POP-UP WINE

Chapel Down has opened its pop-up shop in Bluewater for the second year running. Located on the Upper Guildhall next to House of Fraser, the store is stocked full of award-winning Chapel Down English wine and spirits, plus Curious beer and cider. There’s also an in-store tasting bar with daily wine and beer tastings and exclusive customer evenings. The seasonal shop will be open until New Year’s Day and has an array of gifts Chapel Down Bacchus Gin, gift sets and experience vouchers for the winery in Tenterden.

The winemaker has also launched its Great Minds Drink Alike partnership for 2018, sharing three new red wines from Europe, curated by head winemaker Josh Donaghay-spire and marked with the Great Minds seal of approval. They come from producers who share a similar ethos to Chapel Down: respect for the land and a willingness to push boundaries and are limited editions. They are Syrah by Domaine Gayda, which comes from a region of France producing reds with a Bordeauxlike structure. One of its leading producers, Tim Ford, originally from Kent, blended a specific wine for this selection from their premium Chemin de Moscou (30%) and Figure Libre (70%) sites.

The collection also include Crianza by De Bardos, aged in French-oak barrels for 14 months from the Ribera del Duero region and Sass’alsole by Tenuta Tondaia from a small winery in Civitella Marittima. More at chapeldown.com

Crianza by De Bardos, from Great Minds Drink Alike