I’ve just had a piece released on The Buyer about a trip I did recently down to Sussex to go learn all about making sparkling wine. It was a room full of English sparkling wine makers, and hosted by the 3 judges of the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. Lot of great info flowing around, but even more fun went the chat went a bit off piste, and the dreamy ideas started flowing!
Where Do You Put It All?
One such idea was about storage of bottles. To make sparkling wine in the same way the do it in Champagne, which is exactly what English wine makers are doing, requires laying the bottles down for a few years before release. That in itself costs a bit of cash, but one of the more annoying practicalities is where the hell do you put it all?
Champagne Have Caves, We’ve Got…Er…
Champagne and the big houses like Moet, Bollinger, and Taittinger are famous for having miles and miles of cellars dug out underneath from limestone undersoils. Not saying that you couldn’t do it in England too, but the time and expense would be eye watering wouldn’t it?
Move Over Poldark
So one great idea that’s floating about is to use what’s already there. Quite a few have looked into using old World War 2 bunkers thrown up all along the south coast just north of 70 years ago. Another idea is to look at all the old smuggling caves down the south west coast of Devon and Cornwall. Not quite sure how you’d secure it from a bit of pilfering, but if it’s good enough for Ross Poldark…why not, eh?
Cheers
