Award-winning local vineyard and winery, Furleigh Estate has teamed up with Dorset’s first gin distillery Conker Spirit and Isle of Wight Tomatoes to create a limited-edition cocktail for Red Nose Day, on Friday March 13.
Lloyd Brown, head mixologist at The Venner Bar in Bridport created the recipe, blending Furleigh estate sparkling Classic Cuvee 2011, with Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin and Isle of Wight Tomatoes’ delicate and refreshing pressed tomato cordial.
Rebecca Hansford, owner of Furleigh Estate, said: “Combining our sparkling wine with gin and tomato notes certainly makes for a unique and delightful tasting experience. For those watching Comic Relief on Friday night, this cocktail will provide welcome and colour-coordinated refreshment!”
Rupert Holloway from Conker Spirit, said: “It’s funny how flavours can come together and surprise you, but this new cocktail is no joke. Isle of Wight Tomatoes’ new Tomato Cordial really takes you by surprise with its fruity and refreshing finish and pairing this with the herbs, spices and citrus really balances the sweetness.”
Ingredients
Furleigh Estate sparkling Classic Cuvee 2011
25ml Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin
25ml Isle of Wight Tomato Cordial
25ml fresh lemon juice
Sprig of fresh basil
Isle of Wight cherry tomato
Method
Tear the basil leaves into a healthy serving of Dorset Dry Gin and infuse for 10 minutes.
Next, add the gin mix, lemon juice and tomato cordial to each over ice and shake briefly.
Add to a chilled Champagne coupe glass and top up with chilled sparkling wine.
Garnish with a ripe-to-bursting Isle of Wight cherry tomato and a basil leaf.
To add an extra sensory hit, wipe the edge of the glass with a basil leaf to release an incredible aroma.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2015, Furleigh Estate produces a selection of still and sparkling wines, available at selected UK outlets including Selfridges, The Good Wine shops in Kew and Esher, Village Vine in Poole, or direct from the estate’s website. The Classic Cuvee 2011 retails from £28.50 per bottle.
Made in Dorset from British wheat spirit, New Forest Spring Water and Dorset-inspired botanicals, Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin retails from £30 a bottle.
The world’s first tomato cordial, Isle of Wight Tomatoes’ pressed tomato cordial retails from £3.95.
To mark its 10th anniversary, Furleigh Estate in Salway Ash, West Dorset has launched an exclusive wine club for English wine lovers who want to become more involved with the vineyard and winery.
The Estate will provide members with an early opportunity to buy new release wines at a discounted price. Members will also receive invitations to wine and food events being held at the vineyard, which will provide an insight into the wine and wine-making in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Membership runs from May 1 2015 until April 30 2016 and costs £60 per person (or £75 per couple). It includes:
• Two bottles of still wine of the member’s choice (subject to availability). • 10 per cent discount on wine bought from the Estate in person or by telephone. • A complimentary tour of the vineyard followed by a private tasting of its wines for up to six people. • A complimentary ticket (two for couples) to an exclusive members • The opportunity to visit the Estate during harvest (October/November) and see the winery in operation. • Prior notification of new wine releases. • Regular email updates.
Rebecca Hansford, owner of Furleigh Estate, said: “We planted our first vine in May 2005, so this spring will be the Estate’s 10th anniversary. Our internationally-renowned vineyard and winery is enjoying a golden age in English wine production, and the launch of our exclusive wine club is the perfect way to celebrate this.”
Rebecca Hansford, of vineyard and winery Furleigh Estate in Dorset, will be championing English sparkling wine with a ‘Fizz from Dorset’ tasting on Wednesday February 11 at ‘Le Pont de La Tour’; a French restaurant, bar and wine merchant near London Bridge.
Owner of the multi-award-winning Estate, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, Rebecca will introduce guests to her new releases, which will be paired with canapés created by the restaurant and bar’s head chef, Tom Cook.
Situated in Salway Ash, the Estate has won many accolades for its still and sparkling wine in a variety of competitions, including the International Wine Challenge, the International Wine & Spirits Competition and the inaugural Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, in which it was awarded gold and silver medals.
Rebecca Hansford, said: “That Le Pont de La Tour, one of London’s leading French restaurants is advocating drinking English wine is a real complement. It just goes to show how well-respected English sparkling wine has become.
She added: “Our vineyard and winery is situated in a truly beautiful, rural corner of west Dorset and we always enjoy bringing a flavour of that to London.”
Furleigh Estate already has a strong presence in the city and its wine is stocked by Selfridges, The Wine Pantry in Borough Market and the World Duty Free shops at Gatwick, Heathrow and the Eurotunnel. The wine is also available at a number of top London restaurants, including La Trompette in Chiswick, Mark Hix’s six London restaurants, The Savoy Hotel and Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen.
Dorset-based vineyard and winery Furleigh Estate has demonstrated its support of Jurassica – a project to build a world-class dinosaur attraction on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, by donating its award winning sparkling wine for an exclusive private dinner at Bournemouth University for the project.
The vision of Michael Hanlon, a London-based science journalist who grew up on the Dorset coast and studied earth sciences at university, Jurassica is a registered charity that will provide an educational and scientific resource of global significance and a focus for economic regeneration, in a currently deprived part of the south coast.
Supporters of the project include patron Sir David Attenborough, Bournemouth University, The Royal Society, Natural History Museum, Bristol University and The Eden Project. During the evening, a short film presented by David Attenborough and recorded by university students was screened and a scale model of Jurassica created by Renzo Piano, the architect behind The Shard in London, was revealed to guests. Tim Smit, founder of The Eden Project also spoke to guests about the impact Eden has made to Cornwall, and how Dorset may expect the same.
Of the partnership with Furleigh Estate, project coordinator, Alison Smith, said: “Jurassica is an ambitious project to create an attraction of national and international significance. Our ethos of local procurement will be a boost to the local economy, at this early stage we are already engaging with and consulting with local businesses.”
See added: “Furleigh Estate has supported Jurassica from the start. We are delighted to have such a fantastic, award-winning business on board. The company shares our vision and we look forward to continuing the journey with Rebecca Hansford and Ian Edwards as Jurassica moves into the next phase of development.
English vineyard and winery Furleigh Estate is expecting its best-ever harvest this autumn, and has estimated that it will produce approximately 100,000 bottles of award-winning, still and sparkling wine as a result.
This year’s harvest is anticipated to be twice as large as the previous record yield, in 2010. What’s more, in one of its vineyards the crop is predicted to be even bigger than the total sum of all of the previous harvests, as a result of two consecutive years of great summer weather.
Situated in Salway Ash in West Dorset, this former dairy farm is owned and managed by husband and wife team, Rebecca Hansford and Ian Edwards. The couple planted their first vine just over nine years ago in 2005. Today, more than 22,000 Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier vines grow on the south-facing slopes of the Estate.
Rebecca Hansford, owner of Furleigh Estate, said: “We are so excited about this year’s bumper harvest. It’s come at a significant time for us as we enter our 10th year as a working vineyard and winery.
“A dry Glastonbury festival and a warm Wimbledon are usually reliable indicators that the grape harvest is going to be good, so we’ve had high hopes since the start of the summer. We are so fortunate that the English climate has been kind to the vines this season!”
Furleigh Estate’s vineyard and winery will be open to the public for two very special harvest lunches. For more information or to book, email info@furleighestate.co.uk or phone 01308 488991.
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