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On today’s episode of the English Wine Diaries is Laura Robinson and Mathew Abbey from Burn Valley Vineyard in Norfolk.
Laura’s family moved to Crossways Farm in North Creake in October 1989, but it wasn’t until 2016 that they decided to plant vines on their land, harvesting their first crop after the hot summer of 2018.
Since then, they have built and expanded a winery and developed a portfolio of still, sparkling and sweet wines and vermouths.Laura, who has a background in forensic science, works with her sister, Sam, to run the vineyard while her brother, Jack, farms the surrounding land. Mathew, who has been working in the wine industry for over 17 years including a decade in New Zealand’s top wine regions, joined the team in 2019.
This year they won the Independent English Wine Award trophy for their 2022 Chardonnay, shining a spotlight on Burn Valley and the wider region of Norfolk as a future hot spot for the grape and still winemaking in the UK.
We talk about their growing, diverse portfolio of wines, how they feel Norfolk has grown as a wine region over the last few years and the wines they would like to make in the future.
To find out more follow @burnvalleyvineyard on Instagram or visit burnvalleyvineyard.co.uk.
NB apologies, we had slight audio difficulties recording this episode.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of the English Wine Diaries is award-winning wine expert and social media sensation, Tom Gilbey.
The Gilbey name is synonymous with wine and spirits. The Gilbey family were the first English family to buy a vineyard in Bordeaux in 1875 and subsequently became the most prominent wine and spirits merchant in the UK, selling one in every three bottles of wine consumed, and building a portfolio that included Smirnoff Vodka, J&B whisky and their very own Gilbeys Gin.
Tom spent much of his childhood at his great-grandfather's chateaux and naturally caught the wine bug. He began making wine at the tender age of 23 before becoming a wine merchant and now runs a wine events business, renowned for its energetic and entertaining approach to wine.
In recent years Tom has brought this engaging style of wine education to a new audience on social media, working with his son, Fred, to produce hilarious wine reviews and essentially take the piss out of the perceived stuffiness of the wine world.
But, if you haven’t yet caught him on Instagram or TikTok, then you may have seen him splashed across the news last spring when he ran the London Marathon, blind tasting 20-odd wines along the way and raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds Tom's expertise and enthusiasm for bringing wine to a new generation a huge breath of fresh air.
We talk about his 'Eddie the Eagle' post-marathon week, which saw him interviewed by news stations across the globe, how and why he is so passionate about bringing wine to a new audience and exactly what it's like to be a 'Wine Wanker'.
You can follow Tom and Fred's antics @TomGilbeywine on Instagram and TikTok and find out more about his wine boxes, tastings and events at tomgilbey.com.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Richard Balfour-Lynn, co-founder of Balfour Winery in Kent.
Following an education at Westminster School and the City of London Business School, Richard set up his first business at 24 years old – his early business interests ranged from Irish linen and lace to medical diagnostic centres and air conditioning companies, all with varying degrees of success and failure.
In his late 20s, he began developing high end residential properties across Central London and later progressed into commercial property ranging from office buildings and shopping centres to leisure centres and hotels. During this time he was involved in the running of brands such as Malmaison, Hotel du Vin, DeVere, Liberty and Searcy’s.
In 2002, Richard and his wife Leslie decided to plant a vineyard in Kent for fun, and eight years later built their first winery on the Hush Heath Estate near Staplehurst in Kent. But, with the huge success of their first wine, Balfour Brut Rosé, what began as a passion project soon became a family business.
Today, Richard and Leslie offer an exceptional guest experience across 400 acres of pristine Kent countryside and within their winery and 200-seater tasting room. They also run the “Hush Heath Hospitality” group comprising a growing number of pubs with boutique hotel rooms across London, Kent and Sussex.
You can find out more about Balfour Winery by following @balfourwinery on Instagram or visit balfourwinery.com.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Johnny Stanford, chef patron of Tern Restaurant in Worthing.
Manchester born and bred, Johnny began his career working with Paul Kitching at his acclaimed restaurant Juniper in Altrincham, before heading to Cumbria, then Edinburgh and finally settling in Sussex in 2012.
