Breakfast in bed on Valentine's Day. A bit of a thing, isn't it?
Trouble is, most people just do toast and jam. Maybe some orange juice if they're feeling fancy. But chuck in proper sparkling wine and suddenly you've got something that beats going out for dinner.
We've been doing this at Hambledon for a while now - turns out the best Valentine's moments happen before anyone's even dressed. Fresh pastries, good bubbles, nowhere to be.
You can either get our hamper (easier, obviously) or build your own (more impressive, bit more faff). Either way, here's what actually works.
Why Sparkling Wine at Breakfast Actually Works
Sounds weird, doesn't it? Booze at 9am. But the French have been doing it for ages - special occasions, obviously, not every Tuesday. And they're onto something.
Think about breakfast food. Butter everywhere. Croissants swimming in it, eggs loaded with cream, smoked salmon. Quite heavy stuff. Sparkling wine's got that acidity that cuts straight through the richness, stops it getting cloying. Plus the bubbles wake your mouth up a bit.
Nobody wants a Malbec with their scrambled eggs. Sparkling wine's light - doesn't sit heavy in your stomach when you've only just got up.
And there's something nice about starting Valentine's Day with bubbles instead of saving it all for the evening. Says the whole day matters, not just the bit where you've got your glad rags on.
English sparkling wine's particularly good for breakfast. That mineral thing from the chalk - quite fresh, quite clean. Don't feel wrong at 9am like some wines would.
The Hambledon Valentine's Breakfast Hamper
Look, if you want the easy route (and why wouldn't you?), our Valentine's Day Breakfast in Bed Hamper has it all sorted.
What You Get
Breakfast stuff that actually goes with our Classic Cuvée. British producers where we can manage it. Not just things that look pretty in a basket - stuff that genuinely works together.
Why Not Just Do It Yourself?
Because breakfast in bed's more hassle than it looks, isn't it? What pairs with what? What can you make the night before? What'll go soggy if you leave it? We've done all that thinking so you don't have to.
The Classic Cuvée in there - green apple, bit of citrus, that mineral thing. 12.5% so you're not knackered by lunchtime. Perfect for morning drinking.
It Looks Right Out the Box
Turns out looking nice. No messing about with wrapping or making it look gift-ish. Stick some flowers on top, write a note, job done.
£120 for the Lot
Which sounds like a bit until you price up a hotel breakfast with decent wine. This is actually award-winning sparkling, not whatever prosecco they've got on offer. Makes the £120 look quite reasonable.
What Actually Goes with Sparkling Wine at Breakfast
Whether you're using our hamper or doing your own thing, here's what works. Not theory - just what people actually eat.
Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs
Classic for a reason. The wine cuts through all that butter in the eggs, stops the salmon tasting too heavy. Works every time.
Go for Classic Cuvée - that citrus thing it's got makes it taste fresher. Stop breakfast sitting like a brick in your stomach.
Cook the eggs slowly. Proper slowly. Butter and crème fraîche. Serve with decent smoked salmon on sourdough that's been toasted properly. Don't skimp on the butter there either.
Pastries and Croissants
Buttery pastries and sparkling wine. French people worked this out centuries ago and they weren't wrong.
If you're using Première Cuvée (the more expensive one), it's got these brioche and hazelnut notes from sitting on the yeast for ages. Matches the pastry flavours quite nicely.
Pain au chocolat, almond croissants, those Danish things with fruit. Get them from somewhere decent the day before Valentine's - not the supermarket ones that taste of cardboard.
Berries and Cream
Easy option. Looks romantic, tastes nice, doesn't require actual cooking.
Classic Rosé if you've got it - tastes of strawberries anyway so it just works. Plus it's that pale pink colour which people seem to like on Valentine's.
Chuck berries in nice glasses. Layer with cream or yoghurt. Takes two minutes, looks like you've tried.
Eggs Benedict or Royale
If you can be bothered with hollandaise at breakfast (fair play), this is restaurant stuff at home. Benedict's got ham, Royale's got smoked salmon. Either way the sparkling wine sorts out that rich sauce.
Classic Cuvée works best - stands up to the hollandaise without disappearing. That lemon in the sauce matches the citrus in the wine.
Make the hollandaise base the night before if you want. Poach the eggs fresh though - cold poached eggs are grim.
Chocolate and Strawberries
Dead simple. Good dark chocolate - 70% or higher - and fresh strawberries. Takes no time, looks proper romantic.
The chocolate's slight bitterness against the wine's fruit thing. Works nicely. Classic or Première, either's fine.
Chocolate makes you feel good, sparkling wine says it's a celebration. Together they do the job with basically no cooking.
How to Actually Serve This at Breakfast
Few things to get right if you want it to taste decent at 9am.
Temperature: Not Too Cold
Take it out the fridge ten minutes before you open it. Around 9-10°C is right for breakfast - a bit warmer than you'd normally serve it. Your mouth hasn't woken up properly yet so arctic-cold wine just numbs everything.
If your kitchen's freezing in the morning anyway, you can skip this bit.
When to Open It
Just before you take the tray in. You want the bubbles lively and the wine properly cold still.
Open it quietly - twist the bottle, hold the cork. Nobody wants a massive pop when they're half asleep. Ruins the peaceful morning thing.
