For us, there are many reasons to celebrate British rosé throughout the year – from the fresh and bright styles, perfect for sipping on a sunny terrace, to the nuanced, savoury notes of an aged bottle enjoyed with a meal. Sparkling rosé is now, more than ever, not just a quaffable, sparkling tipple to be enjoyed as an afterthought – it’s a drink that can truly hold its own.
How Do We Grow the Fruit in a Cool Climate?
Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are two renowned cool-climate grapes. Pinot Noir, in particular, is notoriously fickle to grow well and is sensitive to climate variation and prone to disease – producing good Pinot Noir is often seen as the crowning achievement of the most prestigious Burgundy houses. Pinot Meunier, on the other hand, is noted for its resistance to frost – a characteristic highly valued here in England.
Our cooler climate means that while we’re not yet able to produce big, bold red wines like those you may be used to, our red fruits, in a good year, offer beautiful summery red berry aromas, which with bottle ageing develop into highly complex, umami flavours.
How Is Sparkling Rosé Made?
There are two key methods for making a sparkling rosé, both of which we use here at Hambledon Wine Estate.
First, there’s the assemblage method. This involves blending a white wine with a red wine during assemblage. At Hambledon, we only make a very small volume of red wine when we feel our Pinots are of high enough quality. Our 2019 base Classic Cuvée Rosé, for example, comprises 82% Chardonnay, 7% Pinot Noir (made as a white wine), 1% Pinot Meunier, and 10% red Pinot Noir, to provide both colour and characteristic red fruit qualities.
The second approach is the saignée method – which translates literally from the French for ‘to bleed’. This is essentially made in the same way as red wine, with the grapes crushed and destemmed, and the juice sitting on the skins to develop colour and tannins. However, unlike red wine, the skins are separated from the juice after just a few hours, with constant tasting to ensure optimal extraction.
Speaking to Felix Gabillet, our winemaker, he told us why he loves making rosé here in the UK:
“It’s a chance to experiment – particularly with our Classic Cuvée Rosé, it’s about trying to find the harmony between two opposites, with our red and white base wines. During harvest, it’s also a break from the ‘everyday’, as it’s a completely different process from creating white wines, especially for the saignée and the red wine. It’s great fun for the team – following the colour extraction and deciding when to say ‘stop’.”
The Perfect Pairing
Sparkling rosé is a hugely versatile food wine, and not just something to pair with dessert. In The Restaurant, our chefs recommend a range of pairings for our rosés and the dishes on our menu. Our chalk stream trout and watercress starter is a match made in heaven alongside our Classic Cuvée Rosé – what grows together, goes together! Or, for dessert, our rhubarb and crème brûlée sings alongside our Première Cuvée Rosé, with the tart fruit notes cutting through the richness of the custard.
For home cooking, our Classic Cuvée is equally delightful alongside grilled prawns with a simple lemon mayonnaise and a side salad (perfect for a summer lunch), as it is with heartier meats such as pork (it would be perfect with this tenderloin and rhubarb recipe). Or, when game season arrives, you can get more adventurous with our Première Cuvée Rosé alongside one of the most sustainable forms of meat – surprisingly, it’s a lovely match with simply cooked rare venison, its delicate flavours shining alongside the vinous aromas in the glass.
How Are We Celebrating Great British Rosé Week?
We celebrate Great British Rosé Week every year here at Hambledon Wine Estate- we think it’s important to shine a light on the great things we can do with a widely undervalued style of wine.
Why not drop in for a rosé flight?
This week, we’re showcasing our three styles of rosé within one flight to highlight the versatility of what we can achieve here in England. Throughout the week, we’re offering rosé flights in our bar- no booking required, just drop in and enjoy the view over the vineyard.
Try our Zero Dosage Rosé on weekday tours
For this week only, we’re offering the chance to try our now very limited Zero Dosage Rosé on all weekday tours. With fewer than 1,000 bottles left in our cellars, this is a rare opportunity to sample our winemaker’s first experimental release before it’s gone.
Buy our rosé to take home
We offer next working day delivery on all online orders placed before 11 a.m. Why not celebrate rosé this week with our award-winning sparkling wines, delivered to your door?