The 23^rd of April is St George’s Day. While the celebrations to honour Saints Patrick and Andrew are impossible to avoid, the day dedicated to England’s Patron often slips by unnoticed. For this reason the Wine Pantry is embarking on a bold mission to inspire pride in the English – pride in our country; pride in St George and pride in our ever growing range of superb national produce.

Although there is no historical mention of St George championing English wine, it is known that the Romans were among the first to plant vines in England and St George was a Roman soldier… that’s where my tenuous attempt to connect St George with English wine will end.

St George was born to Christian parents in Cappadocia (now Eastern Turkey) around 270 AD. He moved to the Roman outpost of Nicomedia to become a soldier, where he rose to the rank of Tribunus Militum. However, the cruelty shown to Christians by the Roman Empire – at this point, under the command of Diocletian – led George to resign his post in protest. For this defiance, he was imprisoned and tortured. When even this would not make George renounce his faith, Diocletian had him dragged through the city streets and then beheaded. His beliefs and bravery influenced many, including the Emperor’s wife who converted to Christianity and was subsequently executed.

In one of his quieter periods, St George also saved a princess by slaying a dragon.*

The English developed a fondness for St George when the Crusaders returned from the Holy Land with inspiring tales of his martyrdom. A church in Fordington, Dorset, also records the “miracle appearance” of St George outside Jerusalem in 1099, where he then led the good Christian soldiers into battle. In 1222 the Council of Oxford declared 23^rd April St George’s Day; yet it was not until 1348 that King Edward III declared St George the Patron Saint of England.

This day was celebrated as a national holiday until the union of England and Scotland in the 18^th Century. Since then, festivities on the 23^rd April have sadly lost their place in the British calendar.

It is for this reason that we at the Wine Pantry challenge you to help us revive our country’s pride. In the week leading up to the 23^rd we will be offering a 10% discount on any 6 bottles of wine, including a useful bottle carrier, and on the day itself enjoy a free glass of Three Choirs Classic Cuvée sparkling wine and you can have another on us!

We look forward to seeing you in our St Pancras shop, where we shall raise a glass and toast the immortal words of Shakespeare, “Cry ‘God for Harry, England and St George!’”

*May not be factually accurate…

By Will and Liberty

Blind tasting is the ultimate way to judge a wine, removing all preconceptions, and expectations, however subconscious they might be, means we can score a wine purely on it’s character and quality. I was once surprised by the relative quality of a Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (I know!) when tasted blind. Sadly, we are all inclined to judge books by their covers, or wines by their labels.

Over the past few weeks, our nation’s finest wines have been put to the test, judged by the most doubting of Thomases, on two separate occasions. It’s been a sort of premature exam term, and we are the nervous parents, standing by helpless but hoping that our children will do us proud. But how did they fare?

It was on the 28^th day of the 2^nd month of the year 2013 that the 17 apostles of Stephen Skelton MW, resident big dog in English wine, came together to taste 79 English sparkling wines. Other big names present included Susie Barrie MW, Giles Fallowfield, Justin Howard Sneyd MW, Susanna Forbes, Richard Hemming, Victoria Moore, Tom Stevenson, Julia Trustram Eve and our very own Julia Stafford.

I had been permitted to drop past and taste a few wines surreptitiously in the corner. Upon arrival I instantly felt like a very small fish in a very big pond. The table was laid out with 40 bottles masked in black plastic with nothing but a number scrawled on to distinguish one from another. It seemed almost sinister, each wine taken prisoner, stripped bare and made uniform, ready to have its verdict read.

To test the noses of the chosen ones, and help gauge quality, 4 non-UK wines were placed in the mix (3 Champagnes, and 1 New World sparkling wine all of similar price point to the English wines being tasted).

79 is a lot of wine to taste. Particularly sparkling wines which are naturally high in acidity. I am obviously not nearly as experienced as the expert tasters, but after just the ten wines that I tasted my mouth felt slightly raw from the acidity and bubbles.

