Balfour Winery, one of England’s largest and most dynamic producers, has released a special cuvée to mark the Coronation of King Charles III, as the industry predicts a weekend of record sales of homegrown fizz.
Available exclusively in store at Marks & Spencer and online at Ocado, the traditional method sparkling wine draws on ‘decades of English heritage’ to celebrate the next chapter in the country’s royal history. Made from specially selected chardonnay and pinot noir clones which, like the Royal Family itself, connect the country to a European heritage.
Balfour’s head winemaker, Fergus Elias, aimed to create a wine which ‘captured the English countryside’ whilst being an ideal pairing to one of our great national dishes – fish and chips.
During the late Queen’s reign, English Wine has been transformed entirely – from hobbyist interest to the nation now producing over nine million bottles in 2021 alone. And many English producers, including the Kent-based Balfour, are expecting a bumper weekend of sales as wine lovers opt for a bottle from home to celebrate the new monarch.
Elias said: “English Wine has come on light years in the last few decades. It’s now seen as a fantastic choice for special occasions; and we expect to see thousands of glasses of our Kent-grown wines poured over the Bank Holiday weekend.
When creating the perfect wine for the celebrations, we wanted to produce something which felt very ‘English’ and paired perfectly with our traditional foods. The baked apple notes with a herbaceous twist is really evocative of our countryside whilst the zippy acidity and citrus character makes it an ideal accompaniment to a classic fish and chips. What could be more British than that?”
