Remember the summer we all diced cucumber and strawberries and grew mint in our window boxes just in case we were ever to experience a Pimms emergency? This was followed swiftly by the Gin Age, in which we went to Gin Stock, scoured the supermarket to find THE TONIC, and decorated our glasses with anything from lime, to cucumber to thyme (maybe the last one was just me?).
But we have now entered a new Era of Elegance. This summer it’s all about the Fizzy stuff. Prosecco sales have grown by a whopping 90 percent, and quite frankly if you don’t own a set of flutes (of the glass variety) I won’t be seen dead at your house.
The marvelous thing about the growing obsession with sparkling wine is that we are producing more and more of it on British soil. You might be familiar with Chapel Down in Kent or Ridgeview in Sussex, but the new (award winning) kid on the block is Langham from Dorset.
We visited Langham earlier this summer and were given a guided tour by Justin Langham himself, who told us all about their journey from his early research to award winner. He has a clear passion for sparkling wine and has studied and researched production techniques from around Europe harvesting the best techniques every nation has to offer to create his own unique range of products. He took us on a tour of the vineyard, explaining in great detail how he worked with industry experts to find the best bits of land on his estate to create the greatest fizz that England has to offer.
We tasted the Classic Cuvee (awarded the Judgement of Parson’s Green 2014) which is citrusy without being too dry, perfect for a summer’s evening, or actually any evening.
If you happen to be in Dorset we highly recommend you go on a tour, which can be organised through their website.
At £22 a bottle it’s quite reasonable for fizz, and don’t worry, traveling across the country isn’t necessary, you can enjoy it at home if you order directly from Langham.