Nevertheless, the panel managed to taste all  84 wines and after 9 hours of tasting, the results were in.

The rankings were truly impressive – and yet again the English wines came out on top, leaving Tatty (one of the most expensive wines) to come in 14th. The first non-UK wine came in at number 7, and it wasn’t a Champagne, but the Californian sparkler. The top ten featured our beloved Breaky Bottom, the renowned Ridgeview and of course Camel Valley. Not far behind were the likes of Henners, Gusbourne, Jenkyn Place, Plumpton and Chapel Down.

The full results are available here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3XUKd96FF0OS0ZaOXZ3cEE1bzQ/edit.

It was so wonderful to see the wines we know and love perform so well under pressure. You can imagine our glee when many of the same wines were sampled at a Decanter panel tasting (featured in May 2013 issue), and yet again the reviews were glowing.

Richard Hemming, Justin Howard-Sneyd MW and Stephen Skelton MW were the tasters on the panel. The consensus was that not only was the quality high, but that it was good to see the top rated featuring wines from vineyards other than Nyetimber, Ridgeview, Camel Valley and Chapel Down. Justin Howards-Sneyd MW said that “A lot were fresher, brighter and better tasting than many Champagnes”.

The wines that were Highly Recommended (scoring 17-18.25pts) are:

-       Ridgeview, Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs, 2009

-       Henners, Vintage Brut ,2009

-       Plumpton Estate The Dean, NV

-       Furleigh Estate, Blanc de Blancs, Dorset, 2009

-       Bolney Wine Estate, Cuvée Rosé, 2009

-       Hush Heath, Balfour Brut, 2009

-       Henners, Rosé, 2010

-       Furleigh Estate, Classic Cuvée, 2009

-       Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, 2008

In honour of their success we have put together a mixed case at a special discounted price, available here for a limited time only: http://www.winepantry.co.uk/Decanters-Favourites/

Our advice: buy two, try each wine this year and then again between 2014 and 2020.

We at the Wine Pantry set our standards pretty high, but we have had no trouble in finding a source for pride in these results! I think that we can safely say that everyone in France needs one of these:

By Sophie

English wine and tigers might seem strange bedfellows, however they’re both rare and beautiful things. Sadly while English wine is going from strength to strength, the same cannot be said for Tigers.

The last century has seen the wild tiger population crash from 150, 000 in 1900 to less than 3,500 today. A combination of poaching, loss of habitat and illegal trade have combined to push these great cats to the brink of extinction.

We’ve joined up with St Pancras station as part of the Tiger Tracks campaign, a series of events across the next week designed to raise both awareness of the Tiger’s plight and money to help save them.

The Tiger Tracks campaign launches the 1^st of March 20013 with a special performance from Brian May and Kerry Ellis on the Grand Concourse right outside our shop. So we’re perfectly positioned to watch it with a glass of English Sparkling from our terrace view tables. However we’d advise you book in advace to secure a good seat to watch from.

The Tiger Tracks treasure hunt challenges customers to locate the 10 hidden tigers around the station, one of which is tucked away behind our English Sparkling wines.

In support of this course we will be serving a special Tiger Tracks cocktail with gin and Kamm & Sons ginseng liquer for each one of which we sell £2 will go to Tiger Tracks, and 50 pence from the price of every bottle of Freedom beer will also be donated.

Ironically Julia’s business plan was formulated on holiday in India where she actually saw Tigers in the wild. She’s pretty certain that it was all their wine shops being called ‘English wine shops’ that first put the idea of selling exclusively English wine and British produce in her head.

How do you say “If you can’t beat them, join them” in French?

• Venue: Twickenham via your home or a friend’s house
• Date: Saturday, 23 February
• Kick-off: 17:00 GMT

Live on BBC One

Celebrate England’s win with English wine, British beers and London distilled spirits.

We are not picking retrospectively or reactively against France, we are confident enough in our produce and team to treat this as any other trading day.

