News and Features

Christmas Cheer - from Somerset

At Somerset Food we’re passionate about local sourcing and will be ordering our turkey from the local butcher’s to enjoy with our vegetables from the local farm shop. 

We’ll be partying with Cheddar Ales and celebrating with Thatchers Pear Cider and Katy.

But when it comes to the wines and spirits, it’s not quite so simple, so we spoke to four of the best known local producers and asked them to make selections for us

Derek Pritchard, Dunkery Vineyard, Exmoor

Located in the beautiful Exmoor Natonal Park, Dunkery Vineyard has one of the finest wineries in England, producing wines which have been independently ranked as highly by Decanter as wines from well-known international producers such as Tyrells and Rosemount.

Christmas Dinner :-

Starter

Rose (L:PN2006) 2006 vintage

100% Pinot Noir, young, fresh, brambly, dry but not acidic, very good with food
especially with pate.

Main Course

Red - Barrique (L:REG2004) aubergine capsule
The grapes were 70% Regent and 30% Dunkelfelder, really ripe from the great 2004 vintage. A really natural wine, not fined or filtered. Eight months in French oak barrique. Deep colour, good balance of fruit and tannins, reminds me of some great French wines.

Dessert

Medium Sweet White (L:SPCh99) 1999 vintage, silver capsule
Senator, Phoenix and Chardonnay grapes. A unique wine, complex 'mango' flavours, sweet but not cloying, best served well chilled.

Christmas buffet parties

Dry White (L:R2004) Reichensteiner

Very fine and delicate but develops complexity as you drink it. A 'seafood' wine, with long lasting intriguing flavours around the lips.
     

New Year's Eve - during the evening and for the toast

Exmoor Brut - Quality Sparkling Wine. Pure Pinot Noir, 'bottle fermented' like champagne, more than 8 years 'on the yeast'.  Superb mousse - the smallest and longest-lasting bubbles I've ever seen.
Lovely aroma, colour and complex long-lasting flavour from the Pinot Noir grapes.
 [At £12.50, an absolute bargain, Ed]

A gift to drink

Medium Dry White (L:K2003) Kernling
Wines from our Kernling grapes are always delicious. This is from the great 2003 vintage, it dances on the tongue. "Definitely the best English wine we have tasted."

A gift to lay down

Red - Barrique (L:REG02) 
Regent grapes, still very young, slightly tart but super flavour and character.

Dunkery Vineyard

Margaret and Tony Cox, Mumfords Vineyard, Bath

This 4 acre vineyard produces an award-winning rose and very palatable red and white wines, sold in Waitrose as well as online and from the vineyard itself.

Aperitif/Starter

Mumfords Madeleine Angevine 2005. Dry white

With food and for evening drinking

Mumfords Red 2004 and 2006.  You will be in good company here - Mumford Red 2003 vintage was used for toasts on HMS Victory

Party Wine

Mumfords medium dry Regional wine. 2006. An easy drinking party wine, good for most occasions  

A gift to lay down 

Mumford 2006 wines should keep well for 2-4 years

Julian Temperley, Somerset Cider Brandy Company, Kingsbury Episcopi

In 1989 The Somerset Cider Brandy company was granted the first full cider distilling license in history.  Somerset Cider Brandy evokes all the magic and mystery of the West Country's proud cider making and apple growing tradition. Julian has been all the way to Brussels this week to convince the beaurocrats of his right to continue to use the name 'brandy''. We congratulate him on his victory!

All Somerset Cider Brandy is good at Christmas!

The 15 year old Alchemy is proving very popular.  It’s a light brandy, released on apple day 2006, and is rich and mellow with a nose full of apples.

Somerset Pomona, which should be drunk like a port, makes an excellent end to Christmas dinner. It’s a secret blend of juice and cider brandy, oak aged for 2 years.  Perfect with Montgomerie's Cheddar.

For a unique gift how about Shipwreck brandy, aged in subtle Allier oak barrels rescued from the stricken MSC Napoli which sank off Branscombe in January 2007.  The barrels were on their way to South Africa, to age some oif their finest wines, wrapped in Zulu bibles to protect them! 

[Be quick, it’s selling fast, Ed]

Somerset Cider Brandy

Hugh Tripp, Pennard Organic Wines, Avalon Vineyard

Dr Hugh Tripp planted his first vineyard in 1981, when he purchased half an acre of land at Avalon.  The vineyard has steadily grown and today Hugh also grows soft fruit for fruit wines and liqueurs.  All products are certified organic with the Soil Association.

Aperitif

Plum, Ginger or Tayberry all make lovely aperitifs.

Starter

Gooseberry wine would go well  with a starter, particularly if it involved smoked fish or meat.

Main Course

Our dry, white English Table wine would be perfect with Turkey or Goose, unless you prefer a red, then Elderberry would stand in.

Dessert

Mead makes a wonderful dessert wine at Christmas, or if it is a fruity dessert the Blackberry wine might be better.

Liqueur

The dinner must finish with our stunning Raspberry Liqueur, or the equally impressive Ginger Liqueur.  

Party Wines

Tayberry wine and Plum wine make terrific party wines and would go with a buffet. Our Apple wine makes a devastating Hot Rum Punch, just add a dash of dark rum and brown sugar and heat gently.

A gift to lay down

Our Elderberry wine could be a candidate for laying down, although it is already very smooth as a young wine, so don’t worry if the lucky recipient is tempted to drink it straightaway.  Our raspberry liqueur makes an excellent gift.

New Year’s Eve

Our raspberry liqueur makes a delicious kir royale when combined with sparkling wine.