Sussex Exclusive Magazine Edition II 2022

Whilst summer is an elusive
season at best in Britain,
when the sun shines there
is no better time to gather
your crockery and move the
cooking out of doors and onto the barbecue. But
whilst we all know how to grill a sausage and flip
a burger almost to perfection, it is more difficult
to know what to drink when it comes to these
occasions, especially if you are trying to keep your
food miles to a minimum.
Luckily, Sussex is at the forefront of massive
growth in the drinks sector. With vineyards,
distilleries, breweries and wineries dotting the
landscape, the local drinker is spoilt for choice
when it comes to knowing what to serve with a
summer spread.
Here we highlight some homegrown choices to
fill your glass and whet your palate as you soak
in the sunshine and wait for the charcoal sparks
to fly.
Kinsbrook Pinot Gris 2020 – £19
Kinsbrook Pinot Noir Précoce 2020 –
from £20
As the youngest vineyard owner in the country,
with vineyards on land that his family have
owned for decades, Joe Beckett is ideally placed
for having his finger on the pulse of the local
vibe. As he says, he wants to “try and do things
other people would like”, rather than stick to a
predetermined plan. The wonderfully relaxed and
welcoming vibe that he and his partner Rebecca
Dancer have created is evident the moment you
drive into the car park.
So if you want to take some of the effortlessly
cool vibe that pours from the Picketty (their
temporary onsite servery) with you for your
outdoors experience, then grab a bottle of the
Pinot Gris 2020. Retailing from £19, this is the
perfect food wine with a delicate mineral nose,
touches of white peach, a smattering of herb
and spice notes. Nicely acidic but with a lovely
rich mouth filling flavour that makes it versatile
enough to pair with a big salad, grilled fish,
cheese and even meat!
If outside eating equals rosé; then try the head
turning Pinot Noir Précoce (Preh Coss) instead.
Précoce is an early ripening variety of the famous
Pinot Noir grape from Burgundy in France, a bit
more forgiving with the temperamental English
weather. Joe described this wine as “marmite”,
not because of its flavour, but more because
this is not your delicate, insipid rosé. From the
first sip your mouth is filled with rounded rich
clotted cream, before strawberries and raspberries
follow through. It’s like Eton Mess in a wine,
without the sweetness and the fruit and flavour
are punchy and rich. This is a rosé that can stand
up to the charcoal grill and effortlessly slide from
delicate starters to meaty mains, fish to meat,
pulses to spiced dishes.
Both wines are available either directly from the
vineyard or via their website
www.kinsbrookvineyard.com. Limited
availability from www.hawkinsbros.co.uk and
www.thehorshamcellar.co.uk
Wolstonbury Vineyards Pét Nat
Sparkling – £24
Nestled on the edge of the South Downs
National Park, just over the South Downs from
Brighton and sitting under the benevolent
protection of Wolstonbury Hill, lies the perfectly
petite vineyard of Wolstonbury. Planted as a
passion by Ivan and Charlotte Weightman in
2015 their wines embrace sustainability and
nurture. From bijou beginnings they have now
grown and recently planted another 9000 vines
to increase production. Their whole approach is
minimal and with a love of the beauty and nature
around them; they tread lightly on the landscape.
This is reflected in their Pét Nat Sparkling. Made
from Bacchus, the grape that is currently
becoming to the UK what Sauvignon Blanc is to
New Zealand and made in the méthod ancestrale
way, otherwise known as pétillant naturel, often
shortened to pet nat. This means that the wine
is bottled whilst it is still fermenting, and the
carbon dioxide created in the process is trapped in
the bottle. The wine is lightly fizzy and unfiltered
(so don’t shake the bottle if you don’t want the
wine to be cloudy).
What you get is a lightly sparkling, not too high
alcohol, dry wine. The nose is a delicate blend
of apricot, peaches and almonds with a hint of
green lovage underlying the fruit. In the mouth
it is dry with a delicate peach and mineral note.
Absolutely delicious with salads, fish and white
meat this is delightful to sip throughout the day
as you graze on a selection of food. Available
directly from the vineyard www.wolstonbury.co
or from Southdown Cellars in Hurstpierpoint
www.southdownscellars.co.uk
Folkington’s Juices and
Sparkling Drinks
In the bucolic countryside of East Sussex, the
Bendit family produce a wide range of soft
drinks. With sustainability at the heart of
everything that they do, this is alcohol free
drinking with both a conscious and a sublime
taste. All the fruit juices are from producers whose
ethos matches their own and the provenance of
the fruit is proudly displayed, be it apples from
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