Why British wines are simply di-vine, and Shropshire's are top of the crop
They say that ‘life is much too short to drink bad wine’ and also that ‘while beer may be made by man, wine is made by God’.
Staring down the barrel of a new year of opportunity then, we’d better be sure to put our best foot forward and give the ‘di-vine’ drop its due – particularly as help is on hand to point us toward some of the best, and because this may be closer to home than you had ever realised…
Proud to be based in the Midlands, self-described “vineyard-visiting veteran” Lucy Thomas has made it her mission to help connect all of those who enjoy a tipple with some of the finest vino on the planet – the stuff that’s made right here in the UK, and plenty of it in our fair Shropshire.
Her business, Best British Bubbly, proudly flies the flag for English and Welsh wine tourism, and serves as a wonderful platform pointing enthusiasts toward numerous enchanting UK vineyards whose premises and produce can be enjoyed with a visit.
Qualified with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and a member of WineGB, Lucy began her venture with a passion that goes back decades.
“I had my hen do at Denbies in Surrey back in 1999 when English wine was not really on the radar at all,” said Lucy.
“Fast forward to 2021 at the end of the pandemic, and my sister and I went away to Kent. We visited a vineyard, and we sat there looking at incredible views, drinking amazing wine, eating lovely food and I thought, ‘I can't believe we’re in England’.
“I started looking and visiting more English vineyards and a lot of people that I told about them were amazed that we even have them. I thought ‘there must be a way of sharing this information and getting people as excited as I am’.”
With this, Best British Bubbly was born – an online resource from which Lucy would not only educate and inform about the exciting UK wine industry, but also offer travel tips to help people plan their visits to producers.
“In 2021 I also visited my first vineyard in Shropshire, which was Hencote,” she said. “This is one of the ones that really gave me a taste for it, and so I spent time researching, visiting others and broadening my knowledge.
“What I now try to do through the website is not only list the vineyards in this country that are open for tourism and produce sparkling wine (those are my two criteria), but I try to share a bit more personal insight as well – hints and tips, including transport advice as well as my review of the experience.”
