Posted on February 15th, 2010 by admin, under Wine · No Comments
What comes into your head when you are thinking about some of the best tasting wines in the world? Most people would likely think Chilean, French and possibly even Italian which is fair enough, as within these countries come the best and most expensive wines in the world.
It would seem that the last place anyone would think of trying a wine from is here in the UK. Well believe it or not we have quite a few vineyards that produce some fantastic tasting wine. Why are people not trying these wines?
As previously stated an English wine is just not heard of which is why many people will just not go near it. This does not mean that the wine is not of a good quality and it is remarkable on just how tasteful an English wine from a very small vineyard can actually be.
So where could you go to taste Britain’s attempt on producing wine?
Devon
The countryside of course and it would seem that when it comes to producing fine English wines, Devon is the place to go.
So what is the best approach to take when it comes to wine tasting in Devon? Well firstly I would say it is best to go there for 4-5 days as the vineyards are spread out across the area. This will not only give you time to enjoy each vineyard but allow you to have a relaxing time knowing that you do not need to rush.
It would also seem that somewhere like Torquay is a great place to stay during the period of time you are in Devon. Not only is it a very relaxing, it is also nearest to the centre of all of the vineyards that you should think about visiting.
The Trip
So let’s say for example you are planning on staying in Devon for around 4 days and you are interested in visiting various vineyard’s in the area. Where should you be going on what day and why?
Day 1
Travelling to Devon for many people is a fairly long journey and you are going to be pretty tired when you arrive at your destination. However there is a vineyard very close to Torquay and is known as the Old Walls Vineyard. One of the really nice things about starting here is that it isn’t a long drive from the area and they can offer you a tour of the place for a very small amount of money. They also offer out wine tasting events.
For such a small vineyard they make quite a lot of wine and they vary from Rosé to Father John Country Wine which is fruity in flavour with a warming Elderberry taste. You will have to take into consideration that if the weather is not great you may have to settle with wine tasting over the tour itself.
Finish the evening off by buying one of their bottles, heading back to the hotel and enjoying a glass of wine over dinner.
Day 2
After the journey the day before and the trip to the vineyard you will certainly need a bit of a lie in and this is why day 2 will only involve another small journey to the second vineyard on the list.
This time it is to Yearlstone Vineyard, they have featured on the BBC for their award winning wines and the Countryfile team loved it there. The vineyard is actually the oldest in Devon and you cannot just tour and taste the wines here but sit down to a fantastic lunch overlooking the Exe Valley.
Yearlstone specialize in dry white wines but make a variety of others too.
Day 3
You should have recovered from the initial trip over by now which is why Day 3 involves two stops to two more of the best vineyards in Devon. First on the list is Eastcott vineyard which is located just off the A386. One of the great things about this vineyard is that if you really like it there you can stay in one of the cottages on site. This is something you could think about for a return visit.
The next portion of the day should be spent at the Down St Mary Vineyard. You can have a brilliant tour of the facility as well as try the wines that they have on offer too. The one thing this place seems to have over some of the others is great disabled access so take this into consideration.
Final Day
The last vineyard is known as the Oatley Vineyard and is last on the list because it is really on the way out of Devon.
This is certainly not a vineyard you want to miss out on if you like white wines because this is what they do best. Their first vintage came in 1989 and they have been going strong since.
Important Note
Many of these vineyards do not operate often in the Winter so it would be wise to book your trip in the Summer if possible. On top of this weather conditions often get in the way in the Winter and tours have to be cancelled.
Future Of English Wine?
Sales of English wine are on the increase and with many retailers such as Waitrose starting to sell them they can only grow more popular in the coming years. It looks like 2010 is going to be another great year for English wine!
For places to stay in Torquay look out for:
TLH- self catering torquay
Devon-Online - B&B torquay
Torquay – Information, hotels torquay
Posted on December 9th, 2009 by admin, under News, Wine, Wine Cellars, Wine Glasses, Wine Racks · 1 Comment
That’s what thousands of Chinese web users wanted to know in October this year
Basically just before Obama’s recent visit to china in November, the Chinese Internet users were asked to submit their questions to the 44th President. These questions were all collected by the state news outlets of Xinhua and Peoples Daily, and were to be presented to Barack Obama on his visit;
These are some of the selection;
o Would you play Truth or Dare?
o Do you eat Kung Pao chicken?
o Can you use chopsticks?
o Does the government pays for the first lady Michelle Obama’s wardrobe?
o Do you like to drink?
o How do you maintain a happy marriage?
o Can you add me on Facebook?
Obama visiting Shanghai
Whilst visiting Shanghai, Obama answered a lot of the questions put to him by the same web users, but the questions above were filtered out by the U.S state department’s website, so these more interesting ones were unfortunately scrapped.
