English winemakers come for dinner

Artisan & Vine wine bar in south London has teamed up with DrinkBritain.com to launch a series of dinners showcasing English winemakers.

The “Best of English Meet the Winemaker” dinners will run on a monthly basis from February. Each will feature one of England’s top winemakers, who will present five of their wines alongside a three course meal, specially prepared by in-house chef James Robson.

Specialising in natural wines, Artisan & Vine also claims to stock London’s best range of local English wines. Owner Kathryn O’Mara outlined the motivation behind this new programme, saying: “It is rare that we get the opportunity to be involved with something as it goes huge.

“Winemakers in England are unencumbered by tradition or commercialisation, they have the pleasure of artisanal choices – for now. I’m excited about the opportunity to engage in that.”

Apart from offering a chance to discover and celebrate English wine, O’Mara also pointed to a more cerebral aim.

She explained: "Another exciting element of the series is the opportunity to hear first hand why each winemaker makes the choices they do and how those choices manifest in each bottle of wine; those insights absolutely enhance the experience of drinking a wine."

Launching in February, the programme will include Carol Nielsen, winemaker at Brightwell Vineyards in Oxfordshire; Frazer Thompson, CEO of Chapel Down Wine Estate in Kent; and Charlie Holland, assistant winemaker at Ridgeview Estate in Sussex.

Susanna Forbes, publisher of DrinkBritain.com, added her support for the initiative, saying: “For anyone wanting to find out for themselves why English wine is turning heads, this is the best way.”

Having gone live to the UK trade in November last year, the DrinkBritain website is extending its reach to consumers this spring with the aim of promoting UK drinks and their producers.

Each dinner is limited to 35 places, with tickets priced at £29.95. To book or for more information, click here

Gabriel Savage, 18.01.2011