A Vineyard Diary September 2024
September, 2024
A King, an Emperor, and a Glass of Coates & Seely
There is now just a single Emperor left in the world, and one King of England. To have each of them – Emperor Naruhito of Japan and King Charles III – sipping Coates & Seely at Buckingham Palace, at the state banquet hosted by his majesty for the Emperor, was a signal honour for us and not something we could have contemplated fifteen years ago when we planted our first vines. It has also resulted in instant sales spike in Japan!
On the subject of vine-planting, our new vineyard at Brighstone on the Isle of Wight is flourishing. Now a year old, the vines are relishing the micro-climate of their sun-drenched valley and will produce their first fruit in just two years from now. Our new planting in Hampshire is also developing well and next month, for the first time, we will crop Chardonnay fruit from the vines we planted three years ago.
In June we travelled to Paris, to launch our 2016 Vintage Blanc de Blancs ‘La Perfide’ to French clients, sommeliers and press. We were privileged to be lent the town-house of legendary French designer Christian Liaigre on the Rue du Faubourg, a fitting venue from which to show all our vintages, with resulting new listings from – among others – both the Hotel Crillon and Hotel Bristol.
September has been a fine month for new London listings. We are delighted to have been chosen as the exclusive English sparkling wine for all of Gordon Ramsay’s five ‘prestige’ London restaurants. This involves a total of 18 new listings, of which 7 are by the glass listings at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (3 Michelin stars), Petrus (2 Michelin stars) and each of the Savoy Grill, 1890 @ the Savoy and the River Restaurant @ the Savoy (all Michelin starred). Three of these by the glass listings are for our vintage ‘La Perfide’ wines, the first time such wines have been listed on a by the glass basis.
We are also delighted to have been chosen as the house English sparkling wine by Jamie Oliver for his new London restaurant St Katherine Street. Celebrating great British producers and suppliers, the restaurant is a celebration of Britain’s rich food culture. Located in a fine Grade One listed house in Covent Garden, Coates & Seely’s Brut Reserve NV and Rosé NV are each listed by the glass as the ‘house-pour’ – a perfect pre- or post-theatre experience.