparkling Rosé Trophy for his Pinot Noir 2008 ahead of rivals in Champagne and across the world, Lindo said that the whole family was “delighted” and admitted that the news “was still sinking in”.

“I really honestly believe that rosé can become synonynous with England,” he told DrinkBritain.com. “There’s more raspberry and strawberry flavours.” continue reading…

How do you like your gin?

Gin is leading the charge for British drinks at Imbibe 2010, the new show from the guys behind Square Meal and Imbibe on 13-14 July at Earls Court.

Targeted solely at those in the bar and restaurant industry and covering all drinks types, with 13,500 visitors already registered, it’s likely to be a busy couple of days.

With half a dozen premium players – Sipsmith, Sacred, No 3 London Dry, Greenall’s, Geranium and Whitley Neill – there’s every chance to see what it is about these gins that is catching people’s eye – and palates. continue reading…

All the fun of the fair

Those of you within striking distance of Hampshire have a fun month ahead. Hampshire Food Festival returns for its tenth appearance throughout July.

With everything from watercress workshops to wine tasting, events kick off in earnest this weekend.

Head to Portsmouth for the Gunwharf Quays Festival, where the star turn will be Raymond Blanc in the food theatre, plus a 40-strong real ale festival, an Italian food market and regional food stalls. Open Fri-Sun.

If you are in Basingstoke, drop by Festival Place, where inimitable wine expert Olly Smith will be keeping chefs Ed Baines and John Burton Race chained to the stove for their cookery demos. Sat 3–Sun 4 July

continue reading…

Don't be shy, there's plenty to go around

Now is a great time to be a whisky explorer. Although nothing beats a trip around the distillery – see below for some ideas on where to get started if you are heading to Scotland this Summer – Charles Maclean’s World Whisky, out last year, is to be joined by Dave Broom’s World Atlas of Whisky this autumn. Typically beautiful – well it is produced by those lovely people who brought you the World Atlas of Wine and Dave’s other evocative book, Rum – this sizeable tome is likely to be a welcome addition to any malt-lover’s bookshelves.

Placing this most complex of products in its context, both in terms of history and flavour, is a fascinating exercise. Where else can a dent in the production vessel have a pivotal role on the final taste – or be so imprtant that any new containers must replicate said “flaw”?

continue reading…

The artisan innards of boutique brewery, Grain

A bit like the Easter Bunny, Tindall’s Summer Loving makes just one appearance a year and this year’s public sighting will be at Grain’s Summer Festival, Saturday 26 June.

Perfectly poised near the Suffolk / Norfolk border near the picturesque village of Alburgh (pronounced Arrbraa), Grain is one of East Anglia’s most go-ahead small breweries.

continue reading…

More than just music: Glastonbury Abbey revives cider magic

Festivals have played as much a part in sharing the joy of cider with a wider audience as any amount of ice-cube inspired campaigns. So, as tents get pitched and guitars are tuned, the news that a Glastonbury Cider beat off 360 rivals at the Royal Bath & West Show to be named Supreme Cider Champion might not be too surprising.

What is unusual is its origins: the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. Apples have been grown here since medieval times with records showing the monks enjoying a tipple or two, but 2009 was the year the Abbey teamed up with cider revival pioneer, Julian Temperley of the Somerset Cider Brandy company.

continue reading…

King Sam, UK Winemaker of the Year

For the second time in four years, Cornwall-based Camel Valley has picked up the Winemaker of the Year Trophy in the English & Welsh Wine of the Year annual awards. Not to be outdone, sparkling wine specialists RidgeView Wine Estate took the Wine of the Year trophy for the second year running. Top medal tally goes to Kent’s Chapel Down Wines for its haul of five golds, two silvers and four bronzes. continue reading…