Drinks Buyer 2025

21 specialityfoodmagazine.com TRADITIONAL PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT ‘ CANNED WINES FROM FAVOURITE BRANDS APPEAL TO 40% OF CONSUMERS ’ MINTEL ENGLISH SPARKLINGWINE WINBIRRI VINEYARD VINTAGE SPARKLING RESERVE 2016 Sparkling wine with finesse. This drop reveals white peach, blossom and spice, with subtle hints of brioche and wild strawberry. winbirri.com GUSBOURNE ESTATE 2019 ROSE There’s a reason this has won so many awards. Complex, balanced, frothy, and with a luxurious perfume of ripe berries. gusbourne.com FLINT VINEYARD CHARMAT ROSE Made in a similar style to Prosecco, this is incredibly popular. It tastes like summer – strawberries, redcurrants and ripe cherries. flintvineyard.com KNOW YOUR APPLES English sparkling wine has cemented itself as a staple on UK supermarket shelves, frompremium spaces like Waitrose to discount chains such as Aldi. This widespread growth has also been reflected in the on-trade, where it is poured by top sommeliers in high-end restaurants, and found on wine lists of affordable pub chains such as Wetherspoon. It is far more accessible than it once was, and consumers (both domestically and internationally) are seeking it over familiar alternatives. The future brims with opportunities for the category. As sustainability and reduced foodmiles gain importance, regional pairings become increasingly appealing. For example, a glass of Kent’s Simpsons Chalklands Classic Cuvée with neighbouring Cheesemakers of Canterbury’s Bowyers (a Brie-style cow’s milk cheese), or Devon’s Sharpham Classic Cuvée Rosé paired with their Ticklemore goats’ cheese. English sparkling wine is a broad category. A bottle might present a Champagne blend or somethingmore unfamiliar, such as Bacchus or Seyval Blanc. Notably, Sussex boasts PDO status for its wine, defining grape varieties and production processes to ensure quality and clarity for consumers. There’s potential for other regions to follow suit, establishing reputations for their regional qualities and continuing this booming evolution well into the future. TRADITIONAL ST PETER’S BREWERY CO HONEY PORTER An auburn-coloured English porter finished with honey. Offers up notes of honey, vanilla and chocolate. Many customers use the vintage-style bottles as vases after drinking. stpetersbrewery.co.uk OLIVER’S YARLINGTONMILL BOTTLE CONDITIONED CIDER Oliver’s is considered an arbiter of modern craft cider with a traditional twist. This one is lively, with a classic floral aroma and soft, spicy tannins. oliversciderandperry. co.uk PLYMOUTH GIN PLYMOUTH FRUIT CUP A small batch alternative to the usual British summer cup, blending fruit liqueurs, botanicals, vermouths, bitters and citrus fruit extracts. plymouthgin.com Wine expert, Kirsty Woodgate, explains why English wine is hitting all the right notes for consumers 4 types of traditional cider to stock ● Farmhouse/scrumpy: The most classic variety, crafted with cider apples which create a dry, still, cloudy drink at around 6% ● Single varietal: Made using just one type of cider apple, allowing the expression of its flavour to sing through ● Vintage: Made using apples from a single year’s harvest and typicallymatured in oak barrels for around a year. It’s usually strong, at 7-8% ABV ● Bottle-conditioned: Fermentation is finished within the bottle, giving the cider natural bubbles. Sediment is produced during the process, which isn’t for everyone ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE’S TIME TO SHINE CARR TAYLOR Since its first viable harvest in 1976 Carr Taylor has gone from strength to strength, winning their first award in 1983 in the International Wine and Spirit competition. The following years have seen a succession of medals in international competitions, accruing in excess of 200 awards. In 1983 an exceptional harvest encouraged the vineyard to experiment with sparkling wine. This venture produced 10,000 bottles of traditionally fermented sparkling wine and resulted in the first commercially available traditional method sparkling wine made in England. carr-taylor.co.uk