foodwineclick

Champagne Houses Expand
French Champagne houses have been looking to expand for a long time. Back in 1973, Moët et Chandon established Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley. More recently, houses began to take interest in Southern England. With climate change, southern England has become a viable region for wine grape growing. It also has the distinct advantage of the same type of limestone based soil as is found in the Champagne region! Champagne Pommery was the first Champagne house to plant their flag in England with the purchase of the Pinglestone estate in 2014. They released their first sparkling wine (can’t call it Champagne!) in 2018.

Pinglestone Estate
Pinglestone Estate is located in Hampshire, near the South Downs National Park. They grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier and Pinot Gris, the same varieties as are most popular in the Champagne region in France. With an eye to sustainability, they use regenerative farming techniques, encouraging biodiversity on the estate. They offer vineyard tours and tastings, and even overnight accomodations!

Disclosure: The wine was provided as a sample. No other compensation was involved, all opinions expressed are mine.

Louis Pommery England Brut NV (sample, $40 in the US) 12.5% abv
This sparkling wine was made by the traditional method with the second fermentation in the bottle.
Eye: Pale gold with very vine and persistant perlage
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of baking bread, straw, green apple, lemon, pear, a hint of caramel
Mouth: Dry, mouthwatering high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, medium plus intensity flavors, medium plus finish of pears and baked apples. Flavors predominantly feature the yeasty notes, apple and pear.
Observations: Very nice traditional method sparkling wine with vibrant acidity and a nice variety of aromas and flavors. Perfect as an aperitif and it paired nicely with our dinner.

English Sparkling Wine at the Dinner Table
For dinner, I used a recipe we discovered this year, Honey-Soy Braised Pork with Lime and Ginger. Rich, savory-sweet pork, I first considered this a winter dish. In the summer though, this recipe does well as a filling for a lettuce wrap. A smaller portion along with the light crunch of lettuce and scallions was a treat! Pairing any wine with the savory-sweet-spicy dish is a bit of a challenge, so I thought it would be a good test for a sparkling wine at the dinner table. Sparkling wines are often a great choice for tough pairings and our Louis Pommery England definitely passed with flying colors.