Champagne tasting in London
Berry Brothers offers a day of delight with a one-day Champagne school in their London cellars


Sitting, surrounded by ancient bottles in the 312 year-old Berry Brothers & Rudd vaulted cellars beneath St James' Street, London, it was difficult to believe that a few feet above us the weather pounded the bustling streets. I had booked our Berrys' One Day Champagne School back in December as a Christmas present for my husband (Rupert)-two hours tasting and learning about Champagne followed by lunch in the Napoleon Cellar, sounded like the ideal present for a man who is currently planning a September trip around the vineyards of France.
Berrys' One Day Champagne School
Edwin Dublin, UK Champagne Ambassador 2011 and Berrys' London shop Champagne specialist, navigated us gently through tastes, smells, bubbles, bottles, vineyards, houses and landscapes, with a relaxed enthusiasm that kept us all spellbound.
It was to my great excitement, and Rupert's horror, that in a blind tasting we both voted the Krug Grande Curvee, Brut, our stand-alone winner.
I had no idea there was so much variety to be found in Champagne, nor so much rich narrative history. I am now looking forward to our road trip with renewed excitement and in the hope that I can remember everything I learnt. Perhaps I should have used the spittoon after all!
Book now: Berrys' One Day Champagne School, Saturday September 29, 2012, 10.45am Hosted by Edwin Dublin, Berrys' London shop Champagne specialist Venue: Pickering and Napoleon Cellars £245 per person
* Subscribe to Country Life and save 40%
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National Park
Old House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
By Arabella Youens Published
-
The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West Sussex
Although the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
By Rosie Paterson Published