At the end of last month I was invited to a Champagne & Fizz evening hosted by The Oxford Chelt Wine School. I'd seen a fair few things about them on social media - as well as other Local Wine Schools across the UK - but had never got round to attending any of their events... Until now.Run by Nick and Serena Gay, The Oxford Chelt Wine School does what it says on the tin; it's a wine education company that runs fun and informal wine tastings and courses around both Oxford and Cheltenham. Independent and open to everyone; you don't need to be a wine geek to take part, it's much more about enjoying what you're drinking, learning a bit about it and avoiding all the pretentiousness that often surrounds the subject.
Eight-week World of Wine courses (one night a week over eight weeks); four-week courses (again, a night a week), one-off evening events, and snazzy Saturday extravaganzas (a full day’s wine tasting with a two-course lunch); there are a lot of options!
What's great about the whole thing is that because they're independent, they're not tied to any wine supplier, enabling them to pick the best - as well as best value - wines from local merchants, national online suppliers and your standard supermarkets. This also means no sales push either, if that's something that worries you. You really do just sip, learn and enjoy.
So, the Champagne & Fizz evening, held at Wyastone Townhouse on Parabola Road, Cheltenham, was a perfect start to the festive season; 2 hours, 6 different sparkling wines, nibbles, interesting wine chats, and all for £30.
We kicked off with an intro to the world of fizz, discussing methods of making, and Champagnes vs. the rest of the world. People generally assume that the big price tag that comes with the label 'Champagne' means that it's going to taste the best, but many other countries make some bloomin' good sparklers, and even us Brits are challenging the French to the title of being the best in the business.
Prosecco was obviously going to be first on the list - everyone's still going nuts over the Italian stallion, and sales of the stuff are still going up! I didn't know that the percentage of wine that needs to be Glera (the prosecco grape) has been certified a minimum of 85%, meaning that there's scope for some slightly more interesting grapes being used and different flavours are able to come out; though on the whole I tend to find it's produced more for quantity not quality. It's a drink which is initially enjoyable, but I tire of it easily.
We pour our own glass, smell, taste, discuss, and then guess the price; simple. La Giosa Prosecco Brut 2014 DOCG is a lightly sparkling wine (frizzante), and is full of pear, peach and white flower aromas. I was surprised with its clean acidity, crisp apple flavours and the fact it wasn't overly sweet (which is what usually gets to me with Prosecco), and as such I guessed it as being an over £10 bottle... It's currently available for £13.49 from Waitrose, so I wasn't too far off.
Overall, my experience with Oxford Chelt Wine School was a sparkly dream. There were a lovely bunch of people there - some like us who were just attending as a one-off, and others which come regularly - and with everyone keen to learn and talk about the wines, there were no awkward silences. Passing round nuts, smoked salmon and goats cheese helped us ease into it too - haha!
Thanks to Nick, I shall be having a fabulously fizzy festive season, and will be smugly sipping my £8.00 bottle of Cava on Christmas morning. Cheers!
We kicked off with an intro to the world of fizz, discussing methods of making, and Champagnes vs. the rest of the world. People generally assume that the big price tag that comes with the label 'Champagne' means that it's going to taste the best, but many other countries make some bloomin' good sparklers, and even us Brits are challenging the French to the title of being the best in the business.
Prosecco was obviously going to be first on the list - everyone's still going nuts over the Italian stallion, and sales of the stuff are still going up! I didn't know that the percentage of wine that needs to be Glera (the prosecco grape) has been certified a minimum of 85%, meaning that there's scope for some slightly more interesting grapes being used and different flavours are able to come out; though on the whole I tend to find it's produced more for quantity not quality. It's a drink which is initially enjoyable, but I tire of it easily.
We pour our own glass, smell, taste, discuss, and then guess the price; simple. La Giosa Prosecco Brut 2014 DOCG is a lightly sparkling wine (frizzante), and is full of pear, peach and white flower aromas. I was surprised with its clean acidity, crisp apple flavours and the fact it wasn't overly sweet (which is what usually gets to me with Prosecco), and as such I guessed it as being an over £10 bottle... It's currently available for £13.49 from Waitrose, so I wasn't too far off.
Moving to the new world, we had Graham Beck Brut Rosé NV 'Cap Classique' from South Africa. It's been made in the 'traditional method' - don't call it 'Champagne method' or the Champagne police will be on to you - and is roughly an equal mix of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Pale salmon in colour, we learn that the grapes are picked early in the season to avoid any jammy flavours developing, and to increase the acidity in the wine. It has a bit of oaky toastiness thanks to being aged on its lees, but there's enough strawberries and raspberries to ensure its rosé status. I'm not sure why pink fizz always costs more, but it does, so I guessed £13... I was bang on this time, £13.99 from Majestic.
