ROWS of vines stretch out across the estate, the plump grapes ripening in the sunshine.
By late October, they will be ready to harvest, then later bottled as sparkling wine.
4
Although the heat and hilly views could fool anyone, I am not in Bordeaux or Australia’s Barossa Valley.
I am wandering the vineyard of Carden Park, a three-acre English winery in the lovely Cheshire countryside.
Our wine industry is booming. English wines that once had critics turning up their noses are now celebrated worldwide.
We are even giving the French a run for their money, with our producers reaping awards like so many perfectly ripe grapes.
4
I roam the lines of trees, admiring the fruit, while in the distance, the grand 4-star hotel overlooks tennis courts, a golf course and tranquil lake.
We are just 30 minutes from Chester and the estate sits within 1,000 acres of countryside. Two grape varieties are grown here — Seyval blanc and pinot noir — producing 7,000 bottles of sparkling wine a year.
Carden Park boss Peter Pattenden says: “The sandy soil and micro-climate in this part of Cheshire is best suited to those grape varieties. It’s labour-intensive work, especially during harvest.”
The decor is plush green inside the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, The Vines, which opened following a £250,000 makeover at Carden Park. The wine list features bottles from around the world, comp-lementing dishes such as Asian-style steak tartare and corn-fed chicken with truffle and bacon cauliflower. I tuck into lemon sole with local asparagus and plenty of rosé.
4
The hotel makes a great base for further wine-inspired fun, which is why I swapped the traffic-light lottery of a European holiday for a “grape British staycation” in Cheshire.
Twelve miles north of the hotel, the Wine School of Cheshire has prepared a series of tasting events to celebrate English Wine Week, which is on right now.
Richard Smith, the school’s founder, says: “The Romans brought vineyards to England. But when I tried my first English wine around 1990, I simply poured it down the sink.”
Warmer summers have improved growing conditions and new wine-ries are popping up across the country.
4
While most English wines come from the South East, there are more than 80 vineyards in the Midlands and the North. Cheshire is one of the standout locations.
Wine appreciation classes at the school are a hit with novices who want to learn more. I am handed a glass of pinot noir and told to swirl it around the glass. This helps release the wine’s aromas — in this case, notes of burnt raspberry.
An Atlantic dry from Cornwall’s Camel Valley is fruitier and, I am told, pairs well with white fish or goat’s cheese.
If you have not yet had your fill, make the short walk from the wine school to ChesterBoat on the banks on the River Dee.
GO: CHESHIRE
STAYING THERE: Carden Park offers an Ultimate Foodie Break with rooms from £159 B&B based on two sharing. See cardenpark.co.uk.
MORE INFO: See visitcheshire.com and winegb.co.uk.
OUT & ABOUT: The Wine School of Cheshire has two-hour tastings from £40pp, and two-hour wine cruises with Chester Boat are from £50pp. See cheshire.wine.
BOOZY WEEKEND
It runs wine and canape-tasting tours on the river, the two-hour trip offering riverside views of the Eaton Estate, ancestral home to the Duke of Westminster.
Though the tour is the perfect way to round off a boozy weekend, I can’t resist a final glass of sparkling back at the hotel.
As the sun sets over the vineyard, I raise my glass to the English winemakers taking on the overseas giants who have been doing it for centuries.
Then I toddle off to bed feeling very merry indeed.
