I often drink gorgeous wines with friends or in my garden with my family but as they are not paired with food, I do not include them in my wine blog.  However, the time has come to change that.

On July 19th, after making a monumental decision to leave mainstream teaching to set up my own business, I marked the occasion, on the last day of term, with my absolute favourite sparkling wine, Nyetimber.

Nyetimber is produced in West Sussex, England and it is class in a glass. I do not mix in champagne circles but have drank, Moet, Veuve Clicquot, Laurent-Perrier Brut NV and in October 2018 I went to a champagne tasting at The London Wine Festival and sampled 8 champagnes from the House of Devaux so I have some experience of the different tastes of different brands of champagne. Although English Sparkling wine cannot be called champagne because the grapes are not grown in the Champagne region it is champagne in everything but name. The production method is exactly the same as are the grape varieties. For me, Nyetimber is champagne and is even more delicious than sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, meaning a classic blend of grapes, is made from a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grape varieties, the same as champagne. In the glass it is pale gold with tiny bubbles. Not much on the nose but the palate more than makes up for this. It is as soft as a wine can be. No harsh acidity, aromatic with slight honeyed and biscuit flavour which made me think of toasted shortbread, if there is such a thing. There is a wonderful yeasty quality which is testament to the three years this medium bodied wine spent on its lees. It has some cream on the length, which is short but delicious. Often with champagne and sparkling white wine there can be a harsh acidity as you drink a second glass. Not so with Nyetimber Classic Cuvée it is soft to the last drop.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée has won two major wine awards: International Wines and Spirits 2017 – Gold and International Wine Challenge 2017 – Silver.

Go on and support the English Wine Industry by purchasing a bottle, instead of Champagne.

I purchased Nyetimber Classic Cuvée from Waitrose and paid £36.99. It is available at Majestic Wine a single bottle is £39.99 but in a mix six with any other wine. Fortnum & Mason also sell Nyetimber for £32.99.

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