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Charles and Ruth Simpson, Co-founders of Simpsons' Wine Estate and also Domaine Sainte Rose, in the Languedoc, share with us their story of a wine romance.
Read on to discover their plans for this Valentine's Day and the exciting adventures awaiting their two wine estates in 2021...
"Our love story with wine began in an ex-KGB flat in Azerbaijan, where we were living and working at the time! As keen consumers of wine and having travelled to many wine-producing areas of the world, it was here that we properly researched the industry and wrote our first business plan.
It was a spirit of adventure and a desire to be part of positive change that took us initially to France, with an aspiration to help transform the reputation of the Languedoc from a low quality, high volume wine producer to a high quality, low volume wine producer, a challenge that continues to this day.
That same desire to be part of an emerging and evolving area was what also brought us back to the UK, our aspiration this time to help drive the extraordinary development that has seen England and Wales grow from being a little known and insignificant wine producer, to the most exciting and dynamic wine producing area in the world."
"Our Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend, La Garrigue was one of the first wines we ever produced at our French Estate, Domaine de Sainte Rose and is therefore our most memorable.
This was the first wine we bottled and took into the market from the 2002 vintage and ended up winning the Dutch Wine Concours!
The most cherished wine from Simpsons’ Wine Estate, which we are also most proud of is our flagship still wine, The Roman Road Chardonnay.
Since the first ever vintage of this wine in 2016 it has challenged so many people’s perceptions of English still wine and it continues to blaze trails, being awarded a Platinum medal and named Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2020, making it one of the top 50 wines in the world!"
"The pristine Elham Valley is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, an unspoilt seam in the North Downs of Kent, where the contours of the land, the climate and the soil could scarcely be improved upon for viticulture. Even the subtlest differences in terroir – slope, direction, shelter, altitude, soil – can influence the characteristics of the grapes, and for us there was no more important consideration in our quest to create distinguished English wine, than the quality and suitability of our land.
Our intensely lime-rich chalk soil, forming part of the same chalk ridge that stretches from southern England to the French Champagne region and on to Burgundy, is without doubt the most desirable for the cultivation of the time-honoured trio of grapes that go into the world’s finest still and sparkling wines: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay."
"Patience, a shared determination, complementary skills, a sense of humour and above all LOVE!"
"We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day by enjoying a meal kit from one of our favourite local restaurants.
We plan to drink some English and some French wines with our meal, starting with the delicious 2018 vintage of Canterbury Rose with our canapés and starter of scallops, then moving on to the statuesque Pinacle Syrah (also 2018) with the beef main course and with our chocolate dessert!"
"We are looking forward to being able to go into London to eat, shop or see a show at a weekend, but also at this time of year to be able go up to Edinburgh where we always go to watch the Scotland vs Ireland 6 Nations rugby match at Murrayfield stadium.
We love to travel as a family, so have a number of destinations on our wish list, but would be happy to even be able to attend a function at our daughter’s school at this particular juncture!
What the lockdown has taught us is to appreciate the small things we so often take for granted."
" Our two main focuses for Simpsons in 2021 are sustainability and exciting new product releases.
We are now part of the WineGB Sustainability Scheme and through our membership of Walpole, have subscribed to their Sustainability Manifesto.
At our French Estate we have achieved Haute Valeur Environnmentale accreditation and during 2021 also hope to attain ‘Bee Friendly’ status, so we intend to feed this experience into our activities in England.
We then have 3 brand new products that will be released during the year. Firstly at the start of the summer our White Cliffs Blanc de Blancs from the 2017 vintage. This will be our first ever English Blanc de Blancs, but it will become a permanent feature in our Classic Method range.
And secondly, in November, we will be releasing Magnums of a limited edition still Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both created from the exceptional 2020 vintage. This special edition mini range is called the Q-Class and we will be providing more information on this via our social media channels as the year progresses!"
" Our two main focuses for Simpsons in 2021 are sustainability and exciting new product releases.
We are now part of the WineGB Sustainability Scheme and through our membership of Walpole, have subscribed to their Sustainability Manifesto.
At our French Estate we have achieved Haute Valeur Environnmentale accreditation and during 2021 also hope to attain ‘Bee Friendly’ status, so we intend to feed this experience into our activities in England.
We then have 3 brand new products that will be released during the year. Firstly at the start of the summer our White Cliffs Blanc de Blancs from the 2017 vintage. This will be our first ever English Blanc de Blancs, but it will become a permanent feature in our Classic Method range.
And secondly, in November, we will be releasing Magnums of a limited edition still Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both created from the exceptional 2020 vintage. This special edition mini range is called the Q-Class and we will be providing more information on this via our social media channels as the year progresses!"
