Coates & Seely: The Perfect Pairing

The Jockey Club: Virginia Coates, February 20th 2020

COATES & SEELY AND THE JOCKEY CLUB

Coates & Seely and racing share many attributes: our grapes are grown on the south facing chalk slopes of the North Hampshire Downs, the home to many top racehorse studs – the perfect “terroir” for award winning wines and racehorse winners. The vines thrive on the thin layer of topsoil, pushing their roots down into the chalk, never lacking water which emerges from the aquifers deep below. Racehorses bred on these grasslands have also been proven to thrive, many a winner has been raised on the chalk soil within a stone’s throw of Coates & Seely’s vineyards.

Racing has long been at the heart of British Society. It has been traditional for a day at the races to include fizz with friends, and now there is the opportunity to crack open English sparkling wines at the bar, in the restaurant or at your picnic – an ideal way to spend a day at the races or to celebrate a victory – a natural evolution of the traditions, as Coates & Seely is quintessentially a British brand, along with The Jockey Club.

Both C&S and The Jockey Club are so proud to be British and working in partnership. This harmony was confirmed by a curious coincidence: C&S acquired a retired 1952 British Leyland vintage coach, in British Racing Green, with a “champagne bar” fitted at the entrance, from an event company in Belgian. We repatriated the coach and were thrilled to realise the lucky synergy of the transaction, as it was registered with the number plate “JCK”. The return journey of the coach to Britain coincided with the signing up of our very special partnership with The Jockey Club.

Albion – an ancient name for Britain – as we have named the coach, gets taken to the races at Epsom, Sandown and Newmarket, where it acts as a perfect focal point to serve our English sparkling wines. So photogenic is this vehicle, that it has already earned its keep on a number of occasions, by appearing on request on ITV racing news with Francesca Cumani. Inside Albion are intimate tables to enjoy a glass of C&S, outside are bars in British Racing Green, the colour of our marketing long before we went to the races, with parasols to keep off the blazing British sun.

Coates & Seely is a young company, based on an old friendship, between Nicholas Coates and Christian Seely, who studied at business school together in France; idling many a day at the races. After their respective careers in finance and the wine world, they came together in 2008 to start a business with a mutual passion and the desire to create the very best English sparkling wines.

Their aim from the start was to create wines which reflect the high quality of the English chalk “terroir”, using only the best grapes under the guidance of the top French winemakers and consultants from Champagne. Their efforts were rewarded from the start – the wines were launched in 2011 and the first discerning hotels to order were the Georges V and Hotel Bristol in Paris; subsequently many top awards have been given; and in 2019 the International Wine & Spirit Challenge gave the trophy for the “top bottle fermented sparkling wine in the world” to Coates & Seely. It’s like winning the Derby with a newly discovered racehorse, who has been selectively bred from purebred lines, in new surroundings – and we are still celebrating!

Coates & Seely is listed in many top establishments including the Fat Duck, the Savoy, the Dorchester and Annabel’s; in museums and galleries across London; in five of the Royal Palaces and in ten different countries. The Rosé is served in Paris by Alain Ducasse in his restaurant, by the glass. In addition private clients around the world enjoy the fizz and C&S are so proud to be listed by The Jockey Club at so many of their racecourses.

When we cracked open our first bottle, we reflected that if we lived in a wine producing area of the world, or in Champagne, there would be food in the vernacular, local food matchings that would bring out the best in the wines. Just as winemaking has developed in Britain, so has the availability of top ingredients grown locally, making the development of local food matches a joy. At Coates & Seely we encourage people to drink C&S not just as an aperitif, or in celebration, but throughout lunch or dinner, as the wines work well with so many foods. I trained as a chef under Pru Leith and worked around the world as a private chef, and now work for Coates & Seely as the in-house chef and head of events. I take a particular interest in the wine and food served by the Jockey Club in so many spectacular locations.

When you arrive at the races, a glass of Coates & Seely is the perfect way to get you in the mood for the day, so I would start with a glass before lunch. To follow, if you are having a picnic, the Jockey Club chefs have put together an inspired British Luxury Hamper to serve at the races. The range of ingredients and menu choices reflect the best of British food, yet cooked with Continental flair and confidence, using imaginative recipes, all of which will pair perfectly with the bottle of Coates & Seely Rose NV included in the hamper. The only snag I can see, is you will feel tempted to open more than the one bottle provided!

