The beautiful game - and the beautiful drink

Everyone knows that wine and football go together like, oh I don’t know, Posh Spice and a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Which is to say, not at all. Undeterred, I shall press on in my mission to tie together the fruit of the vine and the beautiful game.

Over the coming weeks, you can drink along-a-football with my handy guide to footballing nations and their vinous claims to fame. With apologies to Chris Evans, Vassos Alexander and Radio 2 (ie please don’t sue me), here’s my Top Tenuous of World Cup and wine. 

At Number 10 – England. I know we did win it once but the brutal truth is that we don’t look likely to do so again anytime soon. Our wine fortunes, however, have been looking up in recent years, so now you can be proud to toast the success (or, let’s face it, probably lack of it) with some top flight English fizz.

Try

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2009: winner of a Gold medal and the English Sparkling Wine Trophy at this year’s International Wine Challenge. It shows that we do know how to be world beaters at something. £35.99, down to £30.58 a bottle if you buy two at Majestic; £27.50 from The Wine Society and £31.99 from Waitrose.

A surprise package at number 9 is Switzerland, notoriously the target of a barb from Orson Welles, playing Harry Lime in the film The Third Man: “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love…500 years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

The comment is hardly fair or accurate: they produced Swiss Army knives too didn’t they? Unbeknownst to many of us they have also been making wine for quite some time, but tend to drink most of it themselves.

Try

Look out for weighty, complex whites made from Petite Arvine and reds from Humagne Rouge. Alpine Wines (formerly Nick Dobson Wines) is the UK Specialist.

France appears at number 8. After their World Cup win in 1998, there have been mixed fortunes for France, both as a footballing and wine producing nation: domestic wine consumption is falling and increasing competition in export markets has put the squeeze on French producers.

Try

There is no doubting the class of French wines, and any wine lover is spoilt for choice when it comes to wine styles. From bone dry whites, to full bodied reds via lipsmacking rosés and not forgetting Champagne, there really is something for everyone. But please, spend over £7 if you want to find something worthwhile.  

In at number 7, Portugal’s football fortunes are essentially dependent on whether Cristiano Ronaldo has his goal scoring boots on. Wine-wise, Portugal has a much broader team to draw on, with a vast array of unique native grape varieties. Winemaking techniques have caught up with the quality of the raw materials, making this one of the world’s most exciting wine producers.

Try

Thrilling, complex reds from the Douro Valley. Crasto Douro Red is £10.99, or £9.34 if you buy 2, at Majestic. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Douro red is also made by the same producer and is £8.25.

Italy, at number 6, can never be ruled out of the running when it comes to football, and the same holds for its wines. Second only to France in the global wine production stakes, we have probably all had our fair share of disappointing reds and mind-numbingly dull whites from Italy in the past. The quality revolution has come here too though, so dip your toe in and you could find yourself charmed by an Italian all over again.

Try

Fiano makes juicy stonefruit-tinged whites. Look out for Tesco’s Finest Fiano, currently down from £7.99 to £5.99.

  

Number 5 brings us to the Netherlands. Consistent performers on the pitch, they are also, surprisingly, a wine nation, albeit a small one.

Try

You’re unlikely to find any Dutch wine here in the UK, so probably best to stick with beer.

A shudder goes through the English at the combination of football and the country at number 4 – Argentina. Hand of God and all that. Best leave it at that and concentrate on their wine-making abilities.

Try

It’s all about Malbec isn’t it? Bags of fruit, barbecue and meat friendly: perfect summer red. I have a fondness for the greater refinement and Messi-like silky skills of Pulenta Estate’s Gran Cabernet Franc - £25-28 at Berry Brothers and The Good Wine Shop.

For England there’s no getting past the country at number 3 – Germany. So often the team who lead to England’s footballing downfall, they seem full of confidence and technical ability. What of German wines though?

It’s time we overcame our prejudices and had another go at German wines – many more Trocken (dry) whites from Riesling are now available, which should help to convince us that German wine doesn’t have to taste like dolly mixture.

Try

Louis Guntrum Dry Riesling, £8.95 from The Wine Society

At number 2, Spain, the current cup holders, are sitting pretty. It seems unlikely that they could triumph again, but they are certainly easy on the eye on the pitch.

Spain’s wines are pretty easy on the palate too – who doesn’t love the mellow fruitiness and hint of shoe polish of a Rioja Reserva?

Try

Great value Rioja Navajas Crianza from The Wine Society – textbook smooth and sleek Rioja style for £7.75 a bottle. 

And at number 1 – home nation Brazil may be more known for rain forests, poverty, those buttock-revealing bikinis and (possibly related) frankly dodgy body grooming practices. But it is also a wine producer and the UK is now its biggest export market, which leads me to conclude that I wasn’t the first person to hit on this wine and football connection.

Try

Carnival Sparkling Moscato NV £9.99 or Coconova Sparkling Brut £8.99, both from Marks & Spencer for some frothy fun.

