Save Water, Drink Grower Champagne!

I’ve always believed that nothing unites people better than a good bottle of wine. A great bottle of wine can capture or enhance a special moment, and hopefully some of our wines here at The Good Wine Shop have helped inspire such experiences for you.

We work to present a selection of great wines made by great people. It doesn’t matter where it’s from, or how much it costs, every wine on our shelves has a family and a face behind it and we love to share their inspiring stories.

Keeping in that spirit, for the entire month of June we are popping corks and celebrating our favourite Champagne producers for our first ever “Grower Champagne Month” at The Good Wine Shop!

We will be hosting a series of free tasting events in Kew and Chiswick this month so you can come and discover these exciting wines for yourself!  See below for dates, and stay tuned for detailed announcements from each shop in the coming days.

“That sounds great, Derek…. But what exactly is a “Grower” Champagne?”

Grower Champagnes are produced by the same estate that owns the vineyards where the grapes are grown.   These are usually made by small producers & greatly express the terroir of their sites.   Moet & Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, and Laurent Perrier are large Champagne “Houses” that buy most of their grapes from many different growers and work to blend their wines to achieve the same taste year after year, in massive quantities.  In general, they focus their efforts more on blending wines in the cellar rather than growing the grapes themselves.

“Ok…. So Why Grower Champagnes?” 

The economical reason is that you can get more for your money in champagne when you don’t pay for the brand. Grower Champagnes can provide some of the absolute best value for money in Champagne.

From a philosophical perspective, the humble and dedicated histories of these growers fit perfectly in our spirit to celebrate the unsung heroes of all regions.  We consider ourselves storytellers at The Good Wine Shop, and these are the stories from Champagne we really want to focus on this month!

It’s not that we think these champagnes are necessarily better than big champagne houses.  I have been emotionally moved by many Champagnes from the most iconic houses.  Many Houses make great wines which express their terroir, and conversely many Growers are guilty of producing ordinary and uninteresting wines.

In some ways, it’s like comparing a rock concert at Wembley Stadium to your favourite local venue for up and coming musicians.   I’ve been known to sing along with the hits on the radio, but this month at The Good Wine Shop I am humming the tunes of the next Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, or John Lennon of the Champagne world.

I’m proud to say that we have crafted a range of outstanding wines from growers who speak to the spirit of what we are about at The Good Wine Shop.   We have even sourced a few new amazing producers to import directly to the UK.  We’re very proud to add the wines of Hubert Paulet, Varnier-Fanniere, and Michel Arnould to our already extensive selection.

So pop into any of our shops to learn more about all of these great producers, and don’t forget to add the following dates into your calendar….

Tuesday, June 14th 6:00pm – 9:00pm @ Foxlow Chiswick
“Free Champagne Tasting and BYO”

Saturday, June 25th 2:00pm – 6:00pm @ The Good Wine Shop Chiswick
“Grower Champagne Showcase!”

Sunday, June 26th 12:00pm – 6:00pm @ The Good Wine Shop Kew
“Grower Champagne Showcase and Summer Portfolio Tasting!”

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cheers,

Derek Morrison
Retail Manager
The Good Wine Shop
Kew, Chiswick, & Esher