Chicken Liver Paté, to start, works perfectly with the Rosé, the earthiness of the paté, matches well the sweet fruit of the fizz.

The Beef and Smoked Salmon, so British, are also a natural pairing. I love to make Quail Scotch Eggs to serve at picnics, so I am glad to see them included alongside the healthy lentil salad.

The puddings are too tempting, and at this point in the picnic I would take a break from the C&S to pace yourself, with the South Downs Water, to clear the palate and save the last glass of Rosé for the wonderful selection of three English cheeses – another example of the skill in British craftsmanship. If there is any fizz left in the bottle, bring it out at tea time (or order another one!) – the cream tea, an essential English experience, served with strawberry jam, will be enhanced by a glass of Coates & Seely, and by then you will hopefully be celebrating your victories.

A bottle of Coates & Seely can be found within the Luxury Hamper in the Great British Picnic enclosure at the Investec Derby Festival.

Virginia Coates, Head of Events at Coates & Seely

Grand National winner will celebrate with English sparkling wine instead of French Champagne for first time in horse race’s 172-year history

Mail Online: Dianna Apen-Sadler

Coates & Seely English sparkling wine has secured a deal with The Jockey Club
Will see the bubbly served across 14 of their UK racecourses, including Aintree
Racegoers are expected to pop around 8,000 bottles of fizz over three days

This year’s Grand National winner will celebrate with English bubbly instead of French Champagne for the first time in the horse race’s 172-year history.

The winning jockey will enjoy a glass of Coates & Seely English sparkling wine after the brand secured a three-year deal with The Jockey Club who own the famous Aintree racecourse.

As well as being served in the owners and trainers enclosure, the sparkling wine will also be available to racegoers as they cheer on horses.

Racegoers are expected to down an estimated 300,000 pints and pop 8,000 bottles of fizz, all cooled down by a whopping 1,813,600 ice cubes.

This year’s Grand National winner will celebrate with English sparkling wine instead of French Champagne for the first time in the horse race’s 172-year history (pictured: Davy Russell, last year’s winner)

Paul Fisher, Chief Executive of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: ‘It’s great to be working with Coates & Seely and we’re really looking forward to a prosperous partnership over the next three years.

Coates & Seely (pictured: their English sparkling wine) secured a three-year deal with The Jockey Club who own the famous Aintree racecourse

‘We look to support British producers on our menus and wine lists wherever we can and I’m sure our racegoers will be impressed with this sparkling wine.’

Demand for home-grown wines has soared in recent years, with last summer’s heatwave leading to a record grape harvest and a vintage year for English and Welsh wine.

Last year the Denbies Chalk Valley Sparkling Brut NV, from Surrey, beat out French an Italian rivals in a taste test by the consumer group Which?

Ridgeview, which makes sparkling wine in East Sussex, was also named Winemaker of the Year in the International Wine & Spirit Competition for 2018.

It is expected that more than 150,000 people will visit the Aintree racetrack over the three days of the popular jump festival.

It’s claimed the National’s recent switch to ITV1 from Channel 4 will also see one in four Brits place a bet along with 600 million viewers worldwide, with a staggering £650million wagered.

Coates & Seeley wines will be served across 14 of the 15 racecourses The Jockey Club own.

Nicholas Coates and Christian Seely, co-founders of Coates & Seely, added: ‘We are delighted to have been appointed an Official Partner by the Jockey Club, which is a major accolade for our young brand.

‘There are many qualities that connect fine wine with racing – not least the endless pursuit of form and quality and a love of celebration – and we greatly look forward to developing our activities across this wonderful portfolio of racecourses.’

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.

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.”

Grand National at Aintree Racecourse

Run since 1839, and watched by an international audience of over 600 million people in over 140 countries, the Grand National is the greatest steeplechase in the world and a central fixture of the British sporting calendar.

This year, for the first time in its 170 year history, the winning owner, trainer and jockey of the champion ‘Tiger Roll’ celebrated not with champagne but with English sparkling wine, provided by Coates & Seely.

For three days the fizz flowed at the Festival and both the racing and local Liverpool communities revealed an appetite and appreciation for sport and pleasure that rivals the fame of the race itself.”