Longdown Vineyard sparkling wine launched and takes gold.
A new Hampshire vineyard business has recently launched with the release of their first ever English sparkling wines, and the announcement of a competition win the very same day.
Longdown Vineyard is an independent, family run business based in Twyford, Winchester. Longdown has two sites – an established vineyard in Bishops Waltham and a newly planted vineyard in Twyford. A duo of English sparkling wines, featuring a white and a rosé, are now available.
Both wines have already won an award in the 10th Anniversary year of the Independent English Wine Awards (IEWA), with the largest ever number of entries. The Longdown English Sparkling White took a Gold medal and received the IEWA26 Best English Sparkling White accolade. The Longdown English Sparkling Rosé took a Bronze medal.
Louise Papworth, Longdown co-founder, expressed her surprise and delight at the news: “We have been working very hard to get our first ever English Sparkling wines ready to launch and it’s been quite a journey. To get to the point where we can finally share them with the public is amazing. To get news of the IEWA26 awards on the same day, including a top award, is really fantastic. We are proud to say we only make wine we want to drink and it’s incredibly rewarding to have affirmation of the quality we have worked so hard to achieve. We have a lot of other wines to make and exciting new plans in the offing. We really are delighted and can’t wait to share more as we continue the Longdown journey.”
The 2022 release of the sparkling white is a classic Chardonnay dominated blend, made in the traditional method. With three years on its lees and 15% reserve wines added to the blend this is an elegant yet complex white. The 2022 rosé is predominantly Pinot Noir, showing the finesse of this beautiful variety. This is a wonderfully gastronomic wine thanks to the three years on its lees and delicate dosage of 5g/L.
From 2027 Longdown’s Bacchus will be available, produced from some of the oldest Bacchus vines in the UK. The newly planted Twyford vineyard will produce Chasselas and Cabaret Noir – two Swiss varieties that show great potential in our climate alongside additional plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
With new wines to taste and lots of exciting new ideas bubbling away in the background, Longdown Vineyard is definitely one to watch. To order your bottles and to find out more, visit the website www.longdownvineyard.com or follow them @longdownvineyard on Instagram.
