Can English Sparkling Wines rival Champagne?
As we near the end our 10th anniversary at Waud Wines, the majority of the wines on our list have come from the Old World – so mainly France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Within these countries, we have concentrated on listing the smaller growers that make wines that we believe are very representative of the region they come from.
English Wine Trade
Somewhat controversially, we have been reticent to jump onto the English Wines band wagon. We have been shown plenty of English wines in the past that when tasted, really have not been up to the equivalent standards of our neighbours on the continent, and often were more expensive too. I even recall for my 30th birthday (5 years ago) being given a bottle of Non Vintage Chapel Down, and really being quite unimpressed by it. (First world problem I know.) Anyway, dial in to 2017/18 and beyond and it seems that the UK Wine industry has really pulled up their socks and are now producing some really quite decent wines. You will notice that many of the estates have been winning a plethora of awards for their English Sparkling Wines, English White Wines and some are even being awarded gold medals when up in competition against the big names around Europe and the rest of the world. For some areas of the English wine trade, such as private client and online sales, Covid has actually been rather helpful in driving sales forward. We have been rather fortunate and busy over the past 20 months trying to keep the wine racks of the oenophiles in the UK topped up – and many thanks to the customers that have supported our business through this rather strange time. One of the areas that has been affected has been our Waud Wine Club, where we have traditionally run two overseas wine tours throughout the year, where we visit 4 or 5 vineyards over a 2 or 3 day trip – that of course had to be postponed during the lock down times of Covid in 2020 and 2021. This did of course create an opportunity to try something closer to home - and in July 2021, we decided to host an English Wine Tour and explore the up and coming wine regions of Sussex and Kent. We visited Bluebell Vineyard in the Ashdown Forest, Rathfinny Wine Estate near Alfriston, Chapel Down in Tenterton and the Hush Heath Estate and Winery in Kent. They were all very interesting in their own rights, but Rathfinny seemed to be a favourite for our touring party.
Rathfinny Wine Estate
Rathfinny Wine Estate was founded by husband and wife, Mark and Sarah Driver in 2010 on a working arable farm in Sussex. Their dream and intention was to produce some of the world’s finest sparkling wines. The estate is beautiful and is situated on a beautiful part of the South Downs, that has the ideal aspect and climate for wine making. 
Everything about Rathfinny seems to be on point and nothing is left to chance on their journey of making a fabulous collection of end products – four barn storming Sparkling wines. No expensive has been spared, as they have made available the most modern machinery and technology to the wine maker. When you visit, the tasting experience is exceptional. Even the price points of the wines make complete sense. The Classic Cuvee, that currently is vintage 2017, is priced under £30. This is an excellent idea as it allows it to be accessible to most, particularly to the younger generations interested in sparkling wine, who eventually may move through the gears in the future onto the more grown up Rosé Brut, Blanc de Blanc and Blanc de Noirs. The branding is very smart indeed, that we understand to mainly be the brainchild of Sarah Driver. (an action shot of the line up above from our tasting there in July) You can note the very smart and subtle South Downs on the background of the label – and a clear distinction between each of the four wines available. All in all, we completely buy into what they are doing at Rathfinny Wine Estates. Most importantly, the sparkling wines in their range are very enjoyable to taste, very easy to understand – and the people in and around the business are a delight to deal with. The question is continually asked, can English Sparkling wines really mix it up with Champagne? Judging by our experience with Rathfinny, our answer is an emphatic – Oui! Charles Waud One of the Waud Wines Directors
Special Offer
We are pleased to be working closely with Rathfinny Wine Estates - and would love to encourage more of our clients to try their fantastic English Sparkling Wines. Therefore it is a pleasure to present a special 6 bottles for the price of 5 offer for our customers to enjoy in the run up to Christmas.
