Taste & discover: the fabulous origins & destiny of fizz!
It’s a celebration! A chance to explore the fabulous origins and destiny of fizz with esteemed wine scientist and sparkling wine specialist Dr Belinda Kemp. A moment to ask: English Sparkling Wine or local Pét Nat? Traditional, tank or ancestral method? Champagne, Crémant, Cava, Prosecco, or Pétillante-Naturel – what, exactly, is the difference?
This question and more are well within Dr Belinda Kemp’s impressive realm of expertise. She gained her PHD in New Zealand while studying Pinot Noir and spent 10 years focusing on sparkling wine production at the Cool Climate, Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) in Ontario, Canada. In 2023, she returned to the UK to lead R&D at the new NIAB-based Wine Innovation Centre in Kent. Her current research spans the entire lifecycle of champagne-style English sparkling wine from vineyard to bottle, including regenerative farming practices. Ultimately, she is responsible for scientifically identifying the grape growing and winemaking techniques that will guarantee the sustainable future of the burgeoning but very young English vine-growing area – quite a task!
Except in April, she’s taking a break to visit her friend Mandy Govey in Saint Antonin which gives me an opportunity to take her to Gaillac, an ancient vine-growing area where artisanal growers have been farming regeneratively (but not necessarily scientifically) for decades. Heartland of the oldest and hippest sparkling wine styles of them all: Pétillante Naturel (or Pét-Nat for short), made according to the méthode ancestrale, which predates champagne by 500 years. Home to the Abbey Saint Michel Cooperative, a living legacy dedicated to the production of natural sparkling wines, and to the French Wine and Vine Institute for Southwest France where Belinda will meet her peers.
Join us on Sunday 6th April to share our discoveries. In this one-off Sparkling Wine Masterclass, we will taste two natural sparkling wines selected by Belinda and two exceptional English sparkling wines that she is bringing over especially for the occasion. We will retrace the story of sparkling wine from its accidental origins to its life science-based destiny. We will unravel the craft behind a mythic, iconic, libidinous drink that has captivated humankind since its inception in the 16th century. We will unlock a great unknown, because once you understand the risky business of making a “simple” well-balanced natural sparkling wine, the complex mechanics of the whole elaborate sparkling wine category come to light.
So, what will it be? A party-friendly pet-nat or more sophisticated bubbly? Apart from being a good excuse to have some fun, this tasting will make you think twice about the fizz you pour at your next event.
4 sparkling wines + appetisers
30€ p/p - 12 people max.
Tasting in 🇬🇧
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