RAISE A GLASS
WE can still find reasons to celebrate and raise a glass of fizz in spirited defiance of all the madness in the world.
This week we celebrated a family milestone and did so by raising a glass of English sparkling wine which itself is very much on top of the world.
More on my milestone in a few words’ time but first ...
In a socially-distanced challenge, the judging for the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards still managed to go ahead in its 17th year, and English wines shone through in all their flavoursome glory.
During the judging month, 116 expert wine judges including 37 Masters of Wine and nine Master Sommeliers, tasted and debated 16,518 wines from 56 countries.
Roebuck Estates Classic Cuvée 2014 has taken the prestigious title of Best In Show and has also been awarded a platinum medal. Roebuck, in West Sussex, creates traditional method sparkling wines from the classic trio of Champagne grapes.
Chardonnay is almost half of this winning classic cuvée blend, ably assisted by pinot noir (38%) and pinot meunier (15%).
Let me wander back to my own family milestone.
My daughter has this week moved into a new flat 10 minutes’ walk from me. We wanted to pop a cork of celebration and this award-winning Roebuck in all of its glory was the wine for the job. The grapes were partially fermented in French oak and then the wine had a minimum of 36 months lees-ageing. This delivers delicious aromas of citrus and apple crumble with a nod towards a taste of creamy hazelnuts.
We chink chinked the new flat and chink chinked the wine (RRP £35, roebuckestates.co.uk and RRP £34.95, southdownscellars.co.uk).
At the awards English wines picked up three platinum, five gold, 94 silver and 46 bronze medals.
Producers with a reason to celebrate include Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Lyme Bay, Leckford Estate, Busi Jacobsohn and Hoffmann & Rathbone, a boutique winery in East Sussex.
Andrew Jefford, co-chair of the awards said: “When consumers see a DWWA sticker on a bottle, be it platinum, gold, silver or bronze, they can be reassured that the wine in question has been judged by regional experts and specialists before receiving its medal.”
A full list of the winners can be found at awards. decanter.com/dwwa
Also in my glass ….
It’s National Vodka Day on Sunday. Well, at least it is in the US where these things tend to make an annual appearance and then migrate over to us!
I’ve been learning about vodka as I’m sitting a spirits’ exam in a few weeks’ time. Vodka is made all over the world but here’s a nod to an English version, made from East Anglian potatoes. Tiptree English Vodka (£35.99, thebottleclub.com) is a smallbatch craft vodka, a distillation process which helps to retain some flavoursome character of the raw materials.
Enjoy the day, whatever your tipple of choice.
Find Jane on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes. Email jane@ onefootinthegrapes.co.uk