There is speculation however that the French may form a more attacking line-up at the Eurostar terminal and try to catch us off guard.

It is no secret that last year’s wheat and wine harvests were particularly bad.  However, increased awareness of English wine in particular, means that it will take more than dismissing English wine to motivate the French to walk up the flight of stairs form the Eurostar exit to the Grand Terrace.  They will want to taste for themselves before conceding defeat. The aim is to sell them bottles to take home not just glasses.

Julia Stafford, Owner of Wine Pantry St Pancras said: “We expect droves of French singing themselves through the Eurostar terminal exit.  It will be open shop and we won’t be discriminating by only selling to the French. We are however aware that the French in particular will have examined our wine list on www.winepantry.co.uk and have consciously delayed releasing our latest products to the media. With last year’s particularly bad harvest, selection and tactics have become more relevant in ensuring all consumers, who ultimately yield the buying power, spread the word.”

Former England international Joe Worsley*, who is defence coach at Top 14 side Bordeaux-Begles, agrees that foreigner influence is important. The former Wasps flanker said: “France still have huge numbers of [wines] to choose from and I am always nervous when the French media and public have been putting pressure on [French vineyards] because of the defeats [in international tastings]. Having seen the psychology at first hand, the [French wine industry] will be really motivated to put things right against England.

“It will be very physical but we can do it” assures William Holmes, Wine Pantry Business Development Associate (who will be on holiday at the time, leaving Julia to man the fort alone and somehow come up with a Wine Pantry Haka dance).

*Joe Worsley was not harmed in the drafting of this blog (he’s 6f 5), he was not forced to make an opinion on the French wine industry and the comment was taken/distorted without authority from http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/rugby/six-nations-englands-spy-fears-that-france-will-go-on-attack-8500754.html.  If Joe Worsley would like to come in for a tasting, we hope to convince him the above would not harm his career or reputation in any shape or form.  Should Joe Worsley or his PR team disapprove of this mis-representation, we would be delighted to offer him a complementary tasting during which we hope to convince him the above would not harm his career or reputation in any shape or form.  To the best of our knowledge the above comment does not conflict with any sponsorship deals with any French wine producers and we hope that this does not affect his Bordeaux relations.  We love (many) Bordeaux wines and the English invented the corkscrew which allows access to Bordeaux wines. Christopher Merret also invented the bottle that was able to withstand the secondary fermentation process proving without question of a doubt that the English go out of their way to help make and drink good wine… it’s just that now we also make it.

Joe holding what we sincerely hope is RBS English Sparkling wine.  We would have contacted RBS spokesperson to confirm but we have a small business to run.

“Gin, cursed fiend, with Fury fraught” – William Hogarth

I love wine (and when I say love, I mean really LOVE), but after a long day, nothing beats a good G&T. The citrus and coolness refreshes, the bitterness of the quinine and the hit of alcohol slap the back of my throat bringing an almost sadomasochistic joy. I don’t believe in singles, it’s double or nothing. As the sweet liquor courses through me, all is well in the world.

Alas, in an age of a gin revival, I have realised I know nothing of whence this nectar came, no idea of who is responsible for bringing such joy to the world. Since the Wine Pantry now stocks a selection of Britain’s finest gins, professional duty demanded that I sought out the truth behind gin. And that I drank a lot of it. Here are the results of my quest.

Gin: abbreviation of geneva, from Dutch genever, from the Old French genevre, from Latin iuniperus, meaning “juniper”, the traditional flavouring used to make gin.

Madam Geneva, another name for this fabulous drink, was first brought to our shores by William of Orange when he was crowned King William III in 1689. William’s men used to get plastered on gin in preparation for battle, hence the term “Dutch courage”.

