Wickhams’ English Wine Extravaganza

Join Oz Clarke OBE, one of the world’s leading wine experts, at Wickhams’ English Wine Extravaganza.  Acknowledged as having one of the finest palates of anyone writing about wine today, Oz will be joined at the Mercure Exeter Rougemont Hotel on Saturday 18th June (12pm - 5pm) by a selection of England’s most outstanding wine producers and industry experts including Susy Atkins.  Tickets are available from wickhamwine.co.uk / eventbrite.co.uk and cost £20 per person (until 31st May), after which tickets cost £30 per person. The extravaganza celebrates the extraordinary rise, breadth and calibre of English wine, with the opportunity to taste over 60 wines and spirits from the country's top winemakers and distilleries.  Leading the workshop line up is Oz’s enlightening ‘The Story of English Wine’, during which Oz will guide guests through the English wine scene and how it has evolved over the past forty years. Commenting on his involvement Oz says: "I'm delighted to be heading to Devon to be involved with the English Wine Extravaganza.  The English wine scene is booming and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.  The lovely thing about English sparkling in particular, is now it's increasingly becoming different from Champagne. There was a time in the early 2000s when you might try some of the best and say “oh my god, I can't tell the difference between this and Champagne”, but now the exciting thing is highlighting its differences.  We’re also now making Chardonnays as good as in Chablis.  We’re even making good Pinot Noirs – not as good as in Burgundy but give it two or three years. Given that 15 years ago we couldn’t ripen any sort of red wine, that's quite an achievement." With this in mind, ‘The Judgement of Exeter’ with Pip Vanham is guaranteed to be exciting.  A blind tasting competition during which Pip will be joined by Oz, Susy Atkins, Mike Best MW and Stephen Barrett with French, Old World wine, judged against English newest New World wine.  Which wines will win between English sparkling wine and French Champagne?  Will the experts be able to tell the difference between English vs French Chardonnay?  Which will they prefer, English Pinot Noir or Burgundy Pinot Noir?  ‘The Judgement of Exeter’ is a fun take on renowned wine expert, merchant and ‘champion’ of French wine, Stephen Spurrier’s 1976 competition between New World Californian wine and Old World French wine.  Will the results surprise Exeter? Other workshops will see drinks columnist for the Sunday Telegraph and drinks editor for delicious. magazine, Susy Atkins, taking visitors on a journey of Devon wine discovery through her ‘Devon Superstars’ workshop.  Stephen Barrett will host ‘It’s Pinot but Not As You Know It’ and Mike Best MW’s workshop will discuss ‘Next World Wine Making’.  Workshops cost £5 per person. Throughout the day, wineries, vineyards and estates will be showcasing a broad range of red, white, rosé, orange and sparkling wines including South West-based Sharpham Wine, Lyme Bay Winery, Calancombe Estate, Knightor Winery, Langham Wine Estate and Huxbear as well as others from as far afield as Kent, Hampshire and Sussex such as Henners Vineyard, Hattingley Valley Wines, Artelium, Gusbourne Estate and Breaky Bottom.  Distilleries in attendance include award-winning Salcombe Distilling Co., famed for their Start Point and ‘Rosé Sainte Marie’ gins as well as New London Light non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs and Devon Cove with their vodka and liqueurs.