English Sparklers

England has been making commercial wine for some 50-60 years but the wine was a joke as most of them was thin and tart. However, this did not deter the Englishmen from trying. Because of the marginal climate, the pioneers focused on sparkling wine made in traditional method using Germanic varieties such as Reichensteiner, Kerner and Huxelrebe. In mid 1990s, English sparkling wine started winning awards in international wine competitions and that attracted serious producers in the names of Ridgeview and Nyetimber. They planted only champagne varieties - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier to make sparkling wine that rivals Champagne.

The success of Ridgeview and Nyetimber inspired further planting of sparkling wine vineyards in Southern England. The investors were not only retired hobbyists but big boys from the city, farmers who converted their farms to vineyards, and not to mention foreigners with deep pockets. Existing wineries also jumped on the bandwagon and replanted vineyards with champagne varieties. The result? England and Wales now has some 2,000 ha under vines, with over 60% being Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from 500 vineyards. Wine is made in the 133 wineries scattered from Cornwall to Kent.

England was part of the continent millions of years ago and the geology of the South Downs limestone ridge is in fact an extension of the Champagne region just 88 miles away. Combined this with the coolest cool climate and appropriate grape varieties, England, at least in the south, has the ideal terroir to make excellent fizz. Having tasted wines from more than 20 wineries, I am convinced that given the right marketing platform, English sparkling wine will have its rightful place in the international market. The fact that Pommery and Tattinger are setting up base in England is a testimony that even the French cannot ignore English bubbles.

English wine producers seem to have a fondness of Blanc de Blancs and Rosé sparkling wine. Blanc de Blancs from most wineries are excellent with precise acidity complemented by apple and citrus fruits with nuances of brioche and toasts depending on the time on lees, which ranges from 24 months to over five years. Chardonnay adapts very well to the English weather and soil, producing wine with finesse and elegance. Most Rosé sparkling is vibrant yet delicate with summer red fruits, again with crisp acidity. Some wineries are also experimenting with Blanc de Noirs and Cuvée Noir (red sparkling wine). Malo-lactic fermentation, a process that converts the harsh green apple malic acid to softer, creamier lactic acid in wine, is not generally encouraged in order to maintain the steeliness, which some winemakers described it as ‘Englishness‘.

Fizz aside, English still wine is also making a come back. Bacchus, a cross between Riesling x Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau, seems to find its home in England. It has the herbaceous notes of Sauvignon Blanc but not as pungent. The best I tasted was from Albourne Estate, a seven years old boutique winery. Probably because of sparkling wine, a few wineries are also making still Pinot Noir. Bolney’s and Gusbourne’s are the most impressive. And watch out for English Pinot Gris. The body is similar to Pinot Grigio but it has the depth of Pinot Gris.

But this is not where it ends. English wine industry does not have the rigid regulations of Old World therefore wineries have free hands to create what they think fit from their vineyards. Hattingley Valley makes Entice dessert ‘ice’ wine from frozen Bacchus grapes and Aqua Vitae distilled from the wine made from a parcel of Chardonnay that did not ripen sufficiently for sparkling wine. Gusbourne makes a Vermouth from Pinot juice while Bolney recycled the grape musts and pressings into a beautiful hand crafted Foxhole Gin.

The industry owes its success partly to Plumpton College, the only institution in the UK that offers a hands on wine production course where students tend the vineyards and make their own wine. Most winemakers and viticulturists were trained or have taught in Plumpton. Needless to say, Plumpton also has its own wine made from students. Its winery grew from a simple facility in a shed 20 years ago to a state-of-the-art winery where students can do various researches and experiments.

Despite the recent expansion, vineyard planting in the UK is only 6% of that in Champagne’s. The unpredictable yield (most wineries did not produce wine in 2012 at all because of disastrous weather), high labour and material costs mean that English sparkling wine will, at least for a while, remain an artisan product with a matching price (retail price between GBP25 and GBP75 for limited release). Having said that, the majority of the wine at the moment is being sold in Britain that may not be able to absorb all the future production. Wineries with vision realise this and they are looking at overseas markets in order to sustain the industry. Apparently, the US is the most promising because Americans just like everything English (think Meghan Markle and Prince Harry)! Asia, especially Hong Kong, is another market that wineries are pondering.