Johnny worked as sous chef at the Michelin starred restaurant Matt Gillan @ The Pass before taking the reins as head chef at Pascere in Brighton and then heading up the 3 AA rosettes restaurant AG’s at Alexander House.
Last year, Johnny became the proud owner and Head Chef of Tern, a fine dining restaurant situated at the end of Worthing’s Art Deco Pier. Here he creates captivating menus using British produce in the peak of its seasonality, offers an England-only wine list and some of THE most breathtaking views of the South Coast.
We talk about the logistical challenges of running a restaurant at the end of a 300-metre long pier (if you follow Johnny or Tern then you’ll know they had their biggest yet this week when Worthing Pier unexpectedly closed for repair work), his strangest food and English wine pairings and the reason why he believes in British food and drink producers so much.
I loved this chat with Johnny and hope you enjoy it too - you can show him and the rest of the Tern team some love by following @johnntstanfordchef and @Ternrestaurant on Instagram and look out for news of their latest English winemaker dinners at ternrestaurant.co.uk.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Mary Bridges, head winemaker and vineyard visionary at Gusbourne.
Mary grew up near Inverness in Scotland in a farming family, where her love of the land developed from an early age, along with an instinct for the flavour alchemy created by good wine.
She started her career in hospitality and quickly became enthused with the wine aspect, so sought to further her passion and knowledge at Plumpton College, all the way down south in Sussex.
Before joining Gusbourne, Mary spent time abroad working with renowned wine producers in the South of France and California but returned to the UK to explore the fast-growing opportunities on this side of the Atlantic.
She joined the winemaking team at Gusbourne in 2018 and has spent the last six years working closely with former Head Winemaker and previous guest on this podcast, Charlie Holland, to create some of the brand’s most exceptional vintages.
Mary was promoted to oenologist in 2020, before being appointed Head Winemaker in September 2023, when she was somewhat thrown into the deep-end overseeing what has been Gusbourne’s largest harvest to date.
We talk about the new generation of English winemakers coming through the ranks, what Mary has learned during her eight years at Gusbourne and what the future has in store for one of England's most renowned wine brands.
You can follow Mary on Instagram @maero_b and Gusbourne @Gusbourne_wine.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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We're back with series 11 of The English Wine Diaries and kick starting this season is The Mistress of Wine, aka Sam Caporn MW.
Not only is Sam one of just 421 Masters of Wine world-wide, (of which there are only 149 women) she was also the recipient of the 2011 Madame Bollinger Medal for Excellence in Tasting and remains one of just 16 women to have received the medal to date.
Sam’s wine career started as a trainee manager at Majestic and in the years that followed, she studied a swathe of wine qualifications, culminating in her Masters of Wine accreditation.
But, she remembers all too well the time before that, when – in her own words, she knew not a sausage about wine. And it is this that drives her passion today for educating others about wine in an approachable and entertaining way.
As well as working as a consultant across the wine industry and judging for awards, including co-chairing the International Wine Challenge, Sam hosts corporate and private tastings, which are often focused on her wine flavour tree.
The tree forms the basis for her debut book, The Wine Flavour Guide, which shows readers how to pick the best wine for any occasion.
Listen in to find out who Sam's favourite English wine brands are, who she'd choose to share her favourite bottle of wine with and the reason she has some Veuve Clicquot branded wellies in her closet.
You can follow Sam on Instagram @themistressofwine and find out more about her at themistresswine.com. The Wine Flavour Guide is published by Square Peg and is available from all good book stores, RRP £20.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on the last episode of series 10 of The English Wine Diaries is wine expert and presenter, Tom Surgey.
Tom was just 14 when his career in hospitality started, peeling carrots and potatoes in a Sussex pub after school. At the tender age of 20, he found himself working at The Ivy in London, where a hero called Sancho taught him the basics of wine and his passion for the drink really grew.
He took his WSET qualifications and, hooked on wine, left the restaurant side of the industry in 2014 to join Ridgeview, where he spent six years working alongside renowned pioneers of high-quality English wine-making, the Roberts family.
During his time at Ridgeview, Tom was invited to join the official line-up of Three Wine Men – joining Oz Clarke, Olly Smith and Tim Atkin with his unique style of wine presentation.
As a freelance wine communicator and consultant, he works with a broad range of premium wine businesses, is a regular on BBC Sussex & Surrey Radio and often shares his expert drinks tips with star guests on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh.