So I thought we’d answer at least one question for them.
Does Obama drink?
Is Beer his favourite?
Well, yes he does drink, there are lots of pictures of the U.S president drinking and smoking, and as a self confessed drinker and smoker, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
obama drinking a beer
There are loads of pictures of the U.S president drinking beer at Wizard games, candidacy drives and with friends, but is beer Obama’s drink of choice?
obama drinking a beer
He caused quite a storm when he drank a bud light at a White House meeting with a Harvard professor in July. American Brewers all clamouring to know why he had chosen to drink a beer made by a Belgian / Brazilian, rather than a good American brewer. Maybe he likes the taste guys?
He did have a special beer brewed for the inauguration, but we aren’t sure if the President sampled it on the night.
obama beer
“A Belgian-style brewery based in upstate New York, has launched a beer in honour of the new US president Barack Obama. Known as Ale 2009, the beer was specially brewed for the inauguration on 20 January.”
The website ‘discountmugs.com‘ showed their celebration of the 44th president with these rather lovely USA made beer mugs.
obama glass beer mug
Are spirits his favourite?
So, we know that Obama likes a nice cold bud light, but what about spirits? What smooth malt blended spirit does the 44th president like to sip and savour, on a cold Xmas eve?.
obama happily having a drink
As we can see here, the president does enjoy the odd tipple now and then, but if he is waiting for something extra special the Cooley Distillery in North Co Louth are already preparing for his last day in the White House.
Irish Saveur create Obama Whiskey
“Today an American wood cask has been filled with a special blend malt whiskey which will be put in storage to mature before being given to the US President-elect when he eventually leaves the White House.”
Is Wine his favourite?
After 8 years of having no wine drinkers in the white house, wine makers are poised for change with news that Obama’s other home has a 1,000 bottle wine cellar.
Also with his positive impact on American youth, they are all hoping for a new wave of wine drinkers to emerge.
Wine experts have been making all kinds of suggestions as to the type of wine the new president should drink. He may well have the midas touch for Wine Brands, any wine he touches will turn instantly to gold.
obama wine
A few wines that the experts have recommended for him are;
- Biltmore Sparkling
- Lynfred Seyval Blanc
- Lieb Cellars resrve merlot
- Wild Blossom sweet mead
Of course sustainable wines are also been scrutinised by the green vinters, who are looking to Obama for that vote.
It has also been suggested, after the whole Bud Light fiasco that Obama will be looking at sending a message with the type of wine he drinks, so we might be seeing the likes of Napa Valley Chardonnay and Zinfandels gracing his dinner table.
obama and first lady drink wine
Tracy Kellner of Provenance Food & Wine in Chicago said she has had brisk sales of a South African sparkling wine made by Graham Beck after the Obamas reportedly poured it on election night. When People magazine wrote about a bottle of Kendall-Jackson chardonnay on the Obamas’ kitchen counter, the delighted California winery sent two cases of their best Vintner’s Reserve chardonnay to them.
If you wish to be ‘more of an American’ you could try sipping your Napa Valley wine in this lovely 10 ounce wine glass.
We thought this was rather cool, and Obama inspired wine rack.
Obama wine rack
Is Water his favourite?
Of course during the election run, the new president became synonymous with bottled water, which did get him into hot water with the climate groups.
obama drinking bottled water
It did however make Butxon water of from the UK very happy indeed, when Barack was spotted drinking the brand on stage.
Obama drinks buxton water
Is Fruit Tea his favourite?
But it does look as though the president’s drink of choice isn’t alcoholic at all, it’s reported that he has developed an addiction for fruit tea, and not just any fruit tea ‘Honest tea’. His favourite flavours of the drink are ‘black forest berry’ and ‘green tea’, and he has even stocked out his presidential helicopter ‘marine one’ with bottles of the tea.
marine one presidential helicopter
But how do we know it’s his drink of choice? Well he sent an aide to find a bottle of the drink and it took the aide 2 hours to find the exact one.
Now Bammers are buying up the drink like it’s going out of fashion, and CEO Seth Goldman of ‘Honest tea’ is delighted and said that “We had a great January, and thanks to Obama’s unofficial endorsement, there’s no question that Black Forest Berry was sold out,” Goldman was also invited along to the President’s address on the economy Wednesday at Obama’s invitation.
honest tea bottles
However Goldman has said that ‘Honest Tea’ won’t be cashing in on the support with a commemorative ‘Obama berry tea’. Although they did make some one off ‘Barack Forest Berry’ for the inauguration.
So what do you think? are we right, is ‘Honest Tea’ Obama’s drink of choice? CLICK THE IMAGE
What does Barack drink poll
I’m just going to go grab some of these yummy Obama cakes
obama cakes