Use Proper Glasses
Don't use mugs or tumblers. Proper flutes or those tulip-shaped ones. Even at breakfast. Makes it taste better and it looks right.
Stick the glasses in the fridge for fifteen minutes beforehand if you remember. Not the freezer - that's too cold.
Don't Pour Massive Servings
Half to two-thirds of what you'd normally pour. Means you can top up, keep it cold, and frankly nobody needs a massive glass of wine before 10am.
Making It Actually Nice (Not Just Functional)
Food and wine sorted. But there's other stuff that makes breakfast in bed work properly.
Sort It the Night Before
Get the Tray Ready
Lay everything out - tray, plates, knives, forks, glasses. Stick some flowers in a little vase. Write a note if you're that way inclined.
Prep What You Can
Wash the fruit. Buy the pastries and put them somewhere sensible. Get the chocolate out. Lemon for the salmon if you're doing that.
Fridge the Wine
Wine goes in the fridge the night before. Obviously really, but people forget and then you're standing there at 8am with warm sparkling wine.
Morning: Do It Quietly
Don't Wake Them Up Early
If you're cooking stuff, do it quietly. The whole point is surprising them, not clattering about in the kitchen at 7am making a racket.
Get it done in thirty minutes max from when they wake up. Any longer and it's brunch, not breakfast.
Last-Minute Bits
Warm the pastries quickly. Arrange the berries so they don't look like you just chucked them in. Pour juice. Open the wine only when everything else is sorted - you don't want it going flat while you're faffing about.
Make the Tray Look Decent
Doesn't need to be Instagram perfect but don't just dump stuff on there. Napkin, arrange things properly, stick the note where they'll see it.
The Atmosphere Thing
Let the Light In
If it's a nice morning, open the curtains. Breakfast in bed feels better in daylight than sitting in the dark.
Music or No Music
Quiet music if you want. Or just talk. Whatever works.
No Phones
Seriously. No checking emails, no scrolling, no telly. That's the whole point - just sit there and actually talk to each other.
If You're Doing It Yourself: What to Buy
Not using the hamper? Here's what you need.
Wine
Classic Cuvée (£79 in gift bag) or Classic Rosé (£82). Either works.
Food
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Decent smoked salmon. 100-150g. Not the cheap stuff that tastes of nothing.
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Pastries from somewhere that makes them properly. Croissants, pain au chocolat. Not Tesco.
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Free-range eggs, butter for scrambling them
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Mixed berries - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. 200-300g.
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Crème fraîche or double cream
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Sourdough bread (get nice stuff)
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Fresh orange juice
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Dark chocolate. 70% minimum or it's just sweet mush.
Presentation
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Flowers. Roses, tulips, whatever's looking good.
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Proper napkins. Clothes, not paper.
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Little vase for the tray.
Costs about £40-50 plus the wine. Which is still cheaper than going somewhere for breakfast, and you get to stay in bed.
Why English Wine Instead of Just Getting Champagne?
Fair question. Here's why.
It's Actually Good
Hambledon's Classic Cuvée wins proper awards. Beats Champagne in blind tastings fairly regularly. You're not compromising - it's genuinely excellent.
It's British
Supporting English wine producers instead of French ones. Adds a bit of meaning to the whole thing. Plus you can actually tell them about the seventy-year story, the Hampshire chalk, all that.
Works Better at Breakfast
That mineral, fresh thing English sparkling has? Perfect for breakfast. Cuts through rich food without being heavy. Champagne can be quite full-on first thing in the morning.
Saves You Money
Champagne-quality for less money. Means you can actually afford decent food and nice flowers instead of blowing the whole budget on the bottle.
Other Times You Can Do This
Once you've done breakfast bubbles for Valentine's, you'll find excuses to do it again:
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Birthdays
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Anniversaries
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Just because it's Saturday and you can't be bothered going out
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Mother's Day, Father's Day
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Christmas morning, Easter
Works for anything really. Any morning that needs making special.
Why Hambledon for This
We've been making English sparkling wine for seventy years. Started in 1952 when everyone thought it was a mad idea. Hampshire's got the same chalk as Champagne - literally the same seam running under the Channel.
The Classic Cuvée in our hamper's the result of all that. Made properly, on that chalk, using traditional methods. Not cutting corners to keep costs down.
When you're doing breakfast in bed with Hambledon, you're using England's first proper vineyard. Seventy years of figuring out how to make excellent sparkling wine. Adds something to the occasion knowing there's an actual story behind it.
Getting the Hamper
Valentine's Breakfast in Bed Hamper is on our website. Order early if you want it for Valentine's Day specifically - don't leave it till the week before and then get cross when it doesn't turn up.
Turns up ready to go. No wrapping needed. Stick your own note in if you want, add some extra flowers, sorted.
If you're building your own breakfast thing, Classic Cuvée and Classic Rosé are in the gifting collection. Gift bags or just bottles, whatever you need.
Right Then
Valentine's evening's fine and everything. But there's something quite nice about starting the day properly instead of waiting till 8pm when you're both knackered from work.
Hamper or DIY, doesn't matter. Either way you're making the morning something decent. Bubbles, breakfast, no rush. Better than most restaurants if you do it right.
This Valentine's, do breakfast properly. Get the wine sorted, get the food sorted, stay in bed.
Valentine's collection here if you want to order something.