To get himself in shape for the forthcoming Spectator St. George’s Day trip to Chapel Down Winery in Kent, Jonathan Ray spends a weekend in the wine-lands of Sussex and Surrey.
It’s one of life’s greatest pleasures, taking one’s car across the Channel and pootling about Champagne, say, or the Loire Valley or Alsace, Burgundy, Bordeaux or even down to the Rhône. You know the form. You toss a coin to choose the day’s designated driver and then simply lurch from winery to winery, cellar door to cellar door, restaurant to restaurant. In no time at all you’re delightfully squiffy, your shirt buttons are popping and the car boot is full of clanking bottles. Bliss!
But with all this talk of Brexit or no Brexit, when it comes to wine, I vote let’s bleeding well Brexit. We’ve hundreds of vineyards of our own in the UK these days (over 500 in fact), not to mention plenty of fine watering holes and places to stay.
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