- Details
- Category: Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine
- Published: 24 October 2017 24 October 2017
It seems that English sparkling wine producers don’t appreciate their customers being referred to as “numpty’s”. Responding to Marco Pierre White’s barbed comments, a tasting has been organised called the Judgement of London (#JoL) at 67 Pall Mall, London’s wine focussed private members club.
The tasting will be in the spirit of the famous ‘Judgement of Paris’, also presided over by Steven Spurrier in 1976, adding a layer of historical context to the proceedings. He himself will compére the London event which is sure to raise eyebrows, as Spurrier himself is a producer of English Sparkling Wine at Bride Valley Vineyard in Dorset.
It is hard not to suspect that the tasting could be contaminated with bias. Spurrier has assured me this is not the case because Bride Valley is not in the contest, instead being served to tasters as an aperitif.
English sparkling wine is well known for its characteristic racey acidity. Champagne by contrast has seen a decline in acidity due to the effects of climate change. That said, with such a long history of making wine sparkle, the Champenois approach their work in the vineyard with an intricate knowledge of every aspect of their terroir and detail of the wine making process.
Spurrier: “In blind tastings - English sparkling wines compared with champagnes - English sparkling wines tend to do well. It doesn’t always beat Champagne but it isn’t left by the side. I think it is inevitable English sparkling wine is going to be compared to Champagne because we grow it with the champagne grapes. We have the same kind of climate. We are certainly cooler but Champagne is the only sparkling wine which we can be honestly compared to.”
With Champagne producing such a high quality level of sparkling wine today, with processes perfected over centuries, it is hard to see how they can have much to fear from such a tasting. Add to this the likelihood of reduced UK sales for Champagne after Britain stumbles its way out of Europe. Perhaps the French will be less interested now than they would have been a few years ago when we were their biggest export market by value?
But could the new kid on the bubbly block strike a bigger blow by gaining attention elsewhere? The US and other markets including Japan, Asia and even Africa all have a taste for fine bubbles. Getting a better foothold on global exports has to be a central goal for English producers, as not only production quality increases, but also as more and more vineyards come online creating a crowded market place at home.
The English bottle fermented sparkling wine scene has its roots in the 1950’s and 60’s but only a handful of quality producers have been around for more than decade. Expecting a big win at the Judgement of London might be considered wishful thinking of David & Goliath proportions but there is keen determination to show Pierre White who the numpty really is.
Spurrier: “I think it is comparison. I don’t think it is competitive…” he pauses before reforming the sentence, “It’s a competitive comparison… and I think both sides benefit from that.”
Wine selection
Spurrier: “We’re putting eleven English sparkling wines blind against eleven champagnes… and we’ll see what happens!”
There will be eleven English sparkling wines, including: 3 rosés, a selection of blanc de blancs and brut sparkling, compared with eleven Champagnes in similar price points. There are also to be four still wines compared.
The tasting will take place on the evening of November 1st at 67 Pall Mall, London.
COMMENTS FROM CHAMPAGNE:
Comment: Champagne Pannier's Terence Kenny on #JoL
Comment: UK Champagne importer & educator Tim Hall on #JoL
Do you have views on this story? if so we'd love to hear from you. Please email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Follow us on social media:
Discord in Odesa; pruning at Shabo goes on!
Last week a picture was posted on Twitter of vines in Shabo, a large estate that lies to the west of Odesa on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline. The image seemed benign at face value but the reality, of course, is that the city of Odesa has been bracing itself for attack by Russian forces.
An aperitif by the coliseum
As COVID-19 conspires with the grimmest of winds and rain to force a societal retreat behind our own front doors, the word ennui springs to mind. The muddle of displeasure is pierced when Natalia hands me a large bulbous glass of a liquid I do not recognise.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.
Wine tasting in Galicia: The pilgrims search for Albarino
The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the final resting place of Saint James, rises out of the landscape, infested with antiquity. The rambling steep streets give way to shafts of dramatic light, emblazoned chapels, and tightly packed tapas bars, dusty, as old novels pressed together in antiquarian bookshops.
