Wales is not the first country that springs to mind when you think of wine. If we even consider wine from our own shores, English wine will dominate, with sparkling being given the top ratings. So, I was somewhat flummoxed when my monthly wine group chose a Rugby World Cup theme and delegated me to bring Welsh Wine.
Where to begin? I was certainly not the most thrilled I'd ever been at the prospect. According to DrinkWales.org there are now 17 vineyards in Wales, employing around 350 people and producing around 100,000 bottles a year. Contrast this with England, where around 4.4 million bottles are produced per year from 470 vineyards and 135 wineries. Welsh wine is definitely still a niche product.
After a lot of internet research, I realised the only place where I could pick up a bottle without having to buy a whole case or drive to Wales, was central London. Available from WaitroseCellar.com, I was able to select from the red or white wines of Glyndwr Vineyard in Oxford Street's John Lewis food hall. I decided to be brave and spend £12.99 (my budget was £15 ruling out most UK sparkling wines) on red wine. Well, it was a Rugby World Cup theme, and Wales play in red, don't they? But would they win the World Cup tasting?
Where to begin? I was certainly not the most thrilled I'd ever been at the prospect. According to DrinkWales.org there are now 17 vineyards in Wales, employing around 350 people and producing around 100,000 bottles a year. Contrast this with England, where around 4.4 million bottles are produced per year from 470 vineyards and 135 wineries. Welsh wine is definitely still a niche product.
After a lot of internet research, I realised the only place where I could pick up a bottle without having to buy a whole case or drive to Wales, was central London. Available from WaitroseCellar.com, I was able to select from the red or white wines of Glyndwr Vineyard in Oxford Street's John Lewis food hall. I decided to be brave and spend £12.99 (my budget was £15 ruling out most UK sparkling wines) on red wine. Well, it was a Rugby World Cup theme, and Wales play in red, don't they? But would they win the World Cup tasting?
Glyndwr Vineyard is the oldest established and largest vineyard in Wales. Planted by the current owners 33 years ago, the family-owned and run estate has over 6,000 vines. Grapes grow on gently south-east facing slopes in the heart of the Vale of Glamorgan.
The bottle label depicts the Welsh prince, Owain Glyndwr, riding into battle with Carreg Cennen Castle in the background.
Glyndwr Vineyard's website claims they produce a range of fine, award-winning wines which have been carefully blended and fermented by their skilled winemaker for over a quarter of a century. It also mentions the Glyndwr wines have won many competitions and commendations from Decanter Magazine to the UK Vineyards Association Awards. "The sparkling wines have been particularly successful with the Brut taking first prize in the renowned South West Vineyards Association competition. The red wine, judged by four Masters of Wine, was singled out for a double gold in the same competition, the first time this accolade had ever been awarded."
This new information certainly boosted my hopes of making it through to the second round...
Glyndwr Red 2014 (11.5% abv) is produced from early ripening mature Rondo and Regent grapes, giving a wine that's dark in colour and fragrant. The wine also rests for an unspecified amount of time in American oak, which promised to give some complexity and spiced notes.
Both Rondo and Regent are grape varieties you might find in English red wine, but as "hybrid" grapes they're much less commonly known than the international varieties we drink most in the UK: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Those popular varieties would simply fail to ripen, even in our best summers.
The bottle label depicts the Welsh prince, Owain Glyndwr, riding into battle with Carreg Cennen Castle in the background.
Glyndwr Vineyard's website claims they produce a range of fine, award-winning wines which have been carefully blended and fermented by their skilled winemaker for over a quarter of a century. It also mentions the Glyndwr wines have won many competitions and commendations from Decanter Magazine to the UK Vineyards Association Awards. "The sparkling wines have been particularly successful with the Brut taking first prize in the renowned South West Vineyards Association competition. The red wine, judged by four Masters of Wine, was singled out for a double gold in the same competition, the first time this accolade had ever been awarded."
This new information certainly boosted my hopes of making it through to the second round...
Glyndwr Red 2014 (11.5% abv) is produced from early ripening mature Rondo and Regent grapes, giving a wine that's dark in colour and fragrant. The wine also rests for an unspecified amount of time in American oak, which promised to give some complexity and spiced notes.
Both Rondo and Regent are grape varieties you might find in English red wine, but as "hybrid" grapes they're much less commonly known than the international varieties we drink most in the UK: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Those popular varieties would simply fail to ripen, even in our best summers.
