I am not a wine maker, an importer, a stockist or a wine expert; I just love learning more and more about this amazing drink in it's abundance of variety and style. I also enjoy the social side of wine, sharing my discoveries with others online but most enjoyably at get togethers with friends.
The London Wine Fair is huge with wines from around the world. There are major suppliers and big brand names as well as smaller producers and those seeking support. We met so many lovely people, discovered new grape varieties and now have many more locations added to our holiday wish list.
Our next holiday is actually quite close to one of the English vineyards we discovered. Shotley Vineyard is located in the east of England on a headland between the River Orwell and the River Sour. It's a relatively new vineyard with the original 4 acres planted in 2017 producing the first vintage in 2020. The Shotley Vineyard Pinot Noir we tasted was lovely, hopefully we'll visit them soon.
A French wine I also love (and with a long story behind it) is Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. What a delight to discover it again, although occassionally I do find it available here in the UK. Famille Ravoire have an extensive range of Cotes du Rhone wine, it was hard to choose a favourite but I really enjoyed Saint-Joseph.
Bordeaux is one area of France we have yet to visit which I think is why we still have not found a Bordeaux wine that is just right; a wine certainly speaks more when tasted in the right location. Hubby did however enjoy tasting this superb selection of Bordeaux wine and was quite taken with the Lalande de Pomerol.
I think we underestimate our wine knowledge at times, we have over the last decade or so expanded our wine knowledge. As well as discovering new wines it was a surprise, and a bit of a comfort, to recognise many of the wines presented. In particular the Rustenburg range from South Africa; Bread and Butter wines from North America and Marques de Riscal from Spain.
A relatively new concept in the wine industry is wine in cans not bottles. This is something of great interest to me as when putting my bartender hat on for our Scout Group fundraising events we are often left with half bottles of wine. Serving wine in cans would be a super way of only serving the amount required, although it is at a higher cost per serving.
There were quite a few wines in cans at the London Wine Fair; The Uncommon and Canvino caught my eye, initially due to the superb designs and presentations but on tasting definitely from the delicious wines.
The Uncommon is a range of English wine, all produced in the south east, and were the first English wines produced in a can. The wines all have named characters: Gerald (Bacchus) and Eleanor (Pinot Noir rosé) are wines whereas Alfie (Bacchus, Chardonnay) and Peggy (Pinot Noir rosé) are lighter spritzer.
Canvino is sparkling Bianco and Rosé wine from Italy with the carbonation by traditional methods so no added carbon dioxide. Canvino is made with only natural ingredients with their cans being fully recyclable.
Discovering new wines is always exciting, no more so than when they are from new countries. Serbian wine was one such discovery; Aleksić wine produced by female wine makers was superb. Amanet, made from Vranac grapes, was a bold strong red full of dark fruit with a delicious long finish was my overall favourite red.
Hubby really enjoyed Anima wine from Romania in particular their 3 Fete Negro, a blend of Feteasca Neagra from three different vintages, 2015, 2016 and 2017. It was full of dark fruit and chocolate with vanilla highlights.
We were both very surprised and impressed the wines from Tura Winery in Israel, not a country we associate at all with wine. Their range of white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier were all superb, as were their reds produced from Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. It was a pleasure to discover these wines and learn so much more about the Israeli climate.
The London Wine Fair is huge and as you can see from my lengthy post full of exciting discoveries and tastings. A one day visit is not quite long enough but we had an amazing time. One area of the Fair we particularly enjoyed was Wines Unearthed, an area for wine producers looking for UK buyers. Although we could not support in a direct way I hope our visit has helped if only in appreciation.
There are two producers in particular that we really hope will be supported in the UK: Quinta de Ventozelo from the Douro region of Portugal and Cape Dreams from Cape Town, South Africa.
Quinta de Ventozelo has an extensive range of grape varieties. We are already familiar with some Portuguese grapes but discovered so many more. The Douro is a location that has been on our river cruise list for a long time, hopefully one day.
My overall highlight was an absolutely delicious Chenin Blanc from Cape Dreams, South Africa. They are a family run vineyard with quite a range of wines and I for one would be delighted if their wine was available in the UK. I have tried many Chenin Blanc wines from this region but Cape Dreams'wine was so crisp, so clean, full of apples and citrus with a hint of sweet pineapple, it really was superb.
Such an amazing day, thank you London Wine Fair ... we're eagerly awaiting 2024!
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