Isn’t it amazing how alcohol can bring two people together! That is really interesting about the English Methode. I have never tried one but I have certainly seen tasting and award results where those English ‘Champagnes’ have out-scored the ‘real thing’ – and from some of the great Champagne houses too.

I read a book a few years ago by a lady called Gay Biddlecombe who established an English winery called St George. A really entertaining read.

You are right though to suggest ‘different styles from the tried and true’. A great Antipodean oddity is ‘Sparkling Shiraz’ from Australia. These are big Shiraz wines made in the methode style and perfect with turkey and ham on Xmas Day. My favourite is from Barossa Valley Estates, the E&E ‘Black Pepper’ Sparkling Shiraz – a real monster!

Cheers, Darryl

The difference, and fear factor, stems from their circumstance and location. I spent 5 years in the UK, where, as far as I could tell, the imbibing habbits focused mainly on excessive quantity over quality. During one of these nights of ‘quantity’, I met my fiancee, a well turned out, rather handsome Englishman, who as it turned out knew a hell of a lot about wine; and beer, and spirits, and food, and ‘mixology’,…..and blah, blah, blah.
He was the Maitre’d of a well know restaurant in the area.
As he showed me around Englands great heritage, we sampled what I thought must surely be every different type of beer and Ale in England, when he told me, ‘Don’t worry, there’s always something new to try, infact, there are more variations of beers than there are wines!’
Ah ha! Wines! At last something I could get on board with! Sick to death of beer (I think he was trying to integrate me!), and longing for a cool, crisp glass (or bottle) of Sav, I skillfully steered the conversation towards wine, more specifically towards, (and this was supposed to be the kick in his bloody patriotic shins that would shut him up about beer) the fact that England was not known as a wine growing region.

I should’ve known better.

In his wine cellar, nestled among the unpronounsables, was a bottle labled ‘Chapel Down Pinot Reserve 2003.’

It is a ‘Methode Traditionalle’ which is made of the obvious, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a little Pinot Meunier. The grapes we are supposed to be staying away from. But…… Wait for it……I must get points for fear factor here……..Maybe one or two for suspense……..It’s from bloody England!!

To me, the wine was fruity, yet subtle, with the most amazing taste of biscuit. I doubt I will ever get to taste a Champagne Philipponnat
Clos des Goisses, but if it’s even half as good as this, I will be amazed.

Now I could tell you, as I was told, that the success of these particular varietals, making this particular style of wine, was due to comparable chalky soils in the South East of England to the Champagne region, and the climatic shifts over the last few decades, making the area shine like Epernay in the 1940’s, but these (because I don’t really understand them,) wouldn’t be my words.

My words would be; it’s without doubt, the best sparkling wine I have ever tasted. It’s style, flavour, and texture in the mouth is something I have never came across before, and, purely for selfish reasons, I hope the world dosen’t get hold of this jem as it outshines anything I’ve had from New Zealand

We’d all love to be like Darryl and ‘dare to be different’, but if you’re not quite ready to give up your trusted Chardonnay, Sav Blanc, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. Maybe try it from a different country, you never know, they may just suprise you!!

Thanks for picking up on the ‘fear factor’ part of this blog. I can see from your website that you are well qualified to comment! Last year (when like many business owners in the current climate, I was fairly well gripped by fear) I read a book that posed a simple question – ‘what is the worst that can happen’? That simple, short question did wonders for me because when you sit down and think about it, as a business owner in a country like NZ, what IS the worst that can happen? It’s not the end of the world – the sun still comes up in the morning and you still have a family who loves you! Of course you don’t want the worst to happen, but if you have mentally accepted that possibility, you don’t dwell on it that much. Anyway, it helped me.

It’s a shame you can’t remember that wine – I wonder what it was. Remember, you have 10,000 varieties to get through, keep going!

Kind regards, Darryl

Fear holds people back from really experiencing life. As you rightly say, without experimenting and trying something new, we’ve no idea what we’re missing. By saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, what doors might open to us? Just take a look at what happened to the man whose story was featured in Jim Carey’s movie ‘Yes Man’.

Whilst we were living in the UK several years ago, we were looking for some wine for a summer party we were hosting. Our wine merchant suggested trying an Australian wine that he described as ‘ideal for summer BBQ quaffing’ – it looked like a red but tasted like a light and fruity rose. It was simply sublime and went down a storm with all of our guests. (Sadly I can’t recall the name of it now.) So much so, that we ended up buying that wine several times over that summer, as did several of our friends. Yet, if we’d stuck to the tried and tested route, we’d have never discovered that wonderful little number.

Life sends us lots of little opportunities to experiment and grow. By turning them down, we’re ultimately the loser. And with trying a new wine, what’s the risk? Live dangerously – risk something new and see how much more exciting life can be.

Thanks for your comment. While Nuffield Street might not be as exotic as Rioja, sometimes the people you are with and the conversations you have can make even more difference to how a wine tastes!

Cheers, Darryl

Thanks for taking the time to write a comment. I have never tried a wine from Uruguay before – it sounds like that trip was a great experience! I have tasted Tannat before, and a friend of mine Ross Spence (who was the founder of Matua Valley Wines along with his brother Bill – Ross is also the ‘father’ of NZ Sav Blanc seeing he was the person who first imported the vines and made wine from them) is growing it in a little vineyard in Waimauku. It is a massive beast of a wine!

Keep experimenting, Darryl

Thanks for sharing your experiences with my readers and myself. I had never heard of gorse flower wine before – what a great way to use a noxious weed! I think you would have to serve that pretty cold! We look forward to trying the next vintage – I think.

Cheers, Darryl

Some very dear friends of my lovely wife and I (Lifeland Reservations) make their own wine. We were lucky enough to sample a very rare treat one Christmas. Its best served chilled and a rather viscous wine with good legs! Its made from all the wonderful gorse flowers at the top of Govan Wilson Road. Mountains and mountains of the flowers are picked, pressed and distilled. The colour is quite yellow and it has an unusual flavour, almost with a hint of ‘grappaness’ to it… we are lucky enough to have a 2007 and 2008 vintage… we’ll let ya know when we crack the next one open and have you and Brigette over for a ‘cold’ one!

Cheers Steve