Rondo Grapes image from Wikicommons So what is a hybrid? Without getting too much into the technical details, most wine grapes come from a vine family called Vitis Vinifera. However, there are other species of Vitis and if you cross 2 types of Vitis, you get a hybrid. Rondo and Regent are two of the most recent. Often produced to suit climates where the growing season is shorter, and with greater disease and pest resistance, hybrids can be seen as a greener alternative. However, some have a very particular flavour profile, often referred to in tasting notes as "foxy". There are strict regulations about the use of hybrid grape varieties in wine, and planting is discouraged in much of the EU. Most hybrid wines cannot be described as "quality wine" based on EU regulations. Our Welsh Wine was not the only hybrid wine in the tasting, though.
Canada's premium Ice Wines often come from the Vidal grape, a high quality hybrid, and the Laithwaites-procured bottle at our tasting was one of the most popular wines in our Rugby World Cup. (The outright winner on the night was a stunning Pinot Noir from Oregon purchased through Robersons. Admittedly, both of these wines were over budget, although the ice wine at £11.99 for 20cl is definitely worthy of a try if you haven't yet had the pleasure.)
Rondo was created in 1964 and officially named Rondo in 1999. Its high resistance against winter frost and downy mildew comes from its Asiatic Vitis Amurensis parent, and it's early ripening makes it well suited to the climate here. Commonly blended, it's great for producing strong colour where this can be hard to achieve.
Canada's premium Ice Wines often come from the Vidal grape, a high quality hybrid, and the Laithwaites-procured bottle at our tasting was one of the most popular wines in our Rugby World Cup. (The outright winner on the night was a stunning Pinot Noir from Oregon purchased through Robersons. Admittedly, both of these wines were over budget, although the ice wine at £11.99 for 20cl is definitely worthy of a try if you haven't yet had the pleasure.)
Rondo was created in 1964 and officially named Rondo in 1999. Its high resistance against winter frost and downy mildew comes from its Asiatic Vitis Amurensis parent, and it's early ripening makes it well suited to the climate here. Commonly blended, it's great for producing strong colour where this can be hard to achieve.
Regent grapes image - Wikicommons Regent is also a hybrid grape variety, created in 1967 which received varietal protection in 1994. Again, colour intensive with moderate acidity, it can produce a lot of tannin and show aromas of cherries or blackcurrants. The wines often reach high alcohol levels (though not in this case) and take well to oak. It's seen as fairly easy to make good wine from with excellent skin colour and without any foxy flavours.
The full Rugby World Cup tasting line up included France, Australia, Romania, Wales, America, South Africa, Canada and Uruguay.
So what of the Glyndwr Red 2014. The verdict was unanimous. This was no winner, and not one of the 14 guests would have purchased the wine again. Sadly, Wales were eliminated from our Rugby World Cup in the first round. In fact, this was the only bottle from the range where there was any left at the end of the night. Not a good sign.
With an extreme sour cherry flavour, the wine almost appeared to fizz slightly on the tongue. It's possible that this was a fault although the sensation died down quickly. While I have higher hopes for award winning Welsh fizz, I don't have any immediate desire to try more Welsh red wines. Given our documented aversion to bright cherry flavours at Chateau Purple Teeth, it will be some time before Rondo and Regent wines from England feature on my buy list. But, if you're a fan of young and fresh Valpolicella, this wine style may well be for you. Juicy, fruity and with decent acidity, the flavours, while prominent, just weren't for me. Cherry lovers may feel differently. Do let me know if you've tasted any other Welsh wines, red, white or sparkling, and what you thought.
And if you hosted a Rugby World Cup tasting, I'd love to hear about your winners. You might even host your own semi-final tasting with amazing wines available from South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.
Cheers!
With an extreme sour cherry flavour, the wine almost appeared to fizz slightly on the tongue. It's possible that this was a fault although the sensation died down quickly. While I have higher hopes for award winning Welsh fizz, I don't have any immediate desire to try more Welsh red wines. Given our documented aversion to bright cherry flavours at Chateau Purple Teeth, it will be some time before Rondo and Regent wines from England feature on my buy list. But, if you're a fan of young and fresh Valpolicella, this wine style may well be for you. Juicy, fruity and with decent acidity, the flavours, while prominent, just weren't for me. Cherry lovers may feel differently. Do let me know if you've tasted any other Welsh wines, red, white or sparkling, and what you thought.
And if you hosted a Rugby World Cup tasting, I'd love to hear about your winners. You might even host your own semi-final tasting with amazing wines available from South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.
Cheers!
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