Alice Kendall

The Epsom Derby

The Epsom Derby is the ‘Blue Riband’ of British flat racing. Named after the 12th Earl of Derby and first run in 1780, it is now Britain’s richest horse race and the most prestigious of the five classics.

The 2019 Epsom Derby was the 240th running of the race and was won in thrilling style by Coolmore Stud’s bay colt Anthony Van Dyck, ridden by Seamie Heffernan and trained by Aidan O’Brien. The winning owner,jockey and trainer and their families celebrated afterwards with Coates & Seely, thanks to the Jockey Club’s Winning Connections hospitality, and ‘Albion’, the Coates & Seely vintage coach, hosted a stream of thirsty press and Jockey Club guests throughout the day in what is one of the country’s most iconic and best-loved sporting events.

From the Grand National to the Boat Race, how English fizz is taking over champagne as the toast of the season

The Telegraph: Victoria Moore, April 2nd 2019

And they’re off! The Grand National takes place on Saturday.The world’s most famous steeplechase is followed by an international audience of over 600 million people, as well as the thousands who gather at Aintree to watch 40 horses and jockeys tackling this testing course.

This year, for the first time in the race’s 180-year history, the winner will celebrate with a glass not of champagne but of Coates & Seely English sparkling wine.

As well as being served in the owners and trainers enclosure, Coates & Seely English sparkling wine will also be available to race-goers so they can enjoy an elegant glass (or three) as they cheer on horses.

The news marks a big move into the very fabric of English society for the Hampshire-based producer, and is part of a new three-year partnership that will see it become the only English sparkling wine served at 14 of The Jockey Club’s 15 race-courses, including Epsom Downs and Newmarket (a rival English sparkling wine, Nyetimber, currently holds the pouring rights at Cheltenham).

I understand that competition to snag the deal was extremely fierce, as English wine producers jockey for position (forgive the pun) and, slowly but surely, lay claim to the British season: Chapel Down is already an official partner to the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race; while Nyetimber is served at Glyndebourne as well as being an official supporter of the Lawn Tennis Association.

Like most of the new generation of successful English sparkling wines, Coates & Seely is made from the champagne grapes chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. The company was founded in 2008 by two old friends and INSEAD alumni, Nick Coates and Christian Seely.

Coates had recently retired from a career in the City. Seely was – and still is – Managing Director of AXA Millésimes, a role that puts him in charge of prestigious wine estates such as Chateau Pichon Baron in Bordeaux and Quinta do Noval in Portugal’s Douro Valley.

Last week I met up with Coates and Seely to trundle through the streets of London in “Albion” – a 1952 British Leyland Coach painstakingly restored and liveried in British racing green. Albion will also be attending Jockey Club racecourses throughout the summer, and serving Coates & Seely sparkling wine from a small bar inside.

It’s a lovely old thing – though I was surprised to see the driver taking a large branch from the Belgrave Square pavement and dipping it into the tank to check we had enough petrol to make it to Pall Mall. But as with all the best British things it would be a very big mistake to assume that charm equates to lack of competitive edge.

“The main thing – the only thing – I learnt in all these vineyards,” said Seely, “was that any great wine expresses a sense of place and I became obsessed with the idea of finding chalky land in the south of England where it might be possible to make great wine. The wines we have begun to make show that it’s possible.”

A fair observation, and if you do happen to be at Aintree (or near a branch of Lea & Sandeman) this weekend then I particularly commend the Coates & Seely Sparkling Rosé NV.

The Four Seasons Hampshire

Four Seasons executives from around the world came to Hampshire in May for their annual conference and were treated not only to the 18th century splendour of Dogsmerfield Park, the group’s Hampshire landmark, but to an array of classic British experiences, ranging from hunting packs, croquet duels and classic British vehicles in the form of Coates & Seely’s ‘Albion’.

We are proud of our listings at the Four Seasons, and particularly at our listing in the wonderful ‘Wild Carrot’ restaurant at Dogmersfiled, and were delighted to represent our country to their group of global executives with our English Sparkling wines and our vintage British coach…

King’s Presence Chamber Dinner at Hampton Court Palace

Coates & Seely were delighted to be served at a dinner in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace to thank some of the leading benefactors to Historic Royal Palaces.

Drinks were served in the Privy Garden – a perfect restoration of William III’s original garden of 1702 – after which guests proceeded to dinner in the Great Hall. Lying at the heart of the Tudor Palace and towering above the surrounding buildings, the Great Hall was designed to impress and to proclaim Henry VIII’s power and magnificence. By the time building started in 1533, Henry had divorced his first wife Katherine of Aragon and was married to his second, Anne Boleyn. Seventy years later, in the reign of James I, Shakespeare and his company of players performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Great Hall. Other historic events at the Palace are too numerous to mention.

The Palace stands as a remarkable repository of British royal history and we were honoured to be present there and to have our wines served.

The Tower of London : Ceremony of the Keys

Footsteps echo in the darkness. The sentry cries out, ‘Halt, who comes there?’ The Yeoman Warder replies, ‘The keys.’ ‘Whose keys?’ ‘Queen Elizabeth’s keys.’ ‘Pass then, all’s well.’

For over 700 years, at exactly the same time each night (at 8 minutes to 10pm), the Chief Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London locks the gates of the Tower under the eyes of the duty regiment of Foot Guards then on duty, and proceeds to take the keys to the Queen’s House for safeguarding overnight. Only once, in over seven centuries, has the ceremony not occurred, during World War II, when a local bomb knocked a couple of warders off their feet. It continues unabated to this day.

The Constable of the Tower, General The Lord Houghton, invited friends and sponsors of the Historic Royal Palaces to witness this extraordinary and colourful ritual and Coates & Seely were delighted and honoured to provide the sparkling wines to accompany the small and intimate reception afterwards.”

Newmarket: The Craven

The Craven is the curtain-opener not only for Newmarket’s beautiful Rowley Mile course but for the flat racing season more generally, featuring as it does many of the best flat horses in training. The winners of some of these races frequently go on to star in the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket the following May and the Epsom Derby in June. Coates & Seely were proud to sponsor races on two of the three days and to introduce Albion – its vintage British Leyland coach, liveried in British racing green – to horse-racing for its first time out.”