William encouraged the production of gin in England, so that we would import less of the French brandy that was then the nation’s tipple of choice, unwilling to favour the frogs with our custom. (Sounds like a man after my own heart…)

Sadly, everyone got a bit carried away. The 18th century fostered a Gin Craze – by 1734 we were producing enough gin for everyone (including children) to drink a pint of gin a week. While this sort of sounds fantastic, the nation’s livers didn’t quite agree… Nor did the magistrates, who in Middlesex named gin as “the principal cause… of all the vice & debauchery committed among the inferior sort of people”.

Examples of such “vice & debauchery” can be seen in Hogarth’s “Gin Lane” (pictured above). William Hogarth disapproved of Mother’s Ruin* and the nation’s excessive consumption of the liquor. He produced Gin Lane and Beer Street in support of the Gin Act of 1751: Gin Lane is portrayed as a wicked, sinful place in contrast with the jubilant and industrious Beer Street.

He would surely loathe to know that his prints hang with pride in our St Pancras shop, where we openly and eagerly embrace the “Damned Cup! That on the Vitals preys/ That liquid Fire contains/ Which Madness to the heart conveys,/And rolls it thro’ the Veins.” (Although perhaps not a pint at a time.)

The gin fever that had taken hold of London was combatted by government with five major Acts in 1729, 1736, 1743, 1747 and finally 1751. In the end, it was not these but the price of grain that put a stop to our over-indulgence. At least for the time being.

In the 19th century, it was the Brits in India who took a liking to gin. Quinine was found to be an antimalarial, and in an attempt to disguise the bitterness of this tonic, they started to mix it with water, gin, lime and sugar. The good, old-fashioned G&T is born: praise be to the East India Company and the good sense of its men. In the Victorian era, “Gin Palaces” cropped up all over the place. And now once again, gin is undergoing a renaissance. Boutique gins are being crafted all around Britain using alternative botanicals and modern methods to create gins that are truly special.

Come pay your respects to Madam Geneva, to Mother’s Ruin, and join us for a G&T at St. Pancras, where you may join our quest, and we are always up for a spot of debauchery.

*A term which comes from Hogarth’s image: a woman, having overdone the gin, seems unaware that her baby is falling from her lap to its death while she takes a pinch of snuff.

It was that time of year again: lovers lurking on every corner to haunt singles, reminding them that the memory of sweet St Valentine would be revered once again on 14th February. Couples found themselves under unprecedented pressure: to find the perfect gift, to seek out the perfect romantic destination, to perfectly gauge the tone of the evening, in short to prove that they love their other half just the right amount.

Shop windows everywhere were dominated by panic-inducing blurs of pink and red, Aphrodite’s bottom was constantly couched in the corner of your eye, daring you to mess this day up. The price of flowers soared, cringe-worthy cards appeared from the depths of a stationer’s stores and restaurants booked up with tables of two.

While this day poses as a navigational nightmare for singles and couples, it is deemed even worse for those in between, risking ramping up affairs at high speed or ignoring the date and destroying your one and only chance at love. It’s a minefield.

This year the Wine Pantry offered refuge to those who wished to escape love-themed cocktails and heart-shaped food, to those who were just catching a train, to those who frowned upon the commercialisation of this most-definitely American holiday.

Waifs and strays, of the single or couple variety, were welcomed with open arms into the bosom of normality: there was no celebration of this (most-certainly) rainy Thursday in mid-February; there was wine, beer, spirits and cheese. As always, also a pork pie.

Customers, tourists and travellers came, drank, ate and were merry. But for us, it was just another Thursday.

10 % Discount on all pink wines at the Wine Pantry.
Not to be accused of being all talk and no action we did offer the perfect gift for Valentine’s day at either of our branches-10% of any of our pink wines, sparkling or still. Those who dropped by found that ideal bottle for their Valentine’s/another Thursday meal.

Borough Market reopens
Following nearly two years of building work outside of our Borough Market branch, the new glass fronted Three Crown square has finally reopened for business. Closed in 2009 to allow for rebuilding of the London Bridge viaduct, the square now has a magnificent new glass front and roof. Perfect to be admired with a glass of English wine from the outside of our Borough Market shop and Prince Charles drove passed but looked the other way and missed us… again.

