English Still Wine @ Host Your Own (HYO) Wine Club June 2018

It's English Wine Week, so to celebrate we're recommending three tasty English still white wines for your wine club.

When you try the wines please tell us what you think on Twitter using @HYOwineclub and #HYOwineclub, or on the PrincessAndThePinot Facebook Page - we would love to chat to you about the wines you've tasted based on our recommendations. Most of the wines will be available on the high street, but some come from independent stores or winemakers. You can try the wines in the comfort of your own home at your leisure, or you can come to our pop-up wine bars to try the wines, or we can help you to Host Your Own wine club. The flights of wine served at our pop-up wine bars will feature the wines recommended for HYO Wine Club.

Top Tips

English wine has come a long way from the tart flabby wines that we used to make, to the 120 awards won at the International Wine Challenge 2016. Now even Taittinger, the French Champagne house, has bought some land in Kent to invest in English Sparkling wine. But it’s not just the sparklers that are outstanding, there are some English still wines that are worth a try, and here are three of them. Be aware that “British” wine is different to “English” wine. English wines are made from grapes that are grown here and then the wine is made here, whereas British wines import the juice to make here.

Chapel Down Flint Dry 2016 12%

Chapel Down is a winery in Kent. They don’t reveal grape varieties on the bottle, meaning it will be a blend of several varieties, and the quantities will vary to continue making the same style of wine through varying vintages. This one is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Schönburger among others. Elderflower, mineral and smokiness, not dissimilar to a Pouilly Fume style. This wine gets its texture from extended lees contact (sitting on the dead yeast cells left over from the fermentation). Chapel Down also make amazing vodka and gin using grapes. And brandy. And Curious Brew beer. They run guided tours, with a restaurant on site, and you can also lease a vine for exclusive benefits. £11.99 Waitrose.

LDN Cru Baker Street Bacchus 2016 11.5%

This wine is grown in England and made in London. Vinifed from Bacchus grapes grown in Kent and Essex. Bacchus is England’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc because of its aromatics – known to have high sugars and low acidity, but our climate can cultivate a higher acidity in the grapes. Elderflower, stone fruits and cut grass with crisp acidity. Won Silver medal IWC 2017 and £15 Roberson – all LDN Cru currently 25% off. My favourite LDN Cru wine is the Charlotte Street Chardonnay (£20), but although the wine is made in London the grapes come from South of France, but worth a mention here! And soon they will be launching their English Chardonnay which I can't wait to try.

Litmus White Pinot 2015 12%

Litmus makes their wines at Denbies wine estate. Still wines produced in England, producing food orientated Northern European cool climate styles. They use a number of vineyard sites in Essex, Surrey and Sussex. Typically using old barriques and extended lees contact to create flavour complexity. Peach, honeysuckle and smoke. Full bodied, which is unusual in English wines. Grapes are carefully handled throughout the winemaking process. Fermented in oak barriques and remained on lees for 9mths. Possibly the first still white 100% Pinot Noir to be made in England. M&S £22. Another wine to note from Litmus is Element 20 (Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio) available from Waitrose £16.99.

English Still Wines

English wine has come a long way from the tart flabby wines of old to the 120 awards won at the International Wine Challenge 2016, and now even Tattinger, the French Champagne house, has bought some land in Kent to invest in English Sparkling wine. But its not just the sparklers that are outstanding, here are some English white, red and rose still wines I think are worth a try.

Ranked by price low-high, supermarket retailers shown where available.

Stanlake Park Hinton Grove, Berkshire (£10.49 Stanlake Park)
Although this is an off-dry aromatic wine, it is beautifully balanced so you don't notice the slight sweetness, making it an easy drinking tipple. Soft and interesting, like spotting an unusual butterfly. Made from Madeleine Angevine, Reichensteiner, Schonburger, Wurzer and Ehrenfelser grapes, this is a complex, well structured wine that will go well with Asian dishes like Thai Green Curry. Also Available from Rebellion Brewery in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Oaken Grove Benham Blush, Oxfordshire (£11.49 Waitrose or £50 for six if you buy direct)
A dry rose made from 100% Pinot Noir. Enticing strawberries and cream on the nose with hints of apple, peach and cherry cobbler flavour characteristics. Great served with pork chop and green beans. Reminiscent of sitting in an English country garden.

Chiltern Valley Dry, Oxfordshire (£11.95 Old Luxters)
Made with the Reichensteiner grape, this light and crisp white is refreshing and delicious, particularly if partnered with BBQ'd fish with a wedge of lime. Bright and breezy like standing outside on a ferry.

Sharpham Whole Berry Rose, Devon (£14.99 Waitrose)
A pale pink rose with strawberries and cherry blossom aromas. Made from 100% Dornfelder grapes and pressed as whole bunches, resulting in an off-dry wine with summer berries and soft tannins on the palate. Bright, fun and friendly, like a picnic in the park.

LDN Cru Bacchus (£15 London Cru)
Made from 100% Bacchus grapes grown in Kent with the wine made in London. Flavours of elderflower, cut grass and lemon rind, with a lovely mouthfeel from the lees-stirring (batonnage). Complex fleeting floral aromas, like walking through a meadow.

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir, West Sussex (£15.99 Waitrose)
A lightly oaked pinot noir, with medium body, packed with cherries, and a slight coconut aftertaste from the toasty oak. Fragrant and fruity, like walking around a farm shop. Great served with baked Camembert or glazed ham.

Litmus White Pinot, Surrey (£22 M&S)
An intriguing white wine made from red Pinot Noir grapes which results in a dry wine that mixes red and white characteristics, showing both red berry and spice with honey and floral notes. A lovely full body with light oak. A great match for prawn tempura or turkey steaks in a creamy sauce.

Trevibban Mill Black Ewe Red, Cornwall (£33 Trevibban Mill)
A violet colour accompanies forest fruits and star anise on the palate, with a lingering taste of raspberry leaf tea. Comforting and mildly exciting, like picking raspberries in your granny's garden. A complex full-bodied wine with soft tannins made form 100% Pinot Noir.

I ask you to try one (or more!) of the above and let me know what you think.

I will be serving a flight of three English wines at my next pop-up event in Marlow on 2nd and 3rd of June, come and say hello! Email soma@princessandthepinot.com to reserve a table.

To find out more about Princess and the Pinot and our pop-up wine bars please visit www.princessandthepinot.com