English Wine Week marks a very exciting date in our diaries each summer! It’s a serious means for celebrating the solstice with perfectly chilled bottles of the good stuff, handpicked by our sommeliers who search the length and breadth of the country for pours that deserve to be discovered as your new favourites.
So this year, we’ve picked out three of our favourite English wines and paired them with dishes straight from our 25 mile menu, plates that champion what’s growing, grazing, and being caught nearby right now. Think simple, honest food, matched with wines that sit just as comfortably at the table.
A Fresh Catch & a Kentish Pour
First up, something that calls for a bit of freshness, Whole Dressed Crab with Chips, Salad & Wild Garlic Mayo, kept simple and just as it should be.
We like to serve it with a glass of Gusbourne Guinevere Chardonnay, 2023, from Kent, one of those producers we come back to time and time again. They really know what they’re doing with Chardonnay.
It’s bright and clean, full of citrus and crisp apple, with that lovely mineral edge you’d expect from a Chablis-style wine. But it’s not all sharp lines, there’s a bit of roundness in there too, thanks to some time in barrel, which gives it a softer feel on the palate.
With the crab, it just feels right, fresh, a little salty from the sea air, with just enough richness to linger. No fuss, no overthinking, just good food, a decent glass of wine, and a bit of time to sit back and enjoy it.
From Field to Glass: Pork & Pinot
Then something a little richer from the kitchen, Chargrilled Local Pork Collar, with Summer Vegetables, Piccalilli & a Fried Hen's Egg, slow cooked and full of flavour, the sort of dish that calls for a proper red.
We’ve paired it with Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir, 2023, from the Crouch Valley in Essex, a pocket of the country that’s quietly making a name for itself when it comes to English wine.
It’s an elegant Pinot, light on its feet but with plenty going on. There’s a gentle acidity running through it that cuts neatly through the richness of the pork, keeping everything nicely in balance. Soft red fruit, a bit of earthiness, and just enough structure to hold its own against the dish.
It’s a pairing that feels grounded and generous, comforting, full of character, and very much of the place it comes from.
Something Sweet, Something Sparkling
To finish, something from the garden, Buttermilk Blancmange with Strawberries from Macerated Hugh Lowe Farm, softly set and just as the season intends.
Alongside it, a glass of Sugrue South Downs Rosé Ex Machina . It’s one we’re rather fond of, gently expressive, with notes of fresh red berries that mirror what’s on the plate. You get that hint of ripe strawberry running through it, tying everything together without being too much.
There’s a lovely freshness to the wine as well, lifting the creaminess of the dessert and keeping things feeling light. A bit of texture gives it just enough weight, but nothing that takes away from the simplicity of it all.
It’s an easy sort of pairing, soft, summery, and best enjoyed at a slower pace, preferably with a bit of sunshine if you can get it.
Head over to our Instagram this English Wine Week to find out more about our team’s handpicked summer food and drink pairings. Or pull up a chair at our house and try a glass, or a few, of our favourite pours of English wine alongside our seasonal summer dishes.