The second Wine Pantry is officially open and the newest outlet in the Grand Terrace on the upper concourse at St Pancras International!

As London’s first and only exclusively English Wine Merchant, The Wine Pantry has been championing English wine for 18 months, winning Decanter Specialist Wine Merchant of the year 2012 (we still cannot believe it)!

Alongside our existing range of English wines, the St Pancras International branch now offers the opportunity to sample and purchase an expanding range of British spirits, ciders and beers alongside the finest British sourced foods… which include London beers, Deli Farm cured meats, Georgie Porgie Christmas puddings and Tregothnan Cornish grown tea.

The Wine Pantry will continue to offer tasting sessions and can cater for up to 24 people making it perfect for intimate corporate parties or celebrations with a twist.

Opening our second outlet at St Pancras International is an extremely exciting project. We look forward to proving that lovers of good food and wine need not look beyond our fair isle for great tasting fare! St Pancras International is such a beautiful space and we are very grateful to HS1 for giving us this amazing opportunity to champion English wine and British produce inside the Gateway to Europe.

Wendy Spinks from HS1 Ltd, who own St Pancras International said: The Wine Pantry is a fantastic addition to our food and beverage offer. Moreover, their range of authentic British fare is also full of great Christmas gift ideas and tailor made hampers. With the opening of the Ainhoa Spa, the Champagne Bar, Carluccios and the Betjeman Arms, The Grand Terrace at St Pancras International has its own luxurious identity and The Wine Pantry is a fantastic new addition to this part of the station.

Customers are now able to sample both wine and food inside our shop, or alternatively can buy goods from the shop to enjoy at home. Visitors about to depart on Eurostar can also take English and British products on the train with them to give as a gift to relatives or friends in France and Belgium, showing wines that beat the French at their own game and London craft beers to rival the best in the world!

We will keep our beloved outlet at Borough Market open providing two very different experiences and offerings with the same passion and enthusiasm.

For the historically/architecturally minded

St Pancras International
Designed by William Barlow, St Pancras originally opened in 1868 and for its time was an engineering marvel – it was the largest enclosed space in the world and provided the grandest entrance into London.

Almost 150 years later, after a £800m restoration project, St Pancras International reopened in 2007 and has set new standards for railway stations. Now it is much more than just a station, with more shops than any other railway station, its own fresh produce market, the longest Champagne Bar in Europe and a Gastro Pub.

For full details of all retailers at St Pancras International visit the website.

More info: www.stpancras.com or www.highspeed1.com

HS1 LtdHS1 Ltd has the 30 year concession to own and operate High Speed 1, the UKs first section of high speed rail as well as the stations along the route: St Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. In November 2010, the DfT and London & Continental Railways sold HS1 Ltd to a consortium of Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

We will tell you more once we have finished reading Jack Simmon’s “St Pancras Station” http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/jack+simmons/robert+thorne/st+pancras+station/8701065/ but it would appear that the design of the station was built to accommodated a total of 28 million pints with the height of the ceiling calculated to fit Bass barrels!

We came across this interesting blog post and cannot wait to discover more! http://www.theimportanceofbeingtrivial.com/how-beer-shaped-the-eurostar.html

Another international competition, and another win for English and Welsh wine!

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene… 182 wines from around the world were blind tasted by 24 judges,  and Ancre Hill’s Sparkling Mill 2008 came out on top! This Welsh gem from Monmouth knocked French and Italian sparklers out of the park to receive this prestigious award.

But Britain’s success doesn’t stop there: based on the quality of their Sparkling Reserve, Devon’s mighty Sharpham Vineyard were awarded the International Sparkling Trophy!

Duncan Schwab, Sharpham’s Winemaker had this to say: “We are delighted to have won this trophy.  We knew the wine was good, but to perform on a world stage like this and win this trophy is truly exciting.This award proves yet again that UK wines can consistently compete with the best in the world.” Here, here!

