Sparkling Wine – Book Review : Vineyards of England and Wales
[Ad-gifted] In the space of a few short years, English and Welsh sparkling wines have become recognised as some of the best in the world. Improvements in viniculture, changing climate and terroir that often mimics the conditions found in the Champagne region of France have combined with the care and attention of predominantly artisanal makers to make fantastic wine.
Travelling around more than 50 vineyards, Sparkling Wine celebrates this revolution. Stewart Wilde, provides tasting notes, visiting information and details on the terroir for each vineyard, along with an engaging insight into the makers and their craft.
Keep on reading to learn more about this wonderful book, especially if you are a wine lover like us and also to find out how you can win yourself a copy of this book.
I love my wines, my preference changes and some of my favourites have included Portuguese Port Wine, New Zealand White Wine, Australian Rose Wine or Sparkling Italian Wines. To be honest with you, I don’t know much about the English or Welsh Sparkling Wines until I started reading this book. Although English wines have recently been gaining fans locally and around the world, these regions have been cultivating vines for millennia. I learnt that it was in 1662, when Dr Christopher Merrett, an English Scientist who presented a paper to the Royal Society describing the making of sparkling wine, predating the better-known Dom Perignon by some 30-years!
I also learnt that while there are about 600 plus vineyards in England and Wales today, fewer than 100 have ten acres or more of vines. Production is often small scale and labour intensive and time-consuming and consequently, this resulting in the sparkling wine being expensive to the consumer. I loved that there was so much information in the book from grape information such grape variety, directions to the vineyards with maps as well as opening times. The book is almost like a wine guide whereby you can either physically head to the locations to tour the vineyards or use it as a wine guide to try out the different wines from the comfort of your home.
Did you know that you are rarely as far from a vineyard as you might think? Looking at how the book is split (see below), there should be a vineyard close to you. So the next time you are out to grab a bottle of sparkling wine, why not try an English of Welsh one?
I. South West – Cornwall, Devon Dorset
II. South Central – Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire
III. South East – West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Surrey
IV. East Anglia – Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk
V. West Midlands and Wales – Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Monmouthshire, Vale of Glamorgan, Powys
How you can win a copy of this book?
Terms & Conditions:
* Prize is not exchangeable for cash and not transferable
* Open World Wide
* All entries must be received by Sun, 7 July 2019.
* The winner will be chosen at random
* The winner will be notified via the email address. They have up to 28-days to respond and claim their prize after being notified, after which time the prize will be considered unclaimed and will be re-assigned using a random selection method.
* Submission of a posting will be taken to mean acceptance of the rules and terms and conditions.
* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website
* The winner will be published on the original giveaway blog post.
* Prizes are administered separately by the Book Author / Publisher and Yeah Lifestyle cannot be held responsible for problems related to fulfillment of prizes including non-delivery of the item
How much is the Sparkling Wine book and where can you buy it?
The paperback copy of the book retails for £12.95 and you can purchase a copy here.
Book Details:
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- ISBN: 9781851499052
- Publisher: ACC Art Books
- Format: Paperback with flaps
- Page count: 144
- Dimensions: 195 mm x 130 mm
About The Publisher – ACC Art Books
ACC Art Books brings you a world of beautiful books about the creative arts, mixing 50 plus years of tradition with the finest in contemporary art and design. They bring you the latest books by the worlds top architects, stunning monographs on top photographers and impeccable catalogues from the latest exhibitions. ACC Art Books is the leader in arts publishing and distribution. Their community reaches around the world and collects the best in illustrated publishing in one place.
About the Author – Stewart Wilde
After practising as an architect in his early career, Stewart Wilde changed tack and followed his passion, wine. Working in the UK wine trade for several years, he acquired and nurtured an intimate knowledge of the vineyards of England and Wales. He has become personally acquainted with many of the growers and makers who have contributed so much to the spectacular rise of British sparkling wine over the past decade. When he can be tempted away from the wine-growing regions of the UK, Stewart spends his time exploring vineyards further afield, from Sicily to Uruguay, Portugal to New Zealand.
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* We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.
23 comments
Sounds like a wonderful book, especially if you are a wine lover.
Absolutely! its a fantastic little book filled with so much information
I do really enjoy having a glass of wine, especially sparkling wine. I’m sure I’d learn a lot from this book!
Yes you would especially about English and Welsh wines
Would love to know more about wines on our doorstep
Absolutely, that’s exactly what I thought when I read the book
My mum doesn’t really much but I’m sure this is one she’d love as she’s an avid wine lover. I’m not quite as keen sadly x
Well, you could try to win her a copy of this book, we love our wines and even better that this is English local sparkling wines
Wow, Very interesting. I used to live in Northern England and never seen a vineyard while I was there. I love wine and champagne. I would love to tour some of these Vineyards. We have a small vineyard in our yard and a beautiful vineyard across the road from us. I love the ambiance and treats that go with it 🙂
I love a nice glass of sparkling wine. great giveaway
Thank you, hope you have joined the competition
Looks like a fantastic read, esp for lovers of wine like myself
It sure is, good luck to you on the competition
It sounds like a great book to read, and def. an awesome giveaway.
Thank you, hope you have joined the competition
This looks a great book, we have such great vineyards in the UK it is so good they are becoming more popular. Kaz
Yes they certainly are and there is so much more to learn and discover about English wines
My dad would love this – he’s always interested in finding out more and trying new wines x
How fantastic to hear that! Good luck to you Stephanie x
I love a nice glass of wine too! That book sounds like it’s right up my street – awesome giveaway x
Thank you Amy, we love Itallian sparkling wine and learning about British ones was interesting
It sounds like a good read 🙂
Yes it certainly was very informative and I learnt a lot