Bluebell Vineyard EstatesHome to the award-winning range of ‘Hindleap’ English Sparkling wines Set amidst bluebell-strewn woods from which the vineyard derives its name, Bluebell Vineyard Estates is an award-winning vineyard and winery in the heart of Sussex, on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. Our StoryLearn about our history and the team behind ‘Hindleap’ sparkling winesFind out more We are a family-run vineyard and winery with a passion for producing world-class sparkling wines.  Since 2005 we have been driven by the desire to produce sparkling wines that can rival the best in the world, and we work meticulously from the 'grape to glass' to achieve this. The EstateDiscover the vineyards, the winery and the winemaking philosophy which guides usFind out more The CollectionExplore and purchase our range of award-winning 'Hindleap' sparkling winesFind out more There are five different cuvées in the 'Hindleap' range.  All are estate bottled. 

VisitTake a guided tour around our beautiful estate and discover the dedication, passion and craft behind our winesFind out more Over the years we've developed a deep understanding of each of our vineyard sites and every vintage we work hard to bring out the best in the vines in each individual corner of the vineyard. CelebrateOur beautiful estate makes the perfect setting for weddings and corporate eventsFind out more We believe our wines can rival the best sparkling wines in the world.  And it’s not just us who think so – our range of ‘Hindleap’ sparkling wines has been awarded over sixty national and international awards in just 5 years, confirming our reputation as one of England’s leading producers. Buy Our WinesShop the collection: Find out how to purchase our award-winning wines, vouchers for tours and tastings and explore our gift packages. Champagne has come in third place in a three-way battle between English, Australian and Champagne sparkling wines.  

An English sparkling wine from Nyetimber, and the non vintage Australia sparkling wine, Pirie, have beaten four of France’s top Champagne houses in an unprecedented wine tasting in Stockholm.  top wine bars in usaThe blind-tasting (called The Judgement of Stockholm!) with five of Sweden’s top wine writers, as well as me, Drew from the Wine Wankers, was held to investigate whether English Sparkling wines were capable of matching Champagne on quality, and price.  buy sell fine wineIf you’re new to English Sparkling Wine – definitely read this article we have also just published.best red wine nz Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs was the clear winner, easily beating all other wines in the competition with its total combined score of 63 points.  best wine tours of europe

The next highest combined score was for the bargain priced Pirie Non Vintage from Tasmania, which scored 49 points.  Veuve Clicquot NV and Nyetimber Classic Cuvee NV tying in third place with 48 points.buy little beauty wine uk What the judges saidbuy mini wine “I was surprised I didn’t pick any of the Champagnes in my top three.  I think some of the big Champagne houses are resting on their laurels.  Rather than striving for quality, they strive for brand, whereas the UK producers and it seems like the Australian producers are trying to make their name known through quality.  I was also surprised that the most typical ‘Champagne’ noses, were British.” 1St: Wiston Estate 2010 Blanc de Blanc (England) 2nd Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) 3rd Pirie NV (Tasmania, Australia) “Nyetimbern was a stand out.

UK flower-power, elegance and very pure. And very true to it’s origin.” 1St: Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) 2nd Pirie NV (Tasmania, Australia) 3rd Lanson Black Label Brut NV (Champagne, France) “Champagne’s got a tough time ahead for them!”  1st: Nyetimber Classic Cuvee NV (England) 2nd Mumm Cordon Rouge NV (Champagne, France) 3rd Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) “I tasted without thinking about the origin.  I tasted to evaluate quality using the WSET tasting method. My conclusions can be seen in the results.” Susanne BK of Punkvin 1st Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) 2nd Denbies Cubitt Reserve 2010 (England) 3rd Veuve Clicquot NV (Champagne, France) “In sparklings, I look for small bubbles, and length in combination with acidity.” About the tasting: “They all were all on a high level, but with slight differences in character, although, in my opinion, the bubbles were very different. 1ST Taittinger (Champagne, France) 2ND Veuve Clicquot NV (Champagne, France) 3RD Nyetimber Classic Cuvee NV (England)

“Champagne has always been placed on such a high pedestal; its marketing has definitely helped frame its quality perception.  But when you strip that away and stack these wines against their foreign counterparts in a completely blind tasting, you get down to the nitty gritty – it’s just fizzy, fermented grape juice in the end.  And in this tasting, English sparkling wines were showing very well.  I was most surprised by an Australian wine coming second – I was not expecting that at all.  This tasting says to me Australia has earnt its place on the world stage for producing decent fizz.” Drew Lambert, The Wine Wankers 1St: Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) 2nd Pirie NV (Tasmania, Australia) 3rd Nyetimber Classic Cuvee NV (England) £32.99 About the wine tasting – and why holding it in Sweden was so important Let’s get one thing straight.  this tasting did not include every English or Australian sparkling wine, nor every Champagne available to buy.  

The wines that were included in the tasting were cherry picked for a reason, and the setting of the tasting was also very important – this is why… Having recently moved to Stockholm, I’ve discovered Sweden’s drinking culture is unique and so are its wine writers.  Without a wine industry to protect or feel parochial about, wine lovers (and wine writers) will judge a wine on its merits, and boy, does this country have a selection to choose from.  Every wine producing country on earth is distributed here and are vying to win over the nation’s palate; it’s a completely level playing field. For wine geeks like me, over the past two years, English Sparkling Wine has become somewhat of a darling of the wine world, what with its world beating ways – but these articles have always been written by English wine writers, with the judging panel usually being made up of English palates, or occasionally, French experts.  After recently visiting English wine country, I had a lightbulb moment. 

Wouldn’t it be cool if I conducted my own Champagne versus English sparkling wine tasting, but held it on neutral territory, where English Sparkling wine has almost no distribution so nobody could have any preconceived ideas. But that wasn’t enough for me, being Australian, I wanted to include a couple of Aussie sparkling curveballs in to the mix, both with outstanding pedigrees.  Can the Champagne-like climate of Tasmania match France, or indeed, England? Why mix vintage and non vintage English and Australian sparkling wines and place them up again only non-vintage Champagne.  Vintage Champagne is expensive.  You have to pay double sometimes and this puts the drinking experience into a whole new category.  In the UK, the difference between a non vintage and vintage sparkling wine is sometimes as little as £5 to £8.  Most wines were priced at £34/390 Swedish Krona/AU$58/US$43 – except for the Australian wines, which were substantially less. The final results and how the scoring took place

If you’re familiar with Eurovision voting, or Formula 1, the scoring was in the same vein; 12 wines were tasted, so each wine taster ranked the wines they drank from favourite (theu received 12 points) to least favourite (sorry guys – 1 point only) and all the wines in the middle scored scaled points.  We then tallied all the points from all the tasters to achieve the final result.  Please note: just because a wine scored three times the amount of points does not mean it was three times better in quality!  All wine writers involved in the tasting said how tough the competition was, and there was not much difference between many of the wines.  Remember – these wines were chosen because they had already proven themselves as great ambassadors for each wine region. 1, Nyetimber 2009 Blanc de Blancs (England) £40.99 – 63 points 2, Pirie NV (Tasmania, Australia) AU$32 – 49 points 3, Veuve Clicquot NV (Champagne, France) £40 – 48 points 3, Nyetimber Classic Cuvee NV (England) £32.99 – 48 points