Set for release later this summer, Tom’s debut book, How to Drink Wine, promises to be a charismatic guide to teach you everything you need to know to enjoy this tremendous tipple.
During this episode, which is brought to you in partnership with Plumpton College Wine Division, we talk about those early days at The Club at The Ivy, how he joined the Three Wine Men line-up and - having grown up and still living in Sussex – his true thoughts on the Sussex PDO.
Follow Tom @tomsurgey on instagram and pre-order his book, How to Drink Wine, published on August 29, at geni.us/howtodrinkwine.
Find out more about Plumpton College Wine Division's new short courses at plumpton.ac.uk.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Michael Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of Roebuck Estates – who make premium sparkling wine from their multi-vineyard estates in Sussex.
Following university, Michael joined the Graduate Management Scheme of Marks and Spencer, and became the first trainee manager to be appointed to an overseas position in Paris. After a period as a buyer, he moved to Mars Confectionery where he worked as a National Sales Manager in the UK.
What followed was years in the drinks industry working predominantly in premium branded spirits – he joined the Drambuie Liqueur Company in 2002, became CEO in 2011 and after a successful turnaround of the iconic Scottish brand, led the subsequent sale to William Grants & Son in 2014.
His most recent role, prior to joining Roebuck Estates, was with Stock Spirits Group, one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of alcoholic beverages in Europe, where he ran the Italian and international arm of the business and headed up the Mergers & Acquisitions department.
During his comparatively short time at Roebuck Estates, which was established in 2013, the brand has won numerous trophies and awards at global wine competitions, launched a new tasting area at its flagship Petworth vineyard and become the first exclusive English sparkling wine partner at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival.
You can find out more about Roebuck Estates by following them @roebuckestates on Instagram and facebook.With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.
Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is David Bailey – the owner of Wraxall Vineyard in Somerset.
David and his wife, Lexa Hunt bought Wraxall – thought to be the oldest vineyard in Somerset – in February 2021 having moved into the neighbouring 200-year-old farmhouse a few years earlier.
The couple, who have both run and grown businesses within the financial sector, had absolutely no viticultural experience but saw an opportunity, not only to make great wine, but a place where people can come and enjoy that wine.
Last year, they opened The View at Wraxall, a stunning glass-fronted tasting and events space overlooking the vines and they have recently finished renovating the old, dilapidated winery into a charming rural botlhole to get away from it all.
Their increasing portfolio of high-quality wines currently includes a still rosé, made from early ripening pinot noir, a still bacchus and a barrel fermented bacchus, which recently won the trophy for Best Bacchus at the WineGB Awards. The first of their traditionally method sparkling wines are expected to be ready for release towards the end of the year.
We talk about David's reluctance to become a vineyard owner, how important tourism is to the longevity of Wraxall and what the vineyard's previous 90-year-old owners think about David and Lexa's takeover.
You can find out more about Wraxall and order their award-winning wines at wraxallvineyard.co.uk and you can follow them @wraxallvineyard on Instagram.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is John Wilkins, Commercial Director at Itasca Wines and Penn Croft Vineyards in Hampshire.
Itasca Wines is a sustainable full contract winemaking company, which under the lead of award-winning winemaker Ben Smith, delivers a grape to bottle service for a host of top wine brands and premium boutique vineyards across the UK.
Ben and the Itasca team also produce wines from grapes grown in their own vineyard, Penn Croft, where they have 16,000 vines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Bacchus.
The business is the shared vision of local farmer and sustainable agriculture expert, Simon Porter, and filmmaker Malcolm Walker, whose credits include Star Wars, Aliens and wine documentary show Cellar Rats.
Central to their business vision is sustainability and a mission to drive adoption of biodiverse viticulture and they have invested huge amounts into sustainability-focused innovations including a natural wetlands system so no waste water leaves the site, a solar farm for electricity and thermo controlled tanks.
This, they say, is because they are in it for the long run and want to make wine in a way that not only protects, but actively gives back to the natural world.
To find out more follow @penncroftvineyards and @itascawines on Instagram.
