Our local vineyard - about three miles away - is Ashling Park, and we popped in yesterday on the way back from Chichester. Their Blanc de Blanc is really excellent. I love the fact that one can buy it by the glass and sit next the vines from which it was made. We are back there tomorrow with the kids for a vineyard tour and lunch.
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And a nice Agapanthus flowering in the background, very nice. Will look that vineyard up.
English vineyards are really offering a full experience now, latest information from Wine GB, hope these recent facts are of interest to the readers here this info from 2025
- 16.5 million bottles produced in 2025 (2026 looks like its going to better that)
- 1,158 vineyards which are making commercial grapes up 4.5% from 2024
- 280 wineries up 15% from 2024
- 69% of wine produced is sparkling
- 31% still
- largest plantings
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Noir
- Pinot Meunier
- Bacchus
- Seyval blanc
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Marvelous wines had over the weekend
Bollinger Brut FR
Brookfields Highland Merlot 2020 NZ (still a few more years left it)
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Sainsbury’s Semi Sparkling Prosecco is an absolute bargain at under £6
A very pleasant Prosecco with very low amount of fizz, but lovely citrus flavours.
Ideal for a sunny day on the patio or terrace!
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hope the Bollinger Special Cuvee was on song ?
Yes very enjoyable.
Surely Metzendorff went downhill after June last year. 
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the body may of left but the heart remains !
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For many years I’ve driven past the entrance to Greyfriars Vineyard on my commute home along the Hogs Back.
Mrs_n and daughters went on a tour of the vineyards the other weekend (I was on Taxi duties) and she came back with this. A sparkling Pinot Blanc.
It’s going down very well on this hot August afternoon.
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Lunch with a friend - alfresco waiting for the rain to come.
Fine wine was on offer to lubricate a wide ranging conversation.
The Sauternes was extraordinarily good. I don’t know much about the Beaune but I was expecting it to more distinguished but it was sufficiently light to go well well with roast apricot, burrata and ham
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Summer vacation has begun. We are fortunate in our part of British Columbia and are not currently impacted by the fires in other parts of the province – whole towns have again been evacuated in the Okanagan. At the moment, for the most part, the vineyards on the eastern side of the lake seem to be safe. We will have some of the wines from the region over the next couple of weeks, but last night we pulled this 1999 Leoville Barton. It was excellent – wet cedar, tobacco, very ripe blackcurrants.
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