The competition, Bollicine del Mondo, is now in it’s fifth year and is dedicated to traditional method sparkling wines from all over the world. This year’s entries were from ten countries including Argentina, Brazil, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Moldova and Italy.

Furleigh Estate has also been recognised on the continent. It competed against 600 sparkling wines at the Effervescents du Monde in Dijon and has been awarded the first ever gold medal!

Wine Pantry & Cellar

St Pancras Station

English Wine, London Beer and British Spirits/Produce Champions

57A St Pancras Grande Concourse, NW1 2PQ

www.winepantry.co.uk  E: info@winepantry.co.uk  Tw: @WinePantry

Britain has had rather a good year: the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which we celebrated with an English wine festival for 800 people, both the Olympics and the Paralympics, Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, Andy Murray winning the US open and a tiny English wine shop in Borough Market winning Decanter Specialist Wine Retailer of the Year.

We still have December ahead and intend to keep the celebrations going: together with commuters and visitors travelling to and from St Pancras station, we will raise a glass of the finest English wine, London Beer, British  G&Ts, pork pies and much more.

Why English wine and British Produce? Because it’s good. Surprisingly good and people shouldn’t be surprised at how good some of our produce is. They should be able to taste it, match it and enjoy it.

National beers and ciders are some of the best in the world. English food is in the midst of a revival, with our range of cheeses becoming the largest in Europe (700 and counting). We smoke, dry, salt and pickle alongside the very best and, we have internationally award winning English wine to match with.

As with our Borough Market shop on 1 Stoney Street, SE1 9AA, which will remain open, we will provide a rotation of more than 20 different English wines to sample and enjoy as a taster, by the glass or to take away, using our specialist By the Glass wine dispensing machines. Alongside these will be an expanded range of British beers, spirits and produce grown and made in the UK.

Overlooking the beautiful upper concourse of the station, the Betjeman and Meeting Place statues, not to mention the Eurostar trains and the longest champagne bar in the world, you can explore our menu or book private tastings, and discover exactly why our fair isle has reason to continue celebration.

Coming very very soon and in time for Christmas

Sign up to our newsletter or follow us on twitter for our official launch

Bolney Wine Estate has been named UK Wine Producer of the Year in the highly regarded International Wine and Spirit Competition 2012.This prestigious award is an acknowledgment of the exceptional wines produced by Sussex based Bolney Wine Estate.

Buy Bolney wines here

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be named UK Producer of the Year by the IWSC,” says Sam Linter, Head Winemaker and Managing Director at Bolney Wine Estate.  “We appreciate the rigour that goes into judging at the IWSC which makes this award all the more significant. To compete alongside big producers and win is a tremendous achievement and recognises the work of our highly skilled team.  We now know we can stand amongst the best in the industry and continue to raise the bar on quality.

This award comes hot on the heels of a spate of remarkable wins for the vineyard, most notably a ‘Gold Outstanding Medal’ at the IWSC for its Blanc de Blanc 2007 in May this year.

Just this month its Cuveé Rosé won third place and the equivalent of a Gold Outstanding at the Prince Lev Golitsyn Specialised International Sparkling Competition in the Ukraine.

About Bolney Wine Estate

Bolney Wine Estate lies in the heart of rural Sussex and was established back in 1972 with 3 acres of vines. The new era began in the 1990s when Samantha Linter took charge of the winemaking.  The Estate is a family run business, Samantha being the daughter of the owners and founders, Janet and Rodney Pratt. Since Sam’s arrival there have been many international and national award wins and the vineyard plantings have expanded to 40 acres.  In 2005 a brand new, state of the art winery was completed, with help in the form of a grant from DEFRA.  The Estate has recently opened a café serving breakfast, lunch and cream teas and cakes and the café is open from Wednesday to Saturday 8am to 4pm. This operates alongside their current offering of Taster Tours, Cream Tea Tours and Deluxe Tours and their shop is open from Monday to Saturday.