This episode of The English Wine Diaries is brought to you in partnership with New Dawn Pubs and The Red Lion in Odiham, where you can book a Pinot & Pyjamas weekender, which includes a 2-night weekend stay, early check-in, or late check-out, a welcome glass of wine each, your choice of two nibble dishes to share, plus a £100 food and drink credit and 10% off a Penn Croft Wine Tasting & Tour - all for just £365. Visit redlionodiham.co.uk and keep an eye out on socials for your chance to win a Pinot & Pyjamas stay!
With thanks, as always to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is none other than Blur bassist, Alex James.
Blur formed in 1988 and their nine studio albums have all topped the charts in the UK, generating numerous hit singles along the way including Song 2, Beetlebum and Coffee & TV.
Now you may be wondering why a member of one of the most successful and influential bands of the 90s would come on a podcast about English wine but I assure you, there is good reason!
Following a hugely successful career with Blur, and as a songwriter and producer for other big-name artists, Alex somewhat stepped away from the limelight in the early noughties when he moved to the country with his wife, Claire, and set up a cheese farm.
This 200 acre estate in The Cotswolds now plays host to The Big Feastival, which brings together over 75,000 people across three days in August to celebrate good food, good music and good times.
What goes down well at festivals? Cider of course. And in 2019, Alex launched his first sparkling medium dry cider, which he aptly named BritPop.
Last year he threw a bit of a curve ball into the mix and launched an English Sparkling Wine, also under the Britpop name and made with grapes grown on the Furleigh Estate in Dorset, the county where Alex was born and bred.
He has now added an English sparkling rosé and elderflower wine spritzer to the range and I can attest to the fact they all go brilliantly well with his award-winning cheeses!
We talk about crisps as canapés, drinking Champagne for breakfast and what dream person Alex would love to share a glass of Britpop with.
The Britpop collection is available from laithwaites.co.uk and you can book tickets to The Big Feastival (which takes place between 23rd to 25th August 2024) at thebigfeastival.com.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Will Perkins, winemaker for Louis Pommery England, the English project under the Vranken-Pommery portfolio, which has planted 35-hectares of vines on the Pinglestone Estate in Hampshire.
Having grown up in Hampshire, just outside Winchester, Will has fond memories of formative years in the county and it was here that his first work in wine began – helping out at Hattingley Valley vineyard during his school holidays.
Travelling to South Africa to study History, Politics and Spanish at university in Cape Town, a career in English viticulture wasn’t hugely on his radar. But when he returned to England, a harvest cellar hand position at Hattingly presented itself. Soon Will had embarked on a degree in Viticulture and was promoted to Assistant Winemaker at Hattingley.
After five years, an unrelenting quest to explore, experiment and experience further afield saw him leave his home county once again and spend time working on pioneering projects across the globe, from California to Central Otago and from the Adelaide Hills to the Yarra Valley.
Now with his feet firmly back on home soil, Will describes joining Pinglestone Estate in 2022 as an opportunity to ‘reconnect with the land and community that runs through his being.”
You can keep up to date with developments at Pinglestone Estate by following @louispommeryengland on Instagram.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is winemaker Charlie Holland.
Charlie worked his first vintage in Australia some 24 years ago and caught the wine bug. He returned to England and immediately enrolled at the renowned Plumpton College in Sussex.
While there he worked part-time at nearby Ridgeview wine estate before heading off to do winemaking stints in California, Germany and New Zealand.
In 2009 he took on a full-time winemaking role back home at Ridgeview, before being offered the position of Head Winemaker at Gusbourne in 2013 – that role expanded to CEO just three years later.
However, last year Charlie announced he was leaving this prestigious role to join California-based wine company, Jackson Family Wines, and help spearhead the brand’s own English wine venture, which has included the planting of vines in Essex’s Crouch Valley.
He joins me from the edge of said vineyard in Essex, having just moments earlier planted the last vine in the current phase of this English wine venture to talk about the evolution of winemaking in Kent & Sussex over the past decade, the future for grapes in Essex and why, sometimes, beer is better than wine.
To find out more about what the new Essex vineyard and what's next for Jackson Family Wines' English adventure, follow @jacksonfamilywines on instagram or visit jacksonfamilywines.com.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Welcome back to Series 10 of The English wine Diaries. Joining me on the first episode of this series are Katie and Umut Yesil from Riverview Crouch Valley Vineyard in Essex.
