Elderflower Cordial – making the perfect summer drink

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Food, Recipes

Elderflower

Elderflower Cordial – making the perfect summer drink Right now, I can’t think of a more quintessentially British summer drink than Elderflower cordial. The Elder (Sambucus nigra) is in full bloom in summer, so why not do a bit of easy foraging and make Elderflower cordial yourself? It’s swift and easy*. The result is brilliant refreshment when you don’t want …

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English Wine Week 2022. A fistful of sparklers.

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Sparkling Wine

English Wine Week 2022 WineGB

English Wine Week 2022. A fistful of sparklers. English Wine Week 2022 runs from Saturday 18 to Sunday 26 June this year. I’ll support the fun by drinking and promoting excellent English* wines. About English Wine Week 2022 To paraphrase WineGB, they said “English Wine Week is our national campaign to raise awareness of English wine and its wide availability …

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Lincolnshire is a wine-producing county too

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Travel

Lincolnshire - Medieval Bishop's Palace Vineyard - © Stuart Frost, used with permission

Lincolnshire is a wine-producing county too. As many will know, English and Welsh wine has become a fantastic success, and our isles can now boast 178 wineries and 800 vineyards. Meanwhile, Lincolnshire, England’s second-largest county, is devoted to farming and fishing. As a result, it produces over 20% of Britain’s food and has an enviable food culture to match. But do …

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Christmas 2021 – a dozen delights

Paul Howard Articles, Biodynamic, Blog, Champagne, England and Wales, Food, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Organic, Spain, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Happy Christmas 2021

Christmas 2021 – a dozen delights Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you all! Thanks for reading, supporting and encouraging me during this incredibly challenging year. Here’s my present to you all – the pick of the wines for Christmas 2021, together with a Christmas Card. This year there are a dozen delights. All come highly recommended for …

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Oxney Organic Estate Rosé, English Sparkling Wine

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Oxney Organic Estate Rosé Brut NV

Oxney Organic Estate Rosé, English Sparkling Wine Oxney is Britain’s largest single organic wine estate on the River Rother in East Sussex, six miles north of Rye’s historic and charming port. That means it’s also in the High Weald, a designated Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty. Oxney is also certified organic by the Soil Association. Indeed, this organic mixed farm …

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SWGB: sustainability and using glass wine bottles

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, Climate Emergency, England and Wales, Sustainability, Wine Business

Grape Britannia shelves, used by courtesy of WineGB

SWGB: sustainability and using glass wine bottles Sustainability isn’t a “nice to have” these days, it’s an essential part of business success, and wine growing is no exception. In an exciting development, WineGB (English and Welsh wine’s national association) commenced a new environmental sustainability scheme last year. It’s called SWGB, standing for Sustainable Wines of Great Britain. The SWGB code affirms that members …

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Louis Pommery England – English Sparkler, French Twist

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Louis Pommery England

Louis Pommery England – English Sparkler, French twist Since it started making waves a few years back, Champagne Houses have kept a watchful eye on English Sparkling Wine. What began as rumour became fact when they bought land in Britain for sparkling wine production. Two Champagne Houses well-known for this are Vranken-Pommery Monopole* and Taittinger. Meanwhile, English Sparkling wine is now …

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The Great Vine – the World’s Oldest Grapevine?

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Germany, Italy

The Great Vine, Hampton Court - Schiava

The Great Vine – the World’s Oldest Grapevine? Where is the world’s oldest grapevine? Perhaps in continental Europe, which has been growing grapes for centuries. Alternatively, in a place that’s a cradle of winegrowing, such as Georgia or Syria. Surprisingly, the world’s oldest fully documented grapevine is thriving in London. This is The Great Vine, which it’s now 252 years young. …

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Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2018 for English Wine Week 2020

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales

EWW & Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay Chardonnay 2018 for English Wine Week 2020 This year’s English Wine Week is a little later in the year than usual. It runs from Saturday 20 June to Sunday 28th June. So to tie in with this year’s event, here are my English wine recommendations. The principal feature is the newly released Chardonnay 2018 from the Lyme Bay …

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Herbert Hall English Sparkling Brut Rosé 2016

Paul Howard Articles, Blog, England and Wales, Organic, Sparkling Wine, Sustainability

Nick Hall, Herbert Hall winery

Herbert Hall English Sparkling Brut Rosé 2016 My first encounter with Herbert Hall wines was in 2016 with their Traditional Method Brut. That’s from Kent, and it proved to be one of the outstanding wines in a lineup of high-quality Britfizz. You can read about that here. However, Herbert Hall also makes a Brut Rosé of a similar calibre. Herbert Hall …

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