Top 10 things to do during English Wine Week

English Wine Week kicked off on Saturday and runs until 5 June, with wineries throwing open their cellar doors and retailers, restaurants, pubs and hotels across the country laying on tastings, dinners and meet the winemaker events in honour of our homegrown wines. We’ve cherry picked the top 10 things to do during English Wine Week so clear your diary, dig out your wellies and head to the country for a taste of England’s finest.

Bottling the bubbles at Hambledon

Wednesday 1 June

Hambledon Vineyard in Hampshire, whose Classic Cuvée fought off competition from Pol Roger, Taittinger and Veuve Clicquot to come top in a blind sparkling wine tasting organised by Noble Rot magazine last year, will be offering guided tours during English Wine Week, giving guests an insight into its grape growing, winemaking and bottling process. Tours, which start at 2pm cost £35, include a glass of Classic Cuvée and a bottle to take home. www.hambledonvineyard.co.uk

Chapel Down tasting menu at Roast

The meat-centric Roast restaurant in London’s Borough Market will be offering a six-course seasonal tasting menu created by head chef Stuart Cauldwell of English-inspired dishes that champion local produce paired with six Chapel Down wines.

Running throughout English Wine Week, the £95 menu includes Jersey rock oysters paired with Chapel Down Blanc de Blancs 2010; fillet of cured sea trout with crab sauce, paired with Kit’s Coty Chardonnay 2013; pork belly with mashed potato and apple sauce, paired with Bacchus 2014; and Bramley apple and rhubarb crumble with vanilla custard paired with Nectar Late Harvest 2014. http://www.roast-restaurant.com

Ridgeview wine tour

Sunday 5 June

Ridgeview in Sussex, which recently appeared in a video series on craft producers in different fields created by The Balvenie whisky presented by Michel Roux Jr, is giving fans of the fizz the chance to tour and taste its famous sparkling wines, which from now on will be poured at Downing Street receptions alongside Chapel Down. The tour, which costs £15, includes food pairings, a peek inside the archives to try older vintages and a tasting of its reserve wines. http://www.ridgeview.co.uk

Shop for English drops

Longtime supporters of English wine, Waitrose and M&S, will be marking English Wine Week with promotions and in-store wine tastings flagging up the new English still and sparkling wines in their ranges. The former now boasts the largest English and Welsh wine range in the country, with over 100 wines from 50 producers and will be hosting in-store tastings with guests from local vineyards at selected branches. http://www.waitrosecellar.com

Majestic meanwhile, will be giving customers the chance to win a trip for two to Hush Health in Ken including dinner and an overnight stay at The Goudhurst Inn. See www.majestic.co.uk/balfour-english-sparkling-wine for details of how to win. 

Steven Spurrier English sparkling tasting at Highbury Vintners

Having put his faith in English sparkling years ago when he planted his first vines at his Bride Valley estate in Dorset with his wife Bella, renowned wine writer Steven Spurrier knows a thing or two about English fizz. Join him at Highbury Vintners on 9 June for a talk and tasting extoling the virtues of English sparkling. The event will take place at the Full of Beans Café next to the shop. Guests will enjoy cheese and charcuterie paired with a range of homegrown sparklers cherry picked by Spurrier, which includes his own Bride Valley Blanc de Blancs. www.highburyvintners.co.uk/

English wine tasting menu at Ockenden Manor

Available through English Wine Week, charming Elizabethan manor house hotel Ockenden Manor in West Sussex will be offering a six-course tasting menu paired with English wines for £140. The likes of Ridgeview, Nyetimber, Bluebell Vineyard, Wiston and Bolney will all be making an appearance on the menu. hshotels.co.uk

Hush Heath events in London

English sparkling rosé specialist Hush Health in Kent will be hosting a duo of dinners in London in honour of English Wine Week. The first takes place on Tuesday 31 May at The Bull & The Hide in Liverpool Street at 7:30pm, where sales director Hilary Green will talk guests through five wines from the estate paired with a three-course dinner. www.thebullandthehide.com. The following evening will see Green at St Bart’s Brewery in Farringdon hosting a tutored tasting of Hush Heath still and sparkling wines paired with canapés. Both events cost £25. stbartsbrewery.com

Dinner at Knightor vineyard

Wednesday 1 June

Cornwall estate Knightor will be hosting a pop-up dinner among its vines on Wednesday 4 June featuring steaming bowls of Fowey mussels, homemade sourdough and sweet wine syllabub. During the day guests can get involved in vineyard tours and tastings, with dinner due to be served at 7pm and costing just £17 per person. www.knightor.com

English Wines by the glass at The Harrow at Little Bedwyn

Longtime English wine lover Roger Jones, chef and owner at The Harrow at Little Bedwyn in Marlborough, will be serving a selection of English still and sparkling wines by the glass throughout English Wine Week, including wines from Alder Ridge and Ancre Hill Estates n Wales.

“English wines are the talking point of any well-heeled consumer who is happy to pay Champagne prices for premium sparkling wines. The best way is to offer English and Welsh sparkling by the glass, which is exactly what we’ll be doing this week,” says Jones. www.theharrowatlittlebedwyn.com

Oatley Vineyard tours

Oatley Vineyard in Somerset will be flinging open its doors for vineyard tours running from 11am until 6pm throughout English Wine Week. Tours will include a tasting of the Oatley range including the new Leonora’s 2014 and a sneak peek of the as yet to be released 2015 vintage. Guests are encouraged to bring their own picnics to the vineyard and pair their food with a chilled bottle from the Oatley gift shop. www.oatleyvineyard.co.uk