From gin to sparkling wine, Surrey drinks have the experts purring. Catherine Whyte raises a glass
There’s been a barrel load of good news rolling out of Surrey’s vineyards, distilleries and cellars over the past few months.
First up, Albury Organic Vineyard has now received international recognition for its sparkling wines. The Albury Estate Classic Cuvée was awarded a silver medal, and the Albury Estate Blanc de Blancs a bronze, in both the Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge.
“These are our first vintage sparkling wines and we are thrilled that they have done so well,” said vineyard owner Nick Wenman. “As we all know, English wines have been successful in international competitions for a number of years now and we are very proud of what Albury Estate sparklings have achieved this time. We will be celebrating with a glass or two!”
Still in Albury, Silent Pool Distillers has also been wowing the world. Its Silent Pool Gin recently won gold at the World Spirits Awards in Austria and silver in the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. Moreover, its Quince and Pear Eaux de Vie both bagged gold at the World Best Schnapps Awards – in Austria, no less!
“It is so exciting being part of this fantastic renaissance in artisan distilling,” said Silent Pool master distiller Cory Mason. “We are a small company, just one year old, and we were up against some very experienced players at the World Spirits Awards – as well as some innovative new ones – so it’s brilliant that Silent Pool Gin won.”
Finally, over in Woking and Ripley, the ever-resourceful Cellar Magneval has launched the latest vintage of its house blended wine. I bought a bottle of the red Cuvée Bout d’Chou – and jolly smooth and tasty it was too.
It’s quite an achievement for a local wine bar to produce its own house blend – it’s one step away from owning a vineyard, after all – so all power to owners Jo and Thierry de Magneval.
A votre santé!
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