Richard Bampfield, one of only 280 Masters of Wine in the world, is an experienced wine professional with over 30 years of experience in the international wine industry. For the last 11 years, he and his wife Jackie have been running their own business, specialising in wine public relations, corporate wine events and trade consultancy. Richard tells us about his most recent visit to Stanley House Hotel in Mellor for its second annual Tasting of England event.
On Friday September 17, I was back in Mellor, visiting Stanley House Hotel, for its annual ‘Tasting of England’ event. The chefs at the Hotel did a fantastic job of creating a delicious four course meal of classic English dishes with a modern twist, and I had the pleasure of teaming each dish with a glass of our nation’s finest wines.
Up until around 15 years ago English wine was seen as something of a joke, and admittedly many of the wines didn’t exactly lend themselves to a second purchase. But in recent years wines in this country have started to raise eyebrows for all the right reasons, and I was delighted to share some great national wines that will give the establishment a run for their money.
English wine has definitely become more internationally competitive, especially sparkling and dry white wines and it made me unashamedly proud to see the guests at the Hotel enjoying great English food accompanied by fine wine from national vineyards. It was a great feeling to be able to present the wines with such confidence, and, most importantly, drink them with genuine pleasure.
Delving a little deeper into the potential of the national wine landscape sparked some very interesting and enthusiastic chat on the evening and by the end of the night many of my fellow diners were sharing my excitement for this growing industry.
The Tasting of England event is a great display of the wealth of wonderful food and drink produce we have in this country and Stanley House, set in the stunning surroundings of the Ribble Valley countryside, should be congratulated for staging a brilliant evening.
Richard
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