Vineyard magazine was pleased to be able to offer visitors to the Vineyard stand tastings of wines that have featured in recent editions alongside some new releases. On Tuesday Vineyard welcomed the team from Greyfriars which is based in Surrey and they were able to showcase their newly released Sauvignan Blanc. Weybourne Estate based in Haslemere Surrey joined the Vineyard team for the final day of the Show. Vineyard would like to thank all those who joined us for what was an amazingly busy three days.
The WineGB stand was crowded with visitors for all three days of the show. Halfpenny Green, Defined Wine, Lyme Bay, Folc, Giffords Hall, Sandridge Barton, Everflyht, Radlow Hundred and House of Coren were part of the impressive WineGB stand for the three days of the show.
Returning to the London Wine Fair with WineGB for the first time since 2018 were Giffords Hall. Kimberley Holmes and Henry Luffman Johnson were on hand to offer wine buyers samples of the Rosé 2023 which is a blend of Madeline Angevine and Rondo. Kimberley explained that there had been many visitors seeking out Giffords Hall to specifically ask about English red wine and that there are plans for Giffords Hall to release a red wine magnum in the future.
Radlow Hundred were present for the first time offering a white, rosé and red wine. “There has been a mixture of representatives of both the on trade and off trade and the response to the wines has been good,” said Tilly Morgan on Tuesday morning.
Folc were present as a Solo Brand for the first time at the London Wine Fair 2024. Georgie Paget was really busy for all three days of the show. “There has been lots of recognition of the brand,” she said. With a distinctively decorated bottle the 2023 vintage had only been released at the beginning of May.
Lyme Bay winery were also able to showcase their award winning wines and winemaker Sarah Massey said of the Lyme Bay Chardonnay: “It is a small batch, single estate wine that pushes the boundaries of English Chardonnay. Fermented and aged in 100% new French oak gives it a definitive style, though the heavy gun flint is balanced by the ripeness of the fruit; one for aging.”
The London Wine Fair is always able to provide visitors with something a bit different and this year was no exception. The team from Vineyard Magazine was pleased to meet Simona Fiscu who introduced another truly striking product, Elixsea underwater aged wines available exclusively in the UK through Sirens Amphora. The bottles are aged underwater in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain creating an environment for sea creatures to colonise. The process not only keeps the wines at a constant temperature, light level with continuous movement but the wines age faster providing a quicker route to market. The limited edition Priorat D.O.C red wine LegaSea 2019 is a blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon aged underwater for six months at a depth of 26m. Each bottle shows signs of the unique aging environment and has provided shelter on the ocean floor for numerous lifeforms that are essential to the planet.
Loxwood Meadworks in West Sussex produce English Honey Wine with a surprising balance of honey and acidity this includes both sparkling wine made in the traditional method and still wine. Owners Danny Bacon and Emily Lambert were once again at the show with a brand new exhibition stand that attracted a constant stream of visitors throughout the three days. Loxwood Meadworks are going from strength to strength and the new stand really helped showcase the outstanding attention to detail that goes in to every one of their products.
Also returning to the London Wine Fair for a second time, The Canned Wine Company, had a large stand with a perfect area for sitting and chatting to customers and buyers. The stand was so busy throughout the show that it took three attempts for Vineyard magazine to finally catch up with Ben Franks the CCO and Elena Whitehead from the marketing team of this interesting company.
Ben explained that The Canned Wine Company was about providing a quality wine in a smaller package. Working closely with regenerative vineyards and offering light weight packaging the company has really embraced sustainability.
“This year we have had so much positive feedback about the quality of the wine rather than conversations about the can format,” said Ben. This indicates that the company is achieving its ambition of appealing to serious wine drinkers who do not always finish a bottle. With over 95% of sales to large venues such as exhibition centres, theatres, sports events, hotels and cinemas the company is also helping these events to reach their sustainability targets and the company will also be working with Waitrose later in the year.
Currently the company have wines from Austria, France, Spain and Italy so for Vineyard Magazine the conversation inevitably turned to whether the company will add an English or Welsh wine to the portfolio. “The can is a reductive environment and the price point are the biggest issues, but it is definitely something we have thought about but we won’t do it half way,” said Ben. Every time The Canned Wine Company launch a product they go to great lengths to ensure the quality is in line with the brand ethos.
Throughout the three days of the show, visitors were treated to talks, debates and masterclasses. On Monday morning the Malbec grape variety was put under the spotlight with the tasting entitled “Argentinian Malbec from humble beginnings to international superstar.” Hervé Fabre talked about a variety of wines including Vinalba Reserve Malbec 2022 grown at 1,300m altitude in Mendoza. He explained that in this region it is necessary to grow grapes at altitude in order to attain freshness but that at this height yields are reduced in order to achieve ripeness. In comparison The Vinalba Patagonia Reserve Malbec 2022 from the Rio Negro province of Patagonia is grown in sandy soil close to the sea and the mountains with temperatures of 30°C during the day and 10°C at night allowing the very old vines to produce balanced wines with higher acidity and greater finesse. The final wine of the session was “an example of extreme planting at 1,560m and extreme winemaking,” said Hervé. The blend was 65% Cabernet Franc with 35% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. A great way to finish a fascinating tasting of the Malbec grape.
Vineyard Magazine also caught up with producers from Ukraine who were all attending as part of the Wines of Ukraine exhibit at the London Wine Fair. The stand was large and the exhibitors were welcoming. It was great to hear producers (and the many Ukrainian volunteers who had freely donated their time) talk about the wines that are still being produced despite the ongoing war. The stand highlighted the unique aspects of the Ukrainian wine industry and was surrounded by a wonderful busy atmosphere.
Biologist Craft Winery have a selection of wines available in the UK. Two wines from the craft winery utilise the Aligote grape although that is where the similarity ends. The non-filtered spontaneous ferment wine and the filtered wine that has spent nine months in new French oak barrels show the versatility of this grape.
Natalia Burlachenko of Big Wines was available to talk about the Odessa Black Grape which is indigenous to Ukraine. The wines from this grape grown in the South of Odessa benefit from low night time temperatures and high sunlight hours. The day time temperatures in the region reach 40°C. “The wines show interesting depth with a velvety finish,” Natalia said.
Also highlighting unusual grape varieties were Frumushinka-Nova, a family owned winery who have produced a limited edition wine from Suholimanske which is a grape that originated as a crossing of Chardonnay and Plavai from the 1960s.
Chateau Chizay had many unique wines that really highlighted the long winemaking history of the region. Carpathian Sekt 2023 is a single varietal sparkling wine made in the Charmat method from Chersegi grapes.
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