Description
Wiston Estate has been owned and managed by the Goring family since 1743, and owners Harry and Pip have planted grapes on the fields since 2008. Its 6,000 acres straddle the chalky slopes of the South Downs and the flat clay soils of the Weald. The estate has won numerous awards for their sparkling wines and were dubbed ‘Winery of the Year’ at the WineGB Awards in 2018.
Wiston’s vineyards consistently produce exceptional fruit and their winemaking philosophy is quite simply to guide it through the production process in as gentle a way possible, to allow maximum purity of expression. They press the grapes immediately after picking, extremely gently, and ferment and age the wines in barrel and in tank prior to bottling. They allow the wines to mature in their cellars for many years, monitoring them constantly.
This producer constantly strives to make their winery processes as sustainable as possible.
Tasting Notes
“The NV Brut from Wiston has been a go-to English sparkler for some time now. The bunches are pressed using a traditional Coquard basket press. It has a steely, malic bouquet of dew-speckled Granny Smith apples, wet limestone and a touch of petrichor. It is almost like a Blanc de Blancs, reserved yet engaging. The palate is full of tension thanks to the driving acidity, though it is in no way a shrill sparkling wine. It is just sharp, with vivacious green apples intermixed with gooseberry and a touch of grapefruit on the finish. Excellent. Having regaled English sparkling wine to Antonio Galloni the previous day, it was only right that we chose a bottle of Non-Vintage Wiston Brut to commence. Wiston is one of the UK’s best producers and their sparklers genuinely give champagne a run for their money (and I write that as a person that critized the category for many years).” [92 Points, Neal Martin, vinous.com]