Prior to planting their vineyard in the now famed Crouch Valley, the couple ran a food and drink PR business in London, but following a conversation around the kitchen table with Katie’s father Billy – a third generation arable farmer – they decided to focus their attention on English wine.
In 2017 they set about converting 11 acres of land on the family farm into a vineyard, planting the traditional Champagne varieties of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier with a view to make sparkling wine.
However, when the grapes from their first harvest in 2020 came back with incredible sugar levels, they decided to produce single varietal still Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These have already received rave reviews from wine critics and have been placed in fine dining restaurants across the UK.
We talk about English still versus sparkling wine, winning rave reviews for their wines and what might be the future for winekmaking in Essex's Crouch Valley.
Keep up to date with news from Katie and Umut by following @riverviewcrouchvalley and buy their wines at riverviewcrouchvalley.com.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10. Please drink responsibly.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Art Tukker, owner of Tinwood Estate in West Sussex.
The Tukker family farm, which is situated in the hamlet of Halnacker, near Chichester, has a history of growing lettuce but when Art took over in 2006, he had other ideas.
While studying agriculture and farming at university, it dawned on Art that growing vines could be his family’s future and, after spending some time working at vineyards in New Zealand, returned to Sussex and set about planting the three classic Champagne varieties.
Fast forward 18 years and the Tinwood estate now has 110 acres under vine and harvests between three and four hundred tonnes of grapes each year.
As well as touring the vineyards and sampling Tinwood’s award-winning sparkling wine, visitors to the estate can also stay the night in one of the three – very soon to be eight – luxury lodges.
And once a year Art and his team host a sell-out summer party, where guests dance among the vines to the sound of top DJs, accompanied by fabulous street food and, of course, plenty of English sparkling wine.We talk about how Art transitioned his family farm from producing salad to wine, the challenges he faced in the early days and why Tinwood is all about making English sparkling wine and the vineyard experience inclusive for everyone.
To find out more about Tinwood Estate, visit tinwoodestate.com or follow @tinwoodestatevineyard on Instagram or @TinwoodEstate on Facebook.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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In this special episode of The English Wine Diaries, brought to you in partnership with Coravin, I am joined by the company's inventor and founder Greg Lambrecht.
Having had a successful career in medical technologies and engineering degrees from MIT, Greg combined his knowledge of medical-grade needles with his passion for wine to develop a unique preservation system that allowed him to pour wine without removing the cork.
The first Coravin wine preservation system, which uses a non-coring needle to pass through the cork while it’s still in the bottle, was launched to the market in 2013.
Since the launch of that ground-breaking device, Greg has continued to innovate and has created additional products for still and sparkling wines that give both consumers and trade professionals the freedom to pour wine, in any amount, without feeling the need to finish the entire bottle or waste a single drop.
To anyone like me, who loves wine, or works in the industry – he is quite frankly a genius!
We talk about the catalyst for the invention of the Coravin wine preservation system, returning to the place Greg had his first taste of wine as a teenager and his hopes and dreams for the future of the brand.
For more information about Coravin's wine preservation systems, visit coravin.co.uk. You can follow Greg on Instagram @gregatcoravin.
With thanks to our series sponsor, Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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My guest on today’s episode of The English Wine Diaries is Sarah Massey, the esteemed head winemaker at Lyme Bay Winery in Axeminster, in Devon.
Sarah’s interest in winemaking was sparked at an early age and, after completing her Wine Business degree at Plumpton College, she embarked on a remarkable career, working harvests around the world before arriving at Lyme Bay Winery in 2019.
Sarah's leadership, expertise and innovative approach have been instrumental in shaping Lyme Bay’s reputation as a beacon of excellence within the English wine industry.
Having initially started as a cider house 30 years ago, Lyme Bay is now a trailblazer in the production of top-tier English wines – buying the best fruit from vineyards located in the best parts of the UK, to make the best quality wine possible.Under Sarah's guidance, this diverse portfolio of wines, which ranges from traditional method sparkling wines to exceptional still varietals, has garnered accolades and critical acclaim for authentically capturing the unique terroir of the English countryside.
