September 2018

A short wine tour to Galicia and Rioja
before our harvest

We fly to Santiago de Compostella, in the far northwest of Spain, take in the beautiful city for pilgrim walkers and then visit several bodegas in Galicia, which produce the region’s gorgeous Albarino white wine. The short break lives up to all expectations. We then set out on a long drive across country to Rioja country to take in a couple of tours and tastings at two prestigious bodegas — La Rioja Alta and La Rioja Artadi — each very different in their own way.

Regional Wine Awards

We throw open our barn to host the 2018 wine awards for Thames & Chiltern Vineyards Association.  Entrant bottles arrive by post, by hand, by courier and are all put in the fridge over night.  Our 4 judges (2 Masters of Wine) arrive at 9.30 sharp, check the glasses have had no detergent cleaning (oh so fastidious, and rightly so) and begin tasting 36 wines in two and half hours — tough going even for those with a strong constitution.  The overall wine of the year is the lovely The Doctor’s Bacchus  (still white) from Bothy Vineyard and the sparkling winner is a 2009 vintage from Daws Hill at Radnage.