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Here is the wine list at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub
While Jeremy Clarkson’s new Oxfordshire pub The Farmer’s Dog might be marketed as a “filling station” for his Hawkstone brand, beer and cider aren’t the only British-grown drinks on the menu.
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The key concept of the motoring presenter’s long-awaited pub is that it is intended to showcase things grown by UK farmers – something that Clarkson has used his enormously popular Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm to promote.
Clarkson has taken his commitment to showcasing UK produce at his pub so seriously that there is no ketchup or Coca Cola on the premises – he even tracked down a black pepper produced in these isles. Therefore it’s unsurprising that the wine list also rigidly sticks to the rule…
White
Lisa’s Le Pop Fizz – £45 a bottle, £9 for a 125ml glass
It’s not entirely clear what ‘Lisa’s Le Pop Fizz’ is, though it is presumably a sparkler named after Clarkson’s partner and co-star. For an extra £2 you can add a “dash” of Elderflower or Damson Liqueur.
Denbies Surrey Gold (AKA ‘Chateau Dorking’) – £28 a bottle, £5.50 for a 125ml glass
A blend of Muller-Thurgau and Reichensteiner – it is described by the producer as having a “fragrant nose of violets [that] leads to a well-structured fruit driven palate with a flinty backbone and hints of ginger”. Would be a good match for the pub’s pressed ham with piccalilli.
Chapel Down Flint Dry (AKA ‘Chateau Tenterden’) – £38 a bottle, £7 for a 125ml glass
This still white from the Kent-based wine giant is a Chardonnay-forward blend, with some Pinot Blanc, Bacchus, Siegerrebe, Reichensteiner and Schönburger thrown in for good measure. Its green apple, pear and citrus profile means it might work nicely with the vegetable and cheddar crumble, or maybe just a good old fashioned sausage roll.
Rosé
Chapel Down English Rose – £34 a bottle, £7.50 for a 125ml glass
Chapel Down describes its still rosé as epitomising “English summer with its prominent notes of strawberries and cream” – Pinot Noir and Meunier dominate the blend, with Rondo and Regent also added. Given its aromas, and colour, it would pair well with The Farmer’s Dog’s strawberry meringue.
Three Choirs Reserve (AKA ‘Chateau Newent’) – £34 a bottle, £6.50 for a 125ml glass
Hailing from one of England’s oldest commercial vineyards, its still rosé prominently features Phoenix, a white hybrid grape created in Germany in the 1960s, as well as Seyval Blanc, Pinot Noir, and several other varieties.
Clarkson himself is known to be a big fan of rosé, though generally from Provence, rather than Kent or Gloucestershire, with Domaine Léoube, located close to where he holidays in St. Tropez, being a personal favourite.
Red
Halfpenny Green Penny Red (AKA ‘Chateau Stourbridge’) – £36 a bottle, £7 for a 125ml glass
This off-dry red from the West Midlands is a blend of Rondo, Triomphe d’Alsace, Divico and Regent is described by the Stourbridge-based producer as an “easy-drinking wine, with plums, violets and forest fruits on the nose and palate”. It is suggested to serve it alongside grilled meats, so perhaps a gammon steak with bubble and squeak and parsley sauce would fit the bill best.
Denbies Redland – £41 a bottle, £8 for a 125ml glass
Pinot Noir and Rondo make up the blend of this still red, which sits around 12% ABV. “Rondo and Pinot Noir combine to create
this medium bodied red wine with hints of blackcurrant and rose petals. Light and fresh with a good acidity it’s the ideal summer red that can be served lightly chilled,” says Denbies. Given we’re coming into autumn now, it may be best less chilled, and served with a steak pie.
Omissions
Perhaps what is most intriguing isn’t what is on the list, but rather what isn’t. In spite of England’s growing reputation for traditional method sparkling wines, especially those of Sussex, which gained PDO status two years ago, the now ex-Grand Tour presenter hasn’t gone for these (it is unclear whether Lisa’s Le Pop Fizz is tank or traditional method, and where it’s from).
Instead, The Farmer’s Dog’s wine selection is dominated by still wines – a category that many people are still unsure of the quality of, with the argument against them being that the British climate is still too cool to adequately ripen grapes for still wines, especially reds. Either, Clarkson is offering his endorsement for the future of the British still wine category or, more likely, the list is light on sparkling wines because there is still a consumer mindset that still wine is what you pair with food, and sparkling wine is something drunk on its own.
The pricing is also interesting, with the price per bottle on the list generally sitting comfortably in the mid-£30s range. The discrepancy in by-the-glass pricing, even for bottles that cost the same, is also of note. By way of contrast/comparison, pints of Hawkstone poured at the pub range from £6 to £6.50.
Given that the cellar door price of a bottle of English fizz might typically be in that range, it seems noteworthy that Clarkson has plumped for more inexpensive options (with the added mark ups), more in keeping with the wine prices one might expect from a classic boozer, in spite of the cost constraints of only serving UK-grown wine.
As for the spirits selection, Hawkstone Vodka appears, as does Almost Gin – not the gin brand from his ex-colleague James May, himself a publican. Indeed, May, along with Sir Keir Starmer, is already barred from The Farmer’s Dog…
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