As they say in Brazil, tim tim! Which must be Portuguese for “Come on Tim!” – how nice of them, if a little out of date now.

A taste of the Surrey Hills

Time was, English (and Welsh) wine was something to try for its novelty value. You didn’t expect it to taste much like wine as you knew it – and much of the time, that expectation was fulfilled.

In recent years, however, quality levels have shot up and consistently enjoyable wines from England and Wales are no longer a novelty. In fact, at a recent event to mark the launch of the Surrey Hills Trust Fund, I was challenged to select wines only from the Surrey Hills.

Eating locally grown produce is something we are all familiar with. Is it now possible to think about drinking locally in the same way?

Winemaking in the UK has a long history, which may date back to the time of the Romans. It is tempting to imagine our Romano-British ancestors reclining on their couches and knocking back locally produced wine, as they while complain about the state of the weather, bemoan the performance of their team in the chariot racing and ask the servants to turn up the hypocaust.

Archaeological evidence certainly exists for wine drinking, in the form of amphorae and drinking cups; as well as for viticulture. However, no evidence has yet been found of actual winemaking in Roman Britain, in the form of winery equipment, presses and so on, so they may have been downing Cuvée Asterix from Gaul rather than Vin de Pays de Surrey. 

Wine was certainly made in Britain from the late Saxon period onwards, though colder periods like the Little Ice Age (from around 1350-1850) will have wiped out some, if not all vineyards. Modern English winemaking began after the Second World War and plantings really took off from the mid 1990s, when we found that sparkling wine was where our strength lay.

The Surrey Hills are home to quality-focused sparkling wine producers including Greyfriars and High Clandon.

High Clandon

Sibylla and Bruce Tindale have planted a 1-acre vineyard in Clandon, with stunning views of London up to the Wembley arch and the Shard. They look after the vines and the wine itself is made by multi award-winning winemaker Sam Linter at Bolney Estate in Sussex.

They have just released their 2009 Succession Cuvée, a blend of just over half Chardonnay, with the remainder divided between Pinots Noir and Meunier. Over four years on its lees have given finesse and elegance to the Chardonnay fruit, with a floral hint on the nose and generous apple and spice on the palate.

They also made around a third of their (admittedly small) production as Ultra Cuvée 2009, based on the same base wine and blend, but with a lower dosage at disgorgement. This makes for a drier wine, but also changes the feel of the wine in the mouth, with fine, minerally acidity and more precisely defined fruit.

Both cuvees are available for £29. To find out more and to buy the wine, go to http://www.highclandon.co.uk/.

Greyfriars Vineyard

Many of you will have driven past Greyfriars, on the Hog’s Back southwest of Guildford. For years I’ve thought what a fantastic spot this is for making wine – it has a southerly aspect and free draining chalk bedrock under a thin layer of soil. The original owners planted the first vines here in 1989, but Mike Wagstaff and his business partner took over in 2010 and have vastly expanded the plantings and are producing high quality wines which really do justice to the site.

They are shortly to release two wines:

Greyfriars Rosé Reserve 2012

A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which has spent nine months on its lees, retaining delicious fresh flavours of cream, blossom and peach, with a twist of pink peppercorn.

Greyfriars Blanc de Blancs 2011

A 100% Chardonnay, some of which was fermented in old oak barrels, and which has spent 21 months on its lees. I found this delightfully fresh with a hint of fresh ginger and breadiness on the nose and with a light bodied elegance.  

http://www.greyfriarsvineyard.co.uk/

Sparkling wines are definitely the stars of the English wine scene, but Surrey man (or woman) cannot live by fizz alone, and there are high quality still wines to choose from.

Albury Organic Vineyard Silent Pool Rosé 2013

Nick Wenman’s master plan is to produce a high quality organic sparkling wine from his vineyard across the A25 from Albury, just above Silent Pool.

His first vintage of sparkling wine will, he hopes, be released by the end of this year. However, in the meantime, he has made a bit of a splash with his still rosé. Serendipitously, the inaugural vintage was selected to be served on the royal barge for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, whereafter it promptly sold out. The 2013 has just been released and is available at a number of retail outlets for around £14-15. It is a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with aromas and flavours of strawberries and cream and just a hint of fruit sweetness to balance the natural acidity.

http://www.alburyvineyard.com/

Element 20 2011

Denbies is a name familiar to most locals and is possibly the only English wine producer that most Surreyites would be able to name. They make a wide range of wines, including award-winning sparkling wines, many of which are available to buy on the High Street and in supermarkets.

Also made at Denbies, and made using at least some fruit from their vineyard, is this ambitious barrel-fermented blend of Chardonnay with a little Pinot Gris and Bacchus. A rich but dry style of wine with chalky minerality, spice and a long, elegant finish. This is an exciting wine, perhaps inspired by white Burgundy, but a uniquely English expression of the style. I love it, but am clearly not alone as it was awarded a Silver Medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Available online and elsewhere for £20 a bottle: http://www.litmuswines.com/

So, can you now drink locally without sacrificing quality? I think that’s a yes.