We talk about the moment Sarah fell in love with English wine, her passion for Burgundian-style wines and what attracted her back to her Devon roots after travelling the world.
To find out more about Lyme Bay Winery and tastings at its cellar door, visit lymebaywinery.co.uk and follow @lymebaywinery on Instagram and facebook.
This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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Joining me on this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is wine educator and winemaker, Jimmy Smith.
Jimmy has worked in the wine industry for over 20 years. Having started his career in wine buying, he founded West London Wine School, one of the UK's leading wine, spirit and beer education facilities, in 2010, and in 2020 started online wine education tool Wine with Jimmy.
The school has won multiple awards over the years, including Consumer Educator of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in 2023.
Jimmy has more recently turned his hand to winemaking and, together with business partner and wife, Bethany Paterson, and fellow winemaker Sam Hill, set up Beare Green Winery in the Surrey Hills.The winery crafts small batch wines made of grapes sourced from exceptional vineyards within the south of England and focuses on natural yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, innovation and creativity.
We talk about where Jimmy's passion for wine originated, how Beare Green Winery has given he and and Sam the vehicle to experiment with different grapes and techniques and the wine regions that have influenced their winemaking style.
To find out more about the latest wines from Beare Green Winery visit bearegreenwinery.com or follow Jimmy @winewithjimmy on Instagram.
This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free deliver on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries is Gail Gardner, Managing Director of Ashling Park Estate in the charming hamlet of West Ashling near Chichester.
It was after Gail spent some time living in Switzerland and was seduced by the romantic vineyards there that she convinced her family to plant vines back in Sussex and, in 2018 their English wine adventure began.
They planted the traditional champagne varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier, as well as some Bacchus and Pinot Precoce, and have gone on to produce sparkling and still wines which have won numerous awards.
But with a fabulous estate at her disposal and a career in marketing, Gail wasn’t happy to settle for just producing award-winning wines. So, along with her team, she has developed Ashling Park into a thriving tourist spot that not only offers vineyard tours and tastings but a stunning first floor restaurant with views across the vines, luxury accommodation, designed by Lewes-based architect and Channel 4 Amazing Spaces co-host, William Hardie and there’s even a gin-making school.
We talk about the future of Sussex's wine tourism, the pressure to keep winning awards and how Gail hopes Ashling Park will continue to be a family affair for years to come.
For more information about Ashling Park Estate visit ashlingpark.co.uk or follow @ashlingpark on Instagram or @ashlingparkestate on facebook.
This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
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On this week's episode of The English Wine Diaries podcast is Tommy Grimshaw, head winemaker at Langham, in Dorset.
Tommy developed a love for English wine after a summer holiday season spent labelling and bottling wine as a teenager. He left school to work a harvest at Sharpham Vineyard – now known as Sandridge Barton – in Devon and there, he progressed to Assistant Winemaker.
He joined Langham in 2019 and worked alongside Daniel Ham with the aim of producing world class sparkling wines without fining or filtration and minimal SO2 additions. In January 2020, at the age of 24, Tommy took on the role of Head Winemaker, making him the youngest head winemaker in the UK.
As well as producing and developing Langham’s award-winning, minimal intervention wines, Tommy has judged for the Independent English Wine Awards, has been included in the Harpers 30 Under 30 list and was named their Commitment Champion for his dedication to the industry.
We talk about Tommy's love of hands-off winemaking, why the landscape of the Jurassic Coast, where Langham is situated, is so perfect for creating sparkling wine (despite the rain!) and his hopes for more young people to join the English wine-making scene.You can follow Tommy on Instagram @tommy_grimshaw and find out more about Langham at langhamwine.co.uk.
This episode of The English Wine Diaries is sponsored by Wickhams, The Great British Wine Merchant. Visit wickhamwine.co.uk to see their award-winning range of English wine with free delivery on orders over £40. The English Wine Diaries listeners can also get 10% discount on their first purchase by entering the code TEWD10.Thanks for listening to The English Wine Diaries. If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave a rating or review, it helps boost our ratings and makes it easier for other people to find us. To find out who will be joining me next on the English Wine Diaries, follow @theenglishwinediaries on Instagram and for more regular English wine news and reviews, sign up to our newsletter at thesouthernquarter.co.uk.
- Visa fler
