Birthdays are made for bubbly tasting

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday by hosting a British bubbly blind tasting. I wanted to test out my concept on those who would be supportive, but also brutally honest!   

I selected five sparkling wines representing a range of vineyards, from boutique to market leaders and chose different price points to show that British wines are both affordable and offer great value.  As this group of friends enjoy their drinks Pink, this tasting was all rose bubbly.

We did the tasting blind so nobody would be guided by any knowledge or preconceptions. In between the tastings I did a ‘Fact or Fiction’ quiz which generated some interesting conversations about the British wine industry. There were certainly lots of surprises and a new admiration for homegrown sparkling wines. I had sneakily included a South African rose sparkling which is a renowned favourite amongst this group. Nobody spotted it and when we compared notes at the end after the big reveal the British sparklings had held their own – and exceeded expectations.

Wine tastings are a perfect opportunity for people to find out what they personally like. The great news is they liked them all - but there were two standouts. And the first one really surprised everyone as at 10.5% APV it’s considered lower alcohol – Nutty Wild from Nutbourne Vineyards in West Sussex. Described as youthful, delicate and tangy (by the wine makers I hasten to add – we weren’t quite so articulate!) it is the epitome of easy-drinking. The second one comes from sparkling specialist Digby Fine English. Multi award winning Leander Pink not only looks elegant and tastes delicious, but has a social conscience too as buying a bottle supports Leander Academy to train young rowers who aspire to greatness. In fact one of the take-home bits of wine trivia was that Digby is inspired by Sir Kenelm Digby, a 17th century philosopher, pirate, scientist and inventor of the modern bottle.       

The conclusion was the session was fun and informative. Everyone learnt something new, tasted something new – and now they know just how many vineyards there are in Great Britain – a desire to sample more!

Best British Bubbly blind tastings are now available as a home party experience

in the Midlands.

Get in touch for more details