ELTIPS AV R T
I’m heading down to Brighton in East Sussex for the weekend, in search of a glass of perfectly chilled fizz.
In the past few years, English wine has taken off in a big way.
Gone are the days when British plonk was considered the poor relative of our continental cousins.
Sparkling wine from the south of England has won several prestigious international awards, and has even beaten the big dog, champagne, in blind taste tests by sommeliers.
My first pit stop is Bluebell Vineyards, a half hour drive from the city centre.
The former pig farm made the change from swine to wine in 2005, and has been going from strength to strength ever since.
It’s harvest time, and I join a 30 strong crowd of novice pickers, here for the pleasure of being out in the autumnal sun and learning about wine.
Issued with a crate each, a sharp pair of secateurs and the vaguest of picking instructions, we’re unleashed on the vineyard.
I quickly see the appeal of picking. The landscape is beautiful and there’s something satisfying about all the snipping, and my crate soon fills up with misty- sheened red grapes.
After a couple of hours, the pink- cheeked pickers and I are rewarded with a steaming hot lunch made all the more delicious by our manual labour.
Before we head inside for what is clearly the most important part of the day – tasting the goods – the vineyard manager, Collette, takes us for a whistle- stop tour of the onsite distillery.
As acorns plop on the tin roof, we sip grape juice in various states of fermentation – from the sweetest, freshly picked and pressed yesterday, to a tart effervescent liquid that is somewhere between juice and the wine it will eventually become. “This region is just perfect for grape growing,” says Collette, who left her job in the city to retrain as a winemaker a few years ago.
“We’ve got the same white chalk earth as the Champagne region, and the South Downs catch all the bad weather before it gets to us.
“We currently make 15,000 bottles a year here, but we just can’t keep up with demand.”
Fizz
She’s not stingy with her measures as she pours various vintages of fizz, including a bottle of 2008 Blanc de Blanc that she claims is one of the oldest in the country. After a few glasses I’m ready to take back every slur I’ve ever made about English wine – it’s absolutely delicious. ThereT is plenty more to Brighton thantha its abundant vineyards. There’s beer, too. beeT The city is brimful of cosy pubs VISIT and microbreweries, and I make it Brighton’s Royal my mission to explore. Pavilion, the spectacular CraftC Beer Co is what is best deformer palace that makes you scribed as an old man’s pub with sca feel like you’ve been swept away to a hipster edge. India – £12.30 for adults. The local ales on offer are HAVE dinner at Hotel du Vin, where extensive, but I’m really here for the sommelier will match your wine to the Elvis Burger, an outrageously each course. Three courses, without juicy beef patty topped with crisp wine, is £19.95. hotelduvin.com. bacon and f ried banana, No trip to Brighton is complete smotheredsm in peanut butter. without a stroll around The Lanes, WashW it down with a pint of pale the twisting alleyways packed ale,ale and promise yourself the diet with independent shops. starts tomorrow. But the next day I’m lured to the North Laine Brewhouse, on the promise of the best beer in town.
In the middle of this cavernous pub, three enormous brewing tanks squat, letting out intermittent gurgles and hisses.
The roast dinner is a decadent affair involving towering Yorkshire puds and thinly sliced roast beef – essential for lining the stomach before we sample the beers.
There’s a dark, cloudy milk stout that coats your mouth, and an exciting sour beer that has you sucking your cheeks with its tangtastic power.
After a weekend marked by an ungodly calorie consumption, there’s just time for a blustery stroll along the city’s trademark pebble beach and a peek at the delightfully kitsch pier.
For foodies and lovers of good tipple, Brighton offers the perfect weekend staycation.
Just make sure your trousers have some give in them. FACTFILE: Bluebell Vinyards’ harvest picking experience costs £35 and includes lunch and sparkling wine (bluebellvineyard.org). Court Garden Vineyard nearby has tours and wine tasting for £16 (courtgarden.com). North Laine Brewhouse tours cost £ 9.95 ( brewedinbrighton. co. uk). Group tastings at Craft Beer Co. start from £20 (thecraftbeerco.com).