For importers looking for a niche product to complement their portfolios, here are a few suggestions. All of them make award-winning wines and are committed to raise the bar of the English wine industry even further.

Bluebell Vineyard Estates: A pig farm turned vineyard owned by a Singaporean couple in East Sussex. Winemaker Kevin Sutherland experimented with part barrel fermented/ageing base wine for the Blanc de Blancs with impressive results.

Bolney Wine Estate: Founded in 1972, Bolney is one of the oldest wine estates in England making a range of still and sparkling wines in all colours. The Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are outstanding while Blanc de Blancs 2013 was served in British Airways First Class. They have outgrown their second winery built in 2006 and are planning a new one. Sam Linter, the second generation and winemaker, has creative ideas in moving forward, such as the production of hand-crafted Foxhole Gin. Other ideas are in the pipeline.

Chapel Down: The biggest winery in the UK producing just under 20% of English wine with a few out-of-the-box creations, such as the Chardonnay Albarino with a nice savoury palate, an Orange Bacchus fermented on skin and aged in barrels, and the just released grape based vodka and gin. Their wines are available at Victoria Wines in Hong Kong.

Court Garden: A father and son team who diversified into vinegrowing from sheep farming in 2005 because of foot and mouth disease. Originally intended to sell grapes to other wineries, they decided to develop their own brand, making both sparkling and still wine.

Gusbourne Estate: Owner Andrew Weeber, a retired South African surgeon, has big plan. They just built a new visitor centre and are planning to increase production. The flagship Blanc de Blancs has a minimum of 36 months on lees and the Pinot Noir is delicate with ripe red fruits and a hint of pepper. Their wines are available at BB&R in Hong Kong.

Hattingley Valley Wines: Another farm (cereal crops) turned vineyard, and also a project of retired lawyer Simon Robinson, Hattingley Valley makes excellent sparkling wine in a fairly oxidative manner and with a high proportion of base wine fermented in old barrels, thus adding complexity and depth to the wine. Winemaker Emma Rice, who was voted UK Winemaker of the Year in both 2014 and 2016, is also making use of by-products to make experimental wine including Entice dessert wine and Aqua Vitae. There is also a brandy, currently in English oak barrels, waiting to be released. By the way, Emma was just voted England most influential woman in wine by The Drinks Business.

Hush Heath Estate: Owner Richard Balfour-Lynn is dedicated to produce a world-class Rosé sparkling wine therefore for seven years (2004-2010), the estate only produced one wine – Balfour Rosé Brut. Now they are producing all kinds of sparkling wine, still wine and also a white and rosé apple cider where the secondary fermentation took place in bottle, just like their sparkling wine. When I was there, they were in the middle of expansion including new planting and a new winery. Available from Castello del Vino in Hong Kong.

Ridgeview Wine Estate: Founded in 1995, Ridgeview was on of the pioneers dedicated to produce sparkling wine and is probably one of the most well-known English sparkling wine producers in the international arena.  Also a favourite of the Royal Family, Ridgeview sparking wine had been served at state banquet to Barrack Obama and Xi Jinping, as well as the celebrations of the Queen’s 80th birthday and her Diamond Jubilee. Like other wineries with positive outlook, Ridgeview is planning more plantings and a new winery.

Wiston Estate: The estate has been owned by the Goring family for more then 200 years but it was only until 2006 that vines were planted because of the passion of Pip Goring, wife of Harry Goring originated from Cape Town. Out of the 6 ha vineyard, they make Brut, Rosé, Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs in both non  vintage and vintage style (8 wines in total). I only tried their Brut NV and it was gorgeous with depth and a nice marmite palate. The winemaker is reputable Dermot Sugrue who also has his own brand Sugrue Pierre.

By the way, there is a English wine and British gin tasting on 22nd March in Central (for trade only) where some of the wine mentioned above will be featured. Enquiry at events.hongkong@fco.gov.uk.

Continental Wines portfolio tasting

Portfolio tastings are always worthwhile to attend if you have time because you may be familiar with only a handful of brands that importers are carrying and the tastings are a chance for you to discover something new.

I particularly enjoyed the recent Continental Wines portfolio tasting in May. Not only were there a lot of wines to try—over 200 wines from 45 wineries in 10 countries were presented—it was also a great opportunity to catch up with friends both from the trade in Hong Kong and from the wineries. After all, more than half of the brands had representatives present.

