In the pleasant Chilterns countryside to the North East of Berkhamsted, home to Radio 4's Ed Reardon and claimant to being the place where William the Bastard, or Conqueror as it is believed he preferred to be known, accepted the surrender of the English, lies a small hamlet called Frithsden. It has a pub, the Alford Arms, lots of trees, some beautiful but hideously expensive houses, more trees and a vineyard.
The five acre vineyard was originally planted in 1971, grubbed up in 2001 and then replanted by the current owners in 2006. There are around 6,000 vines of three varieties, one of which begins with an 'R' and so was a shoe-in as this week's wine.
Week R (2014) is Frithsden Vines Rose, 2013. £11.50 from the cellar door at Frithsden Vineyard.
It is made from 100% Rondo and grown, vinified, bottled, sold and sometimes drunk on the premises.
Most, almost all, 'quality' wine made in the EU comes from the vine species 'Vitis Vinifera'. But although Rondo is a variety registered as a vinifera variety it has, in fact, been bred (engineered?) using some genes from Vitis Amurensis that help it to cope with cold winters such as we have in England.
It is a hardy little grape, previously known as GM6494 before being christened Rondo, with good disease resistance but can, however, suffer from powdery mildew if the conditions are unfortunate.
It produces small berries whose unusually red flesh helps in producing a vivid pink wine. Most grapes have clear flesh and the juice they contain has no real colour. The colour of red and rose wines generally comes from the pigments (anthocyanins, don't you know) contained in their skins. This is also true of Rondo, but the pink flesh is an added benefit.
It is a deep pink, has a light fruity aroma of strawberry and raspberry, tastes much the same and a little hubba bubba hint. At only 10% abv it is not heavy, but it does have enough acidity to make it quite mouth-watering, and enough sweetness to prevent it from feeling thin. There are not really noticeable tannins and the pleasure comes from the fresh fruitiness, which stays on the palate for a reasonable time. If you don't like rose then this is not the wine that will make you change your mind, but if you already enjoy the pinks of Southern France then you would be unlikely to send this back.
The label on the bottle identifies the contents as 'Wine of England' and this is a meaningful term. It is possible to find wines labelled 'British Wine' and it may be tempting to think of these terms as synonymous, but they aren't. By way of explanation let's consider Andy Murray, the plucky British tennis player who this week has dispatched three week one opponents at Wimbledon without dropping a set. He is British, but not English. It is true that he achieved maturity in England by winning both the Olympics in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and that all of England's tennis fans share in the joy of his success as he is British and so are they. But he was born and raised in Scotland and so he cannot, and I understand does not want to, be called English. So it is with wine. British wine can be produced in England, but it can be done using grapes born and raised anywhere in the world. English Wine, or Wine of England, can only be called such if the grapes used in its production were grown in England.
People select and buy wines for all kinds of reasons. In England it tends to be heavily influenced by price, branding and supermarket offers, although there are signs that this is may be slowly changing towards increased interest and understanding, and I suspect small producers like Frithsden Vineyard have to rely on both a great deal of effort and, possibly, a romantic notion that the contents of the bottle somehow embody the spirit of the place from which they came. I want them to do well and I want the wine to be good in its own right, so good luck to them. Seriously.
The five acre vineyard was originally planted in 1971, grubbed up in 2001 and then replanted by the current owners in 2006. There are around 6,000 vines of three varieties, one of which begins with an 'R' and so was a shoe-in as this week's wine.
Week R (2014) is Frithsden Vines Rose, 2013. £11.50 from the cellar door at Frithsden Vineyard.It is made from 100% Rondo and grown, vinified, bottled, sold and sometimes drunk on the premises.
Most, almost all, 'quality' wine made in the EU comes from the vine species 'Vitis Vinifera'. But although Rondo is a variety registered as a vinifera variety it has, in fact, been bred (engineered?) using some genes from Vitis Amurensis that help it to cope with cold winters such as we have in England.
It is a hardy little grape, previously known as GM6494 before being christened Rondo, with good disease resistance but can, however, suffer from powdery mildew if the conditions are unfortunate.
It produces small berries whose unusually red flesh helps in producing a vivid pink wine. Most grapes have clear flesh and the juice they contain has no real colour. The colour of red and rose wines generally comes from the pigments (anthocyanins, don't you know) contained in their skins. This is also true of Rondo, but the pink flesh is an added benefit.
It is a deep pink, has a light fruity aroma of strawberry and raspberry, tastes much the same and a little hubba bubba hint. At only 10% abv it is not heavy, but it does have enough acidity to make it quite mouth-watering, and enough sweetness to prevent it from feeling thin. There are not really noticeable tannins and the pleasure comes from the fresh fruitiness, which stays on the palate for a reasonable time. If you don't like rose then this is not the wine that will make you change your mind, but if you already enjoy the pinks of Southern France then you would be unlikely to send this back.
The label on the bottle identifies the contents as 'Wine of England' and this is a meaningful term. It is possible to find wines labelled 'British Wine' and it may be tempting to think of these terms as synonymous, but they aren't. By way of explanation let's consider Andy Murray, the plucky British tennis player who this week has dispatched three week one opponents at Wimbledon without dropping a set. He is British, but not English. It is true that he achieved maturity in England by winning both the Olympics in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013 and that all of England's tennis fans share in the joy of his success as he is British and so are they. But he was born and raised in Scotland and so he cannot, and I understand does not want to, be called English. So it is with wine. British wine can be produced in England, but it can be done using grapes born and raised anywhere in the world. English Wine, or Wine of England, can only be called such if the grapes used in its production were grown in England.
People select and buy wines for all kinds of reasons. In England it tends to be heavily influenced by price, branding and supermarket offers, although there are signs that this is may be slowly changing towards increased interest and understanding, and I suspect small producers like Frithsden Vineyard have to rely on both a great deal of effort and, possibly, a romantic notion that the contents of the bottle somehow embody the spirit of the place from which they came. I want them to do well and I want the wine to be good in its own right, so good luck to them. Seriously.
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