Cuvee Rose from the Bolney Estate

So I was really lucky enough to spend a delightful evening at Morton's, Berkeley Square, London W1 with some even more delightful women sampling Veuve Cliquot champagne and being talked through it's heritage by the extremely engaging wine expert Ewan Lacey,

  who is the wine expert on Channel 4's The Cookery School and in 2011 hosted both The Wine Show and the Harvest Festival at Jimmy's Farm. He also writes about drinks for FHM magazine and is wine buyer for Jamie Oliver's events company. Ewan is passionate about the story behind the wine and over a glass or two of Veuve Cliquot we learnt all about the process of making champagne and how they got the yeast sediment out of the bottle, and how it was a woman Madame Cliquot who pioneered champagne production during the Napoleonic Wars. We raised a glass to you, Madame Cliquot!

But that's not really why I'm writing this post as the surprise item on the list that evening was a Cuvee Rose from Sussex. Yes, Sussex is home to the Bolney Estate and their sparkling wines have been winning awards!

Copyright © 1972-2012 Bookers Vineyard Limited

This Rose was definitely worth shouting about and I must say I preferred it to the champagne as it was softer and much more full of flavour. I encourage you to 'buy British' if you can lay your hands on a bottle or order it online for £24.99 a bottle (plus p&p). Or if you are down Sussex way then book a wine tour and tasting - if the Cuvee Rose is anything to go by you won't be disappointed!