English wine from Kent and Sussex.

[acerbicacid]

Luca said he had been on holiday to Kent, England and was really impressed with the wine that is now being produced here. I know England is not the first place you would think of as being a home to good wines but they are now very good.

For a knowledgeable wine person like Luca to take some bottles home is quite a compliment

I now buy this Home - Ridgeview Wine estate for world class English Sparkling Wines when I want a celebration wine, it has won lots of International awards now and although it can't be called Champagne it is one of them nicest methode champenoise wines I have had and it is half the price of the normal Bollinger/heidseck/lanson etc. here in the U.K.

I don't know if you can buy it in the U.S.A. or how the price would compare - but I really can recommend it.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Luca said he had been on holiday to Kent, England and was really impressed with the wine that is now being produced here. I know England is not the first place you would think of as being a home to good wines but they are now very good.

For a knowledgeable wine person like Luca to take some bottles home is quite a compliment

I now buy this Home - Ridgeview Wine estate for world class English Sparkling Wines when I want a celebration wine, it has won lots of International awards now and although it can't be called Champagne it is one of them nicest methode champenoise wines I have had and it is half the price of the normal Bollinger/heidseck/lanson etc. here in the U.K.

I don't know if you can buy it in the U.S.A. or how the price would compare - but I really can recommend it.

Unfortunately, we can't get English wine in the US. Believe me, I've looked.

My wife and I occasionally get over to the UK. Last time there we brought home a couple of bottles of nice fizzy stuff made by Chapel Down. It was very good.

I've also purchased a number of bottles from a friend who runs a vineyard/winery operation up near Ryedale.

Now it's my turn to ask... when will England allow top shelf American wine to be imported instead of the Blossom Hill/Barefoot/Gallo plonk I see on the shelves at Tesco? These are producers that most wine drinkers would consider to be on the very low end. In all my travels over there, I have yet to find a decent bottle of American wine, other than (very, very) occasionally in restaurants.

Hopefully someday our two countries will learn to scratch each other's back in the realm of quality wines.

 

[acerbicacid]

Now I know why I usually say I don't like Californian wine. Can you give some names of good wines please and I could look for them. Also I belong to the Sunday Times Wine club (Tony Laithwaite) and they do have some American wines but not liking the plonk that became popular ages ago I thought maybe all American wine was like that. Nice to know it isn't.

These are the few American wines I could get - are any of them good and that you would recommend please. Preferably red but all recommendations would be good.
Browse - American wines - Laithwaites

The Wine Club is brilliant I think, you can try new wines and if you don't like them, they will replace them with something you do like.

I had heard about the Yorkshire Winery but hadn't heard that much as it is a long way away and I find the local wines good. I have just googled it. I have some friends that live in Harrogate, if I go to visit them I'll make sure I call in.

 

[acerbicacid]

Forgot to say it would be great if they did scratch each other back and we could buy these wines.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Now I know why I usually say I don't like Californian wine. Can you give some names of good wines please and I could look for them. Also I belong to the Sunday Times Wine club (Tony Laithwaite) and they do have some American wines but not liking the plonk that became popular ages ago I thought maybe all American wine was like that. Nice to know it isn't.

These are the few American wines I could get - are any of them good and that you would recommend please. Preferably red but all recommendations would be good.
Browse - American wines - Laithwaites

I haven't had the Trefethen Cabernet, but have had some of their other varietals, and they are quite good.

I noticed that Tesco also had Louis M. Martini. They tend to be consistently decent, too. I would say they are a good value, as the UK price is comparable to what we pay here.

Unfortunately, I think France has quite a bit of say over what wines are imported into the EU, and they have clamped down heavily on American wines by placing limits on what can be on the label.

This article may shed some light:
Europe to Ban Certain American Wines

Now I can certainly see why they would forbid anything with "Champagne" on the label. But "vintage" and "classic"? Those words are in widespread use in every English speaking country on the planet. In fact, "classic" isn't even a French word.

So I think a lot of this comes down to bluster and bravado. If you ever find yourself in the US, look me up and we'll go on a wine tasting holiday.

 

[acerbicacid]

Oh Wow - what a wonderful thought. It will keep me going through the winter.

That is one thing about having been in the Tourist Industry in the South East of England. Invitations to all the Historic castles, Houses, gardens and the Vineyards. Of course there was always the tasting

 

[Mad Cook]

Now it's my turn to ask... when will England allow top shelf American wine to be imported instead of the Blossom Hill/Barefoot/Gallo plonk I see on the shelves at Tesco? These are producers that most wine drinkers would consider to be on the very low end. In all my travels over there, I have yet to find a decent bottle of American wine, other than (very, very) occasionally in restaurants.

Hopefully someday our two countries will learn to scratch each other's back in the realm of quality wines.

I don't think it's the British Government which prevents the import of decent American wines into the UK as much as the supermarkets which have collared the market and hold the whip hand. I find it impossible at the moment to buy good quality German wines even in Sainsbury and Waitrose (more upmarket supermarkets than Tesco) and the supply of French wines isn't much better. It's also becoming more and more difficult to find a decent independent wine merchant who knows his trade. There are still plenty of chain off-licences/wine sellers but you are unlikely to find them employing staff who actually understand their stock. Long gone are the days when you could go into a wine merchant's shop and tell him or her what you were serving for dinner and ask for a recommendation of a wine that would compliment it.

I'm not sure why but I find that what are called in the UK "new world" (ie South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) red wines give me a headache that I don't get with European reds (and no, I don't drink too much of them )

I don't think English wines are produced on a large enough scale for it to be viable to export it. I've rarely seen any English wines on sale in supermarkets (where most of us have to buy our wine) which is a shame because in my experience they are in a class of their own. They don't in the main attempt to ape foreign wines.

 

[acerbicacid]

I haven't had the Trefethen Cabernet, but have had some of their other varietals, and they are quite good.

I noticed that Tesco also had Louis M. Martini. They tend to be consistently decent, too. I would say they are a good value, as the UK price is comparable to what we pay here.

Unfortunately, I think France has quite a bit of say over what wines are imported into the EU, and they have clamped down heavily on American wines by placing limits on what can be on the label.

This article may shed some light:
Europe to Ban Certain American Wines

Now I can certainly see why they would forbid anything with "Champagne" on the label. But "vintage" and "classic"? Those words are in widespread use in every English speaking country on the planet.

According to the article quoted by Steve Kroll, it's not the fault of the supermarkets - this time! I think the French are having their lead in quality wine producing eroded by so many new producers of good wine and are now worried and using the EU dictats for protection.

I don't know how far from the winery that Steve mentioned you are but here is a list of their stockists Ryedale Vineyards - Stockists and for
Ridgeview you can buy on-line.