Well - how lucky was I with my surprise birthday treat on Sunday last??......Carole King singing Tapestry in Hyde Park! 65,000 were there on a sunny evening in a lovely atmosphere and it was super to spend an evening with my middle daughter at such a special performance. Loved it - thank you, Carole..and Jane!
So it came to Monday and we were heading home.....but not quite yet. First we spent the night at Bosham near Chichester enjoying a tour along the south coast en route. (Maybe prefer the Wales coast.....). We had looked for vineyards close to this area and again were disappointed that some are not open to the public, others at restricted times, but then it's understandable. One of these was
Titchfield, established in 1991 which just has 1 open day each year -but with 3 reds it was tempting to visit its shop outlet close to Southampton. However, the morning wasn't that brilliant and the route not that straightforward on the busy A27 and Chris wasn't feeling too good with a bad cold so we decided to leave it for another day (and maybe call to see if they do direct mail...). The journey wasn't really as intended as we ended up going north on the very busy A34 which wasn't a good driving experience being very stop-start. Once we found the A44 it was much more enjoyable again and we wound our way through some Cotswold towns then via Pershore to Upton-on-Severn. This is a really pretty little town - made famous in recent times for the bad flooding which today seemed hard to understand with the river far beneath its bridge. It also has 4 good festivals a year - a folk weekend followed by a jazz weekend and next up is a blues weekend before the final one in August with lots of '80's music - sounds fun!
It was then only a very short ride to Welland, the village where
Lovells vineyard lies. And very impressive it is too.
The visitor centre is new and very nicely kitted out and Cathy was very helpful and gave us information about how they are developing. Established in 2010, this site occupies 10 acres - we enjoyed a pleasant walk in the vineyard with Pinot Noir in abundance...
....and strong wind breaks of alder to protect the vines. In addition, the family decided to take over the nearby Tiltridge vineyard in 2013 which had been established for 25 years and had the Elgar wines brand which Lovells have now adopted.
There is also additional vineyard that Lovells take care of at Coddington vineyard so now they have 10 different grape varieties on 15 acres. And the results are all looking, and more to the point, tasting very good and with well deserved awards. We tasted the Promenades, a light and dry white using a blend of Phoenix and Orion .....
...and we also tried the very tasty rosé, Sonatina with its Elgar moustache!
Their wines are currently made and bottled at Halfpenny Lane vineyards - like Kerry Vale and Llaethlliw.
Also produced are 2 other whites, Elgar - a blend and a single variety of Siegerrebe, tasted also at Three Choirs, along with the sparkling rosé, Ysobel, named after one of Elgar's Enigma variations.
Today we took home the Ysobel - a similar name to our youngest granddaughter....and a Promenades and a Sonatina.
A lot of Pinot Noir vine has been planted recently and they are hoping the red will soon follow - exciting! Most importantly, Cathy told us the vines have also recently been blessed so it is sure to be a good year! We'll be back!
And waiting for us at home will be some replacement Solaris from
Walton Brook vineyard...much tasting to be done!
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