Roger Jones launches family wine collection

Michelin-star chef Roger Jones has embarked on an ambitious project to produce his own range of wines under ‘The Jones Family Collection’ label.

Roger Jones plans to release wines from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and mainland Europe under the Jones Family Collection label

Together with his wife, Sue, and two children, Rhiannon and Richard, the chef-owner of The Harrow in Little Bedwyn, plans to source and produce wines from his favourite winemakers around the world.

The first two wines, which have just been released, have both been sourced from South Africa, a country in which the Jones family has established strong links over the last three years.

They are resident there every January to host their own Tri Nation Wine Challenges and Sparkling Wine Festivals, as well as pop-up wine dinners at various locations.

The first two wines in the Jones Family Collection are a Pinot Noir sourced from Walker Bay under the direction of the Newton Johnson Family and a Chenin Blanc blended at Stellenrust in Stellenbosch wine the tutelage of owner and winemaker Tertius Boshoff.

The Jones Family Collection Chenin Blanc 2016 has an RRP of £13, while the Jones Family Collection Pinot Noir 2014 is priced at £19.

Jones felt that both Newton Johnson and Stellenrust were specialists in the two varieties chosen.

“It was essential that we sourced wines that were reflective of not only the region but in a style that would highlight the stylistic way that wines and food are going – a lighter, more focused, brighter, clean taste. We have seen food change to a more delicate, less fussy style and wine is following suit,” he said.

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The Jones family’s aim is to produce varietal wines that are true to the region and reflective of the quality that can be achieved in smaller quantities (around 100 cases of each wine).

This is not the Jones’s first foray into their own wines. In 2008 the family created three own-label wines – a 3 Jesters Shiraz from the McLaren Vale in Australia and a Riesling from Tamar Ridge in Tasmania, made in a collaboration with Aussie icon winemakers Ben Glaetzer and Frank Mitolo, and a Welschriesling made with maverick Austrian winemaker Willi Opitz.

The Jones Family Collection wines will be sold both in The Harrow restaurant in Little Bedwyn and through the Jones’s own retail and wholesale business.

Further wines will be produced under The Jones Family Collection label not only in South Africa but also in Australia, New Zealand, UK and Europe, Roger Jones confirmed.

The Jones Family Collection Chenin Blanc has been made with the family-owned Stellenrust estate in Stellenbosch

Bevan Newton Johnson of Newton Johnson winery said the Pinot Noir for the Jones Family Collection Pinot Noir 2015 was chosen from the winery’s lower lying vineyards and was intended to show a “classical”, perfumed Pinot style.

Speaking to db at Roger Jones’s African Safari event at The Harrow this month, Newton Johnson praised Roger Jones for his work in promoting South African wines in the UK.

“Roger Jones is doing a lot for Newton Johnson – and for South Africa – being a fantastic spokesperson and an ambassador for us,” he said. “He’s been able to expose lot of our wines on the list at this fantastic establishment.

“Lists are very important for us. I think where people are in establishments and can get a comfort zone in what they understand from the chef, the patron, the food, and then get exposed to new wines, really does a lot for South Africa, especially in a market like this, where there is such an established hospitality trade.”