English sparkling wine triumphs over champagne in blind taste test
It’s enough to make the French seethe with fury! English sparkling wine triumphs over champagne in blind taste test
- More than half of French wine drinkers preferred wine made in Kent in blind tests
- The Chapel Down vineyard in Kent sold 790,000 bottles of sparkling wine last year
English sparkling wine triumphed over champagne in a blind taste test across the Channel.
About 60 per cent of French wine drinkers said at the tasting that took place on the streets of Reims last month that they preferred wine made by Chapel Down in Kent to their own champagne.
Disguised under the French label ‘Chapelle en Bas’ – which literally translates to Chapel Down – French consumers were invited to compare the English wine with leading Champagne brand Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial.
Unwittingly, the French described the undercover English drink as “lighter,” “fresher,” and “more perfumed” than its homegrown competitor.
And six in 10 people polled on the streets of France said they liked Chapel Down’s sparkling English wine better than their native Moet et Chandon Brut Imperial.
More than half of French wine drinkers said they preferred wine made in Chapel Down in Kent (File photo: A vineyard in Chapel Down in Kent)
Shocked faces and raised eyebrows of disbelieving French drinkers were caught on camera as the big reveal was made.
Champagne aficionados often claim that champagne has a better taste and higher quality than English sparkling versions.
And Brits drink almost three times more champagne than sparkling wine.
But in this blind taste test, it was the English brand that came out on top and proved to have a certain je ne sais quoi.
The hilarious stunt was arranged by Chapel Down to mark this year’s English wine week, which runs through Sunday.
Chapel Down vineyard (pictured) sold 790,000 bottles of sparkling wine last year, representing 33 percent of the UK wine market
Last year, Chapel Down sold 790,000 bottles of sparkling wine, representing 33 percent of the UK wine market.
Liam Newton, Chapel Down’s Chief Marketing Officer, said: ‘We are incredibly proud of the exceptional quality of our English sparkling wine, and it was great to have this confirmed by the French themselves.
‘The French know a thing or two about sparkling wine, with their centuries of winemaking history, so what better place than champagne to sample our Chapel Down Brut?
“A 60 per cent result like this propels us even further in changing the way the world views English wine.”