SAVOUR & SIP
Tipple Tours IF YOU FANCY SEEING CAMBRIDGE’S
SPECTACULAR VINEYARDS FIRST-HAND, HERE ARE OUR TOP LOCATIONS TO CHECK OUT SAFFRON GRANGE With family-friendly tours new for 2022, let kids run amok around the wildflower-bordered vineyards, learning about the site’s birds and critters, while you sip at the vineyard’s crisp Classic Cuvée, with hints of apricot and green apple. CHILFORD HALL A resplendent site, spot intriguing statues by the late Sam Alper scattered across this grand estate. Enjoy afternoon tea or a two-course lunch to polish off your vineyard tour. GIFFORDS HALL This pastoral vineyard in Bury St Edmunds is steeped in history, with a barrel hall developed from a pre-war aircraft hanger and sheep grazing on-site to trim weeds. Choose from still or sparkling tours.
East Anglia could prosper in winemaking. Foreseeing more of a localised vineyard scene, Nick notes that there are huge varieties even within East Anglia, but says about English wine: “The fruit should come through and the acidity should be there.” Saffron Grange aims for complexity. “We don’t encourage malolactic fermentation because you take away some of the Christmassy, orchard fruit characters, pear and apple, which we really like.” In creating vintage wines, each year’s releases are reliant on grapes from the previous growing season. “Each year tells a different story,” Nick says. ON THE GRAPEVINE Elsewhere, new and remarkable wine businesses are cropping up. Not least, Dojima Sake Brewery, which brings Japanese culture – including sake festivals, tea ceremonies and more – to our area. “Sake was made as an offering to the Shinto gods,” explains Kumiko, daughter of Yoshihide Hashimoto, who established Dojima in Osaka in 1996 (and is the fifth generation of sake makers in the family). “People believed that when you get a bit tipsy, you feel closer to others and might see this different dimension. Sake was
DOJIMA SAKE BREWERY
Dive into the fascinating process behind sake production, from rice steaming to koji fermenting, followed by a taster of the brewery’s three sought-after sakes with melon notes.
thought to be a medium between divine and human worlds – a purifying drink connecting people.” Relocating from Myanmar, where the last branch was founded during the military dictatorship, Fordham Abbey was the perfect spot, with its glacial water supply and cool climate. “Koji mould is essential for sake making, along with soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar and mirin. This tiny living thing is at the very core of Japanese fermentation and food culture,” says Kumiko. “For two to three days, our brewers sleep on-site, because they GRAPE EXPECTATIONS Chilford Hall (above left), Saffron Grange (above top) and Gutter and Stars (above) are part of a new wave of winemakers
LEARN FROM THE BEST Get a unique insight into the process of winemaking
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