Tag Archives: Queen

Champagne and Sussex Sparkling Wine Festival

Posted on September 22, 2011 by | Comments Off

As part of the annual month long Brighton Food Festival why not join the Bubbly Fest to sample a host of award-winning wines from Sussex including Ridgeview (the wine of choice at The Queen’s state dinner for President Obama),  Black Boys, Bolney Estate, Breaky Bottom, and Balfour Rosé alonside fine sparkling wines from the Champagne region including Moet, Laurent Perrier, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Lanson, Boutinot.

You can talk with the experts, including local growers, and take part in tutored tastings with the experts. A ticket includes Tasting Notes,  admission to at least one of the tutored tastings, available to book on the day and 3 tasting tickets plus an exclusive price of just £6 per glass for any of the house sparkling wines & Champagnes on display

Sunday 25 September, 12pm – 6pm

Tickets: £20 To book tickets for the festival  visit: www.eventelephant.com/champagnefestival

Hotel du Vin, 2-6 Ship Street, Brighton

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Posted in Sussex

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If it’s good enough for the Queen…..

Posted on May 18, 2011 by | 1 Comment

…then the rest of the world approves too….. 

Denbies Wine Estate at Dorking in Surrey has beaten more than 360 challengers from 21 countries to take the Still Rosé Wine Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge – the world’s biggest & most influential wine competition – with its Chalk Ridge Rosé 2010. The wine is made from the early ripening Rhondo grapes which were first planted in 2005.

Chapel Down Vineyard at Tenterden in Kent has won a Gold IWC Award in the Sparkling Rosé Vintage Reserve Brut category. Chapel Down’s other recent success is its popularity with Royalty; its wines were serves at the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding.

The English climate, influenced  by the Gulf Stream, means that England can grow vines successfully at a latitude above 50 degrees, the normal limit for wine making. It can be difficult to ripen grapes this far from the equator, so many vineyards are concentrated in the warmer counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex and only grow relatively early-ripening varieties.

The climate is currently only 1° Celsius cooler than Champagne, the soils (chalk & limestone) are similar to Champagne, the climate is similar and getting better – what more can you ask for!

Sunshine, good wine – no need to go abroad now – enjoy England and I raise a glass to many pleasurable picnics this summer!

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Posted in Kent, Royal Family, Sussex

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It’s all in the Timing

Posted on April 22, 2011 by | Comments Off
The Queen attends the Royal Maundy Service at Westminster Abbey

Evening Standard photo

Accompanied a coach tour from Dover Docks to London yesterday and had one of those special co-incidences of timing that you could never engineer however hard you tried. As the coach went past Westminster Abbey, HM the Queen was coming out, having taken part in the Maundy Thursday service – fantastic photo opportunity for everyone on the coach.

And quite frankly that would have been enough to make their day but when the coach pulled up outside the Tower of London, the Queen’s 85th birthday cannon salute had just started, noise of gunfire and smoke everywhere – the icing on the (birthday) cake!

21 rounds are fired for for Happy Birthday + 20 rounds because the Tower is a Royal Palace & Fortress + 21 ‘for the City of London’ = 62 rounds in all.

My grateful thanks to Mick the coach driver from Crosskeys Coaches who was responsible for making it a wonderful day for a group of very happy German tourists AND he didn’t even get stuck in any of the London  I’m-getting-out-of-here-it’s-holiday-time traffic exodus.

 

Blue Badge tourist guide

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Posted in Royal Family

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