Dare you try the blind test to compare English wine with Champagne?!
Dare you try the blind test to compare English wine with Champagne?
Do a blind test, try UK wine compared with Champagne but without knowing which you are drinking. You will be surprised when you find that fanatical champagne drinkers realise that they prefer UK sparkling when they have not been influenced by the label or price.
Use 10 glasses, put Denbie's or another UK sparking white into 5 and Chanpagne into the other having marked the bottom of the glasses.
Have someone mix the glasses around when you are out of the room. Then identify all the glasses with champagne and all with the UK sparkling by trying all and writing down your verdict.
You can use Champagne up to five times the price of UK sparkling for this test.
If you can't tell which is Champagne or choose the UK wine because it tastes better you will have proved what I think , that Champagne drinking is a bit of a myth.
3 weeks ago
beanie I agree and that is why I said 5 times the price for the Chanpagne. The vintage champagne is more expensive than ￡40 which is 5 times the price of a good UK sparkling wine
3 weeks ago
beanie, I have been drinking Vueve Cliquot for years, I agree it is good , very good
3 weeks ago
Of course you must hide the price when testing, the price cam make you say it is good and a low price can make you say a wine is not so good
3 weeks ago
Sophi, I love that short answer, please let me know how you get on.
Remember keep it a secret what you are drinking otherwise the test is no good.
2 weeks ago
Edward Mainwaring Burton, I challenge you to take the test. In my opinion the Champagne gets its flavour from the cost and the name. Taste is subjective but you can rest assured I can
immediately tell Cheddar from jelly babies; however I need several seconds comparing Champagne with UK Sparkinig and often get it wrong
Answers:
3 weeks ago
beanie I agree and that is why I said 5 times the price for the Chanpagne. The vintage champagne is more expensive than ￡40 which is 5 times the price of a good UK sparkling wine
3 weeks ago
beanie, I have been drinking Vueve Cliquot for years, I agree it is good , very good
3 weeks ago
Of course you must hide the price when testing, the price cam make you say it is good and a low price can make you say a wine is not so good
3 weeks ago
Sophi, I love that short answer, please let me know how you get on.
Remember keep it a secret what you are drinking otherwise the test is no good.
2 weeks ago
Edward Mainwaring Burton, I challenge you to take the test. In my opinion the Champagne gets its flavour from the cost and the name. Taste is subjective but you can rest assured I can
immediately tell Cheddar from jelly babies; however I need several seconds comparing Champagne with UK Sparkinig and often get it wrong
OK
I am not so sure I agree with you on all points. I agree that English ones are just as good as the cheaper champagnes, but not vintage ones.
Have you ever tried Vueve Cliquot Grand Dame? I doubt any English sparkling wine would ever beat that one.
A few years ago, I was on a British airways flight, the stewardess, was offering, an English wine with the in flight meal, she was greeted , with sarcastic hummer, like " not tonight Josephine, I felt sorry for the girl, she was only trying too," fly the flag, so I said yes please, which brought a smile to fer face.
The wine was not bad, but I did rush out the next day to buy a bottle
It all comes down to taste and personal preference. I've never bought into the myth that French Champagne is the best in the world although I will admit that two of my favourites would be Veuve Cliquot Grande Dame and a nice Moet & Chandon. That's not to say other countries don't make serviceable and very good sparkling wines in fact I've had some from all over the world and they each have had their charms.
But then I agree that the price factor is always an issue. While I have no problem spending 3500 yen on a bottle of Veuve Cliquot it's not something that I drink often and usually reserve it for special occasions.
english ones are better now we get just as much sun and a little more rain makes the grape a little sweeter.
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I feel the need to point out that English sparkling wine and Champagne should never be compared with one another. The last time I visited Denbies vineyard I have to say that I was enormously impressed with the quality of the wines, particularly their vintage sparklings. However, to compare these with a Champagne is similar to comparing an extra-mature Cheddar with a jelly-baby. The two never profess to be in competition.
I would certainly say that British sparkling wines are now among the finest in the world simply because growers and producers have realised the pipe-dreams of the eighties, when oenologists discovered the perfect terroir in this 'green and pleasant land.' The difficulty is surely trying to convince the rest of the world that English sparkling wine deserves its merit, rather than always being referred to a benchmark.
Sorry to rant, but I hope that sometime next year, someone will be asking for a polling between Cava, Champagne, Prosecco and "Kentish."
For all the hard work from producers such as Nyetimber, Denbies and Chapel Down, I feel these great British wines should command respect in their own right. Bubbles of Britain, I salute you! (with a commendary toast and savour!).