DRINK DIFFERENT - A ‘NOUVEAU’ IDEA FROM ENGLAND

Media hype about Beaujolais Nouveau has unfortunately given the whole of Beaujolais a bad name, which is a shame, because this southern part of the Burgundy vineyard produces some really good quality wines from the Gamay grape.  This is a thin-skinned variety, giving a wine which is lighter in style, without the tannins you will find in the Pinot Noirs from the more expensive part of Burgundy.

However, good quality Beaujolais, like all imported wines, is facing price pressure, and a decent bottle from one of the ten ‘Cru’ villages will set you back upwards of £10 nowadays.  For that kind of money, you could think laterally, and return to the Pinot Noir grape – but in a much lighter style, from England.

In our northerly climate, making Burgundy-style Pinot Noir is difficult, but more and more domestic producers are making a lighter style which is a good alternative to Beaujolais (in fact, a quarter of all vines in England are Pinot Noir, although most are used to make sparkling wine).

As with Beaujolais, pop the bottle in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving; this is a wine with little tannin, so it will taste fresher for the slight cooling.