The first person to greet me was Huibre Hoff from Morgenster Estate in South Africa, whom I met last year when she conducted a Mongenster vertical tasting here. We discussed the ‘Discover South African Wine Festival’ that just ended in April and the upcoming Cape Wine event in September while tasting her wines. The Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012 from Elgin was very pleasant and the Bordeaux blend Morgenster 2009 was just superb. 

My next stop was Claudio Quarta, a biologist turned winemaker in the south of Italy. Claudio has two brands. One is Cantina San Paolo in Campania whose Greco di Tufo DOCG was outstanding. But what caught my eye was the QU.ALE Rosso Salento from his other vineyard, Tenute Eméra in Puglia. This wine is the project of his daughter, Alessandra Quarta. The name was cleverly derived from her own and means ‘What’ in Italian. Alessandra’s question is, "What responsibilities do we have if we want to work with respect for nature and mankind?" The wine, with ‘The Wine Democracy’ on the label and a very reasonable price of HK$113/bottle, clearly targets the younger audience with a conscience. However, it is not pure gimmick. You may not agree with her marketing ideas or the video but the wine, a blend of Syrah, Touriga Nacional and Tempranillo, is definitely a pleasant, simple, easy-drinking wine that will charm new young wine consumers.

From Italy I went to the Southern hemisphere where I discovered two wines made by my friends who are advocates of terroir. Clos des Fous from Chile is the brainchild of Pedro Parra, a terroir specialist whom I met in Chile back in 2013. The grapes were sourced from the extreme conditions of Chile in the south, high altitude and right next to the Pacific Ocean, outside the comfort zones of traditional Chilean wine regions. Even the entry level Subsollum Pinot Noir and Cauquenina (a blend of Carignan, Malbec, Syrah, Pais) are extremely elegant. I’m glad that Pedro’s wines have made it to Hong Kong.

The other one was Altos Las Hormigas from Alberto Antonini, an Italian winemaker friend whom I just visited in Tuscany last September. The winery only produces 100% Malbec from Uco Valley in Mendoza with minimal intervention. The wines, ranging from entry level to vineyard specific, are perfect examples of how a wine can express terroir. The Terroir Malbec and Reserva Malbec are both excellent buys.

Moving on, I was delighted to discover Losada from Bierzo in northern Spain, made from 100% Mencia, a native variety. Pájaro Rojo is fresh with red fruits and herbal flavours, while the flagship Altos de Losada, made from old vines, has a depth and concentration that outshines a lot of Riojas. 

Finally I stopped by Chapel Down, England’s largest sparkling wine producer from Kent. We had a long chat about the English wine industry and its future while sipping the winery's various sparklers. England has been making good quality sparkling wine from Champagne varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) for more than 10 years but still, a lot of people in the trade, let alone consumers, are not aware of it because of the limited export volumes. Only a few brands are available in Hong Kong but do try them if you come across them. You’ll be surprised.

Time flies and before I knew it, it was the end of the session. Usually we can hang around for a while but this time the venue had another function right after so Victoria, owner of Continental Wines, had to send us away. I realised that I only tasted a quarter of the wine—too many wines, too little time—but nevertheless a great discovery, and I had to buy a case for myself.

Continental Wines runs a separate online retail club, Victoria Wines, for private customers.

All that sparkles is not Champagne

It’s that time of the year again when sales of bubbly are traditionally at their highest. Despite the doom and gloom of the economy, people, especially wine lovers, do like to indulge. However, enjoying bubbly does not need to break the bank. There are plenty of good quality sparkling wines outside Champagne that one can enjoy all year round.

Champagne is expensive for a few reasons. The first is production. Secondary fermentation, where the bubbles are created (called the Traditional Method), occurs in the same bottle. The wine is then aged on lees, a procedure called yeast autolysis, to develop the bready and biscuity notes. The longer this period is, the more pronounced the yeast autolysis characters. By law, non-vintage champagne has to be aged on lees for a minimum of 12 months and vintage champagne for at least 36 months (and often much longer). The second reason is climate. Champagne is in a marginal grape growing area where grapes, when fully ripen, can still retain high acidity—a prerequisite for good sparkling wine. And last but not least is marketing. Only sparkling wine produced within the Champagne region can be called Champagne, and this helps build the aura of exclusivity around it. A lot of sparkling wine outside Champagne is produced using the same Traditional Method but only costs a fraction of the price. Admittedly, a fine Champagne often has more finesse because of the marginal climate, complex blending and use of reserve wine, that set it apart from the rest, but one should not dismiss the other sparklers as lesser quality.