The third wine was a game changer for me; Heretat El Padruell Brut Cava, Spain. We all seem to have fallen out of favour with Cava, despite being a similar price point (and more exciting in my opinion), Prosecco seems to have taken it's place as the go-to cheap sparkling wine option. Made in Catalonia with the 3 classic Cava grapes (Macabeu, Parallada, Xarel.lo) using the traditional method, the second fermentation takes place in the bottle over 9 months. It seemed very savoury and almost a bit petroly on the nose - some of the things I associate with Rieslings - and lovely lemon and herb notes appear as it opens up. It's drier in style, with grippy minerality and a zing on the finish, and at £8.00 from Marks and Spencer (I guessed a tenner), I think this is excellent value... So much so that I bought a bottle to take to a party last weekend, and plan on getting some in for Christmas. What a find!
The next two wines we tasted blind; Champagne vs. English Sparkling Wine - Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut vs Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2010. Nyetimber's a personal favourite of mine, so I had to guess it right out of the two - thankfully I did! Both are very similar in colour, both contain the classic Champagne grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay), with around half of each being Pinot Noir, but they're very different in taste and aromas.
With 3 years bottle maturation, Nyetimber's Classic Cuvée has a rich buttery scent with baked apple and lemon acidity. It's incredibly rounded, with a crisp persistent finish; there's a reason it often beats the French fizz in blind tastings! At under £30 depending on where you get it from, I think it's a good price for an exceptional English Sparkling Wine, and it's one that never disappoints. (Their Blanc de Blanc is just deeeelicious!)
Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut is a name that you'll recognise; it's one of the oldest Champagne houses in the region. A classic, easy going style with plenty of fresh fruit and faint toast aromas; it's not as punchy on the nose as the Nyetimber. It has a good fruity complexity and comes across as nicely balanced - just what you'd expect from a non vintage brut. It's probably not one that I'd go for in the shops, but Id consider it at its current price - £20 from Asda (full price £30).
The last fizz of the night was another Champagne, but this time Blanc de Blancs. Champagne Jacquart, Blanc de Blancs 2006 is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown only in Grand Cru vineyards. Straw gold in colour, it has a much deeper doughy aroma of buttered brioche, blossom and honey. It's a greedy wine; bright, fresh and full of juicy peaches at the start, mellowing out giving you an unctuous nutty richness and a creamy finish. A great Blanc de Blancs at a great price; £37.50 from Great Western Wine.
The next two wines we tasted blind; Champagne vs. English Sparkling Wine - Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut vs Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2010. Nyetimber's a personal favourite of mine, so I had to guess it right out of the two - thankfully I did! Both are very similar in colour, both contain the classic Champagne grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay), with around half of each being Pinot Noir, but they're very different in taste and aromas.With 3 years bottle maturation, Nyetimber's Classic Cuvée has a rich buttery scent with baked apple and lemon acidity. It's incredibly rounded, with a crisp persistent finish; there's a reason it often beats the French fizz in blind tastings! At under £30 depending on where you get it from, I think it's a good price for an exceptional English Sparkling Wine, and it's one that never disappoints. (Their Blanc de Blanc is just deeeelicious!)
Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut is a name that you'll recognise; it's one of the oldest Champagne houses in the region. A classic, easy going style with plenty of fresh fruit and faint toast aromas; it's not as punchy on the nose as the Nyetimber. It has a good fruity complexity and comes across as nicely balanced - just what you'd expect from a non vintage brut. It's probably not one that I'd go for in the shops, but Id consider it at its current price - £20 from Asda (full price £30).
The last fizz of the night was another Champagne, but this time Blanc de Blancs. Champagne Jacquart, Blanc de Blancs 2006 is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown only in Grand Cru vineyards. Straw gold in colour, it has a much deeper doughy aroma of buttered brioche, blossom and honey. It's a greedy wine; bright, fresh and full of juicy peaches at the start, mellowing out giving you an unctuous nutty richness and a creamy finish. A great Blanc de Blancs at a great price; £37.50 from Great Western Wine.Overall, my experience with Oxford Chelt Wine School was a sparkly dream. There were a lovely bunch of people there - some like us who were just attending as a one-off, and others which come regularly - and with everyone keen to learn and talk about the wines, there were no awkward silences. Passing round nuts, smoked salmon and goats cheese helped us ease into it too - haha!
If you fancy getting involved yourself, then check out their website and book yourself onto one of their events (the Fine Port & Cheese Evening on 22nd January sounds like a winner to me).
Alternatively, why not give the gift of wine to someone for Christmas? Oxford Chelt Wine Tasting Gift Vouchers start from £25, can be used for any of the listed events, and they NEVER expire! How good is that?! What are you waiting for?...
Thanks to Nick, I shall be having a fabulously fizzy festive season, and will be smugly sipping my £8.00 bottle of Cava on Christmas morning. Cheers!
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