So Camp Bestival at the weekend was wet but happily the wine was dry. And delicious. And plentiful. On Saturday night around 50 of us crammed into a tent for the annual Secret Mummies Wine Club and, as always, The Scummy Mummies made us laugh a lot. The wines went down well (and fast), especially a bargain Crémant from Lidl and the most gorgeous sofa-soft red from New Zealand’s Waiheke Island. See this week’s wine reviews for full details on both. And check out the KMWC facebook page to see Pat & Jen do the lift from Dirty Dancing as part of Saturday’s finale song. Srsly.
Current sparkling in the fridge: Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc
Price: £7.99 - Buy From Lidl
If you want something more like Champagne rather than Prosecco taste-wise but more like Prosecco rather than Champagne price-wise, Crémant is a great way to go. Basically, it’s the name given to sparkling wine made in the same way as Champagne (as in it’s fermented for a second bubble-inducing time in the bottle) but from a region in France other than Champagne. This one’s from Burgundy and uses the same grapes used in Champagne. The result is lemony, toasty and more than you could hope for from a traditional method French sparkling wine for under £8. Got a big thumbs up from the Camp Bestival crowd.
Current red in the rack: Man O’ War Estate Bordeaux Blend
Price: £19.50 - Buy From Great Western Wines
A New World wine with the Old World as inspiration (so often the case). The island of Waiheke, just off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island is a gem of a wine region thanks to cooling sea breezes, great soils and a host of other factors in its favour when it comes to ripening grapes. This is a great blend of five grapes usually found in classic Bordeaux blends and is loaded with bramble fruits and lots of spice thanks to time spent ageing in oak barrels. Needs food, preferably something meaty.
Could you reveal the identity of the other two plonks we sampled please Helen?
Hi Tracey, yes will put details of other two on the blog this week (apologies for delay – pesky school holidays)! x