Crémant is another French sparkling wine outside Champagne. It is made by the traditional method, using whole bunch pressing with extraction limited to 100litres of juice from 150 kilograms of grapes—exactly the same stringent approach as in Champagne. The wine has to spend a minimum of nine months on lees and the grapes are generally the best from the region for making still wine (the permitted grapes for Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir). Crémant de Loire is usually made from Chenin Blanc, or Pinot Noir; Crémant d’Alsace from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and sometimes Riesling; Crémant Limoux, from the high altitude of Southern Languedoc, is made from Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. Retail prices of Crémants are in the region of HK$200/bottle.

Most of us know Cava, a sparkling wine from Spain made in the traditional method with a minimum of nine months ageing on lees. Most Cava uses the indigenous grape varieties Xarel-lo, Parellada and Macabeo for whites, and Garnacha (Grenache) and Monastrel for rosés. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are also permitted. Cava has distinctive earthy notes (some say rubbery) because of the Xarel-lo. Most Cava is not for ageing, hence its modest price of just over HK$100/bottle. Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad, with up to four years on lees, is a steal at less than HK$200/bottle (Watson’s).

The New World, including Australia, New Zealand and the US, also produce good quality sparkling wine using Champagne grape varieties in the traditional method. The best comes from cooler regions of Tasmania, the Adelaide Hills, Marlborough and Carneros, all displaying riper fruit characters but a less defined structure than Champagne, but there are nevertheless some top quality New World sparkling wines that can rival Champagne. Cap Classique from South Africa uses mainly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc following the ‘champagne’ method. Serious Cap Classique producers are members of the Cap Classique Association and some are available in Hong Kong. And for something out of the mainstream, try Casa Valduga from Brazil (importer Wine Patio).

In my view, the two outstanding sparkling wines outside Champagne are English sparkling wine and Franciacorta DOCG from Italy. Both have the elegance and finesse of Champagne. Southern England has similar soil (chalk) to Champagne and climate change now enables England to ripen Champagne varieties reliably to make top quality sparkling wine. English sparkling wines are scooping awards in international competitions and have beaten Champagne in various blind tastings. The problem is quantity, as demand is outstripping supply. The few I have tried and like are Ridgeview and Camel Valley, both available in Hong Kong, plus Nyetimber and Bluebell (not yet in Hong Kong). Franciacorta, made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Bianco, must be aged on lees for a minimum of 24 months for non-vintage and 36 months for vintage.

Sparkling wine can also be produced using the Charmat or Tank method, meaning secondary fermentation takes place in a pressurised tank rather than in bottle. Charmat method wine usually spends no or minimum time on lees so production cost is considerably reduced. This method is particularly suitable for aromatic grape varieties where wine reflects the varietal aromas rather then the yeast autolysis characters. These wines should be consumed young and fresh. The most popular in Hong Kong is the Italian Prosecco with fresh aromas of apple and melon. Priced at about HK$100+/bottle, it is definitely value for money, particularly the DOCG which is of better quality. Another is German Sekt, the best being made from Riesling, although some serious producers make it using the traditional method.

The rising stars among sparklers are Asti and Moscato d’Asti from Italy with only one fermentation. They are highly aromatic with lower alcohol (7-7.5% and 5%), medium sweetness and less pressure, popular among young consumers.

With so many choices and reasonable prices, bubblies do not need to be saved for celebrations only. Enjoy one now.


Abridged version was published in the South China Morning Post on 12th December 2012

The Queen’s bubblies

England is known for its ale and bitter, but English wine? Many will probably dismiss it or even scorn it – but not so fast: England may not be the right place for a bold alcoholic Shiraz but its terroir and climate are perfect for sparkling wine. England was part of the continent millions of years ago and the geology of the South Downs limestone ridge is in fact an extension of the Champagne region just 88 miles away. There are at least a dozen wineries in Southern England, mainly in Sussex, making some fabulous sparkling wine.

I studied for my winemaking diploma at Plumpton College, Sussex so I had a chance to witness first hand the growth of the sparkling wine industry. People thought it was a joke at first, until English sparkling wines began to beat champagnes in various blind tastings.