Sara Thake of Elizabeth Rose Wines is an expert in, and passionate spokesperson for, English wine. This month, she lets us in on #BEWE and gives her Easter wine pairings
The #BigEnglishWineEaster campaign is a social media movement that was created to support the English wine industry, which has suffered from the disruption of Covid-19, by encouraging consumers to raise a glass of English wine over Easter weekend in celebratory support.
Winding down with a glass of wine over Easter is a relaxing luxury many of us enjoy. But with the myriad challenges that the wine industry has faced, the Big English Wine Easter aims to bring English wine supporters together with a viral social media campaign.
Wine-lovers everywhere are encouraged to open a bottle of English wine and share a photo or video on social media with the hashtags #BigEnglishWineEaster or #BEWE. The idea is that if everybody bought just one bottle of English wine over Easter, it supports the entire industry in an impactful way.
Last year, the campaign was also in support of both The Drinks Trust and Hospitality Action, two charities chosen for their support of the hospitality industry as a whole, which had been hugely affected by closures during the pandemic. Hopefully, we are now on the way out of the difficulties we have faced over the last two years.
This year, I encourage you to celebrate in exactly the same way: by raising a glass of delicious Essex wine over the Easter weekend. I very much hope that my suggestions for your Easter dinner will persuade you to do so!
Easter aperitif: Saffron Grange Seyval Blanc Reserve
The Saffron Grange Seyval Blanc, from the spectacular 2018 vintage, is 100 per cent Seyval Blanc. This wine has been made using the traditional method and has aged for 24 months on the lees. Therefore, you can expect a fun fizz, which has been made in the same way as your favourite bottle of Champagne – but it’s from Essex! In addition, this wine has far fewer ‘wine miles’ than its French counterpart.
First and foremost, you’ll notice that the nose is packed with elderflower, citrus and soft caramel. On the palate, there are notes of lemon tart, a subtle minerality and a lingering, creamy finish. Undoubtedly, a fantastic wine!
Salmon starter: Elizabeth Rosé
The Elizabeth Rosé is an exquisite blend of vintages to bring you the very best 100 per cent Pinot Noir rosé. The Pinot Noir grape has been producing exceptional wines throughout the country, but this wine brings together everything that we adore about English rosé.
The Elizabeth Rosé is extremely limited edition, with only 100 bottles available. With a beautiful salmon-pink colour, this wine is bursting with strawberries, cream and delicate hints of peach. It’s a slightly deeper colour than the ever-popular Provence rosé, but don’t judge a wine by its colour! This is just as delicate as your favourite Provence bottle. The wine pairs perfectly with delicious summer salads, salmon, chicken and risotto.
Easter lamb: Lyme Bay Pinot Noir
The Lyme Bay Pinot Noir is black cherry in colour with beautifully lighter edges. The nose is intense: red fruit combines with smoky, vanilla oak and mild tobacco overtones. The palate on the Lyme Bay Pinot Noir offers red stone fruit notes of cherry and plum, blackcurrant, strawberry and toasty oak to give a rich but balanced weight on the palate and a mouth-watering finish that lingers and evolves.
Whatever you choose this Easter, by choosing an Essex wine you will have the perfect pairing for your Easter lunch, whilst supporting the English wine industry.
All wines featured are available at elizabethrosewines.co.uk and readers can get a 10 per cent discount with code ESSEX10
