Riedel glass for English wine

The Riedel “Celebration Glass” has been chosen as the best for tasting English wines at the first ever workshops held by Riedel and the English winemaking industry.

Led by the owner of Riedel Glass, Georg Riedel, the workshops took place at Hush Heath Estate and Camel Valley last month with the tastings focusing on Balfour Brut Rosé 2008, Chapel Down Pinot Chardonnay 2006 and Camel Valley Darnibole Bacchus 2010.

Riedel commented on the need to start paying attention to what is happening on the English winemaking scene. He said: “I have been watching developments in the English wine industry for some time and am impressed by the passion, drive and commitment to produce high quality products.

“As an innovative company, we pride ourselves on forward thinking and although our involvement within the English wine world is still in its infancy, we are already looking forward to future collaborations.”

Overall the Celebration Glass was declared the best vessel for English sparkling wines but Riedel was quick to say that, in the long-term, one glass alone would not be sufficient to complement the array of flavours and styles present in English wine.

This was confirmed when, at Camel Valley, the Vinum Sauvignon Blanc glass was thought to be the best for the Bacchus produced by owner Bob Lindo.

Lindo commented on the glass choice saying: “We became convinced that during the vertical tasting, we were tasting Camel Valley Bacchus at its very best.”

Richard Balfour-Lynn, CEO of Hush Heath, said of the experience: “This tasting highlighted the need for English sparkling wine to look at the next generation of glassware to best complement the style of our wines.”