Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs, 2017, 11.5% ABV

Kent-based Terlingham Vineyard is a family-run business, a departure for the family who moved from South Africa to the UK back in 2007, near where their grandparents had emigrated to South Africa decades previously. They bought the new vineyard despite having no background in viticulture and viniculture or the wine trade generally and learnt the trade as they built up the vineyard whose grapes had only been planted in 2006. Graham went to the renowned Plumpton Agricultural College which has an impressive winemaking course with some very successful alumni in all aspects of the wine business, including winemakers, sommeliers and buyers.

Lorna had run a landscaping business in South Africa so loved working with the land and knew how to nurture plants – she now has 5,500 vines to tend – by hand. And all three daughters, Ashleigh, Caroline and Jackie are involved in the business and, amongst other things, run the wine tastings, including Christmas wine tastings on 9th and 15th December which, as well as sampling their top wines of the year, are also accompanied by mince pies, a cheeseboard, cake and tea or coffee, making it a very festive event and a chance to try their wines across the board, in time to choose bottles for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. 

It was incredibly brave of the family to make that leap, not just into an unknown and non-established business but a new country and a new continent but Kent has fantastic growing conditions. Situated on the Kent North Downs, their south-facing slopes have chalky soil and sea breezes, ideal growing conditions for the grapes. They also decided to move away from how the vineyard had been started, choosing sustainable farming -– no artificial pesticides, fertilisers or herbicides. It’s a butterfly haven and they have been accredited by Sustainable Wines of Great Britain.

As well as their superb Dry Gin made using the last of their 2020 Bacchus (https://quaffed.wordpress.com/2023/12/07/terlingham-vineyard-dry-gin-40-abv/), they have a selection of wines, including sparkling. I’m discussing the award-winning Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017 and also mixing it with cocktails for my New Year’s Cocktail Hour radio show.

Made with 100% Chardonnay grapes, this award-winning English sparkling wine has small, fast-flowing bubbles and is fabulously crisp.

Colour: Pale straw

Nose: Clementines, gooseberry, elderflower, Victoria plum, hay, lemon drizzle cake, almonds and rosewater

Palate: So lemony! Light fizz and beautifully crisp, there’s elderflower, gooseberries, honeydew melon, stewed pears and hay, and lemons galore, including lemon drizzle cake and lemon meringue pie

Conclusion: A crisp and lemony sparkling wine, ideal for brunch with friends or with desserts, just add lemon drizzle cake

COCKTAILS

Sparkling Garden of England
Cocktails are like jigsaws, every ingredient must fit together and the secret to this one is the bitters. I tried five different ones – Angostura Orange, Bob’s Bitters Vanilla and three by Bitter Truth – Creole, Aromatic and Jerry Thomas. The Vanilla and Aromatic cut through the citrus of Terlingham Vineyard’s Blanc de Blancs and their Dry Gin, and leant into the juice. The Aromatic was the winner but it also works very well with Bob’s Bitters Vanilla. 

As for the juice, soursop (available from Amazon) is amazing but supermarket-friendly lychee, guava and passion fruit will also be fantastic – but don’t use orange juice, too much citrus will clash

20ml Terlingham Vineyard Dry Gin
50ml Soursop juice (or use lychee, guava or passion fruit juice)
100ml Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017
3 dashes of Bitter Truth Aromatic bitters
Sprig of mint, to garnish

Pour the liquids into a Champagne flute, stir gently and garnish with a sprig of mint

Whisky Fizz
I loved the Aberfeldy 12 year old which I received from Whisky Me and which I discussed on my show, all those spice notes worked beautifully with the lemony Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017. I’ve added 5ml of lime juice but you can pour up to 15ml, to taste. Be warned, it’s a very more-ish cocktail

5ml lime juice
15ml agave syrup
30ml Aberfeldy 12 year old whisky
100ml Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017
Lime wheel, to garnish

Pour the liquids into a Champagne flute, stir gently and garnish with the lime wheel

Hedonistic Hawkinge
We need to mix whisky and sparkling wine together more often and Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs’ lemony notes will work perfectly with whiskies with the same lemon flavour profile, including Linkwood or a spiced whisky such as Aberfeldy 12 year old or Compass Box Spice Tree but I chose the wonderfully creamy and spicy Noble Rebel Hazelnut Harmony from a recent Tweet Tastings on Twitter. It’s a very more-ish variation on a Kir Royale

30ml Chambord
30ml Noble Rebel Hazelnut Harmony
60ml Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017
Large dash of Bob’s Bitters Vanilla
3 raspberries, to garnish

Pour the liquids into a Champagne flute, stir gently and add the garnish on a cocktail stick

Black Velvet
I can never resist a classic Black Velvet but the Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017 with its crisp lemon notes will cut through the heavy stout notes. You can always use a Guinness or choose one of the fantastic local porters or stouts available, including Harvey’s Imperial Porter, but I opted for the Gun Brewery Parabellum Milk Stour the next county along from Terlingham Vineyard

75-100ml Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017
75-100ml Gun Brewery Parabellum Milk Stout

Pour equal measures of the liquids into a large Champagne flute at the same time or pour the sparkling wine first to fill half the glass and float the stout on top over the back of a spoon or over a layerer

To buy a bottle (£39.50) or case (£213.30) of Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs, go to https://terlinghamvineyard.co.uk/wines/ where their Dry Gin is also available. There’s free delivery over £75

To take part in a Christmas or later wine tasting or to buy a voucher as a gift, go to https://terlinghamvineyard.co.uk/wine-tasting/

To join Whisky Me subscription service or to find out more, go to https://whisky-me.com

I was sent a free bottle of Terlingham Vineyard Blanc de Blancs 2017 for my Christmas Cocktail Hour radio show, as well as a bottle of their Dry Gin to mix in a cocktail with the sparking wine for my New Year’s episode. This review is unbiased and I’m grateful to Chapman Poole PR for their help and also for sending me the Whisky Me pouch of Aberfeldy 12 year old which I’ll be reviewing here shortly