Glorious Goodwood and Glorious English bubbles!

Photos courtesy of George Gunn & Chrisloson

In the UK, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to enjoying a day at the races whether you are an avid racegoer or keen amateur. In addition to world class racing, you can also expect spectacular food and wine providing a fantastic day out and Goodwood is an excellent place to start. The undoubted sporting and social highlight of the season is the recent Qatar Goodwood Festival in which horses from around the globe compete for the £5 million in prize money on offer over the 5 day festival. Highlights include the glamourous Ladies Day including the unique ladies celebrity race, The Magnolia Cup, with riders sporting silks created by high profile fashion designers. Star filly Minding, the world’s joint best-three-year-old filly beforehand, secured her sixth Group One success in the Qatar Nassau Stakes, the feature race on day five and Europe’s richest race for fillies and mares.

As The Wine Tipster, my role is to present on food, wine and racing at key meetings across the UK including Glorious Goodwood on Racing UK, Goodwood racecourse radio and Goodwood racecourse TV. With a love of racing, maths and analytical thinking, I have always enjoyed studying the form. This has led to a unique opportunity for me to combine my love of fizz and food with horse-racing You can enjoy this for yourself with a selection of bubbles on offer from local to global options!

This was a key occasion for local winery, Nyetimber, who were sponsoring the bar at Goodwood, one of a number of English Sparkling wineries who are enjoying continued popularity right now. There are around 500 vineyards in England and Wales covering some 4,500 acres producing over 5 million bottles of sparkling and still wines.
Nyetimber have 170 hectares of their own vineyards in Sussex and Hampshire and using the traditional trio of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, their owner Eric Heerema is quite rightly proud of their range of award-winning wines which includes the 2009 Classic Cuvée in magnum and the 2009 Blanc de Blancs. Both won Gold at the recent International Wine Challenge. Look out for their beautifully reimagined 1968 Routemaster bus which will be attending iconic British events throughout the year.

Away from Goodwood you can purchase Nyetimber’s wines at Waitrose.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2010, West Sussex, England, abv 12%, £31.99. Stockist: Waitrose.
Winemaker Cherie Spriggs produces wines of outstanding quality and this Classic Cuvée is delicious, with complexity, elegance and stunning length.  I would also recommend their Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2009 in magnum, a wine to keep and savour.

Nyetimber Rosé NV, West Sussex, England, abv 12%, £39.99. Stockist: Waitrose
A top class example of English winemaking with this pink that fits In perfectly with the rest of their range in style.
Light in colour, with gentle berry fruit and floral notes, this is beautifully harmonious dry and classic rosé.

If you are heading off to a Saturday race meeting check out my tips in my On The Box column in Saturday’s Racing Plus!