VINEYARDS OF SHERBORNE - INDEPENDENT WINE SHOP
- Name: Vineyards of Sherborne
- Adress: 2 Tilton Court, Digby Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3NL
- Telephone: 01935 815544
- Email: shop@vineyardsofsherborne.co.uk
- Web: www.vineyardsofsherborne.co.uk
- Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Vineyards of Sherborne is an independent wine shop, home to more than 400 great wines, champagnes, spirits and ales. Since opened in June 2005, their range is constantly being added to and they aslo will endeavour to source any wine their customers are looking for.
They have developed an excellent relationships with suppliers who provide them with superb handcrafted wines made by smaller producers, enabling them to offer an extensive lists from around the World. On top of that, the seasonal special offers and promotions compete well against the larger wine retailers.
It's worth visiting the store, where you will find a truly personal experience that only an independent can. The shop is a relaxed and informal place in which to browse and there's always someone on hand if you need a bit of expert, friendly advice.
Online, you can browse by type, country, region or grape and the recommendation section's handy. Many of this wines come from small vineyards and which you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere.
Everything from vintage to everyday drinking wines, champagnes and sparkling wines, through to outstanding ports, sherries and dessert wines, great local beers and high quality soft drinks and bar essentials.
If you are just finding your feet in the world of the grape, this is great place. You can also join their mailing list for details of new wine launches, special offers and exclusive invitations to tastings and events.
Bespoke drinks packages for private and corporate parties, weddings and events, including:
- Private tasting: By appointment, to visit their shop and choose your wines.
- Expert advice: Let them match your menu, and budget, with appropriate wines.
- Free local delivery: Your wines delivered direct to your event venue.
- Free glass hire: They loan you glasses free, just ask they are returned clean and intact or a small charge will be made.
- Ice: Available by the bag or in larger quantities to order.
- A fair returns policy: You can return up to a third of your sale & return wines as long as they are in complete cases, with undamaged labels/bottles.
They offer a full trade wine service to restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, caterers, delis and farm shops including:
- Expert advice from trained staff.
- Bespoke wine lists.
- Wines to match menus and budget.
- Competitive trade prices.
- Free local delivery.
- Account facilities (subject to terms & conditions).
- Wine menu design, ready to print (at extra cost).
They also offer:
- Free local delivery.
- Party drinks planning and ice.
- Wedding wines consultations.
- Free glass Loan (with wine orders).
- Case discounts.
- Sale or return offer on full cases.
- Fully insured nationwide delivery.
- In-store Tastings and other events.
- Wine & Spirit Education Trust certified.
PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND WINE MATCHING BY "VINEYARDS OF SHERBORNE"
Most wines are produced as an accompaniment to food, and there are many established guidelines for matching food with wine successfully. Originally wine styles evolved to complement the cuisine of a region, so this is often a good starting point for finding a good wine and food combination.
There is no single choice of wine that must be drunk with a certain dish, but some are definitely a better match than others. To achieve the best match it is necessary to analyse the basic components in both the wine and the food. The principle is to try to balance these, so that neither the food nor the wine overpowers the other.
The main elements to consider are:
Food flavours and textures:
- Weight/richness of food.
- Flavour intensity.
- Key flavours in food.
Wine flavours and textures:
- Weight/body of wine
- Flavour intensity and characteristics
- Acidity
- Tannin
- Sweetness
- Weight: The first and most important element to consider should be to match the weight of the food with that of the wine.
Rich heavyweight foods, like game, roast meats and red meat casseroles, need a foll-bodied wine. Powerful red wines are often the favoured choice, although it is the weight of the wine which is the most important consideration rather than its colour or flavour. Often a rich foll-bodied white wine is a better match for meat than a lighter red wine.
Lighter food, such as plain white meat or fish, is complemented by more delicate wine. Although white wines are the normal choice, light-bodied, low-tannin red wines can also be successful.
- Flavour intensity and character: After weight, the next most important element to consider is flavour and how intense that flavour is. Flavour intensity, although similar to weight, is not the same. Think of a food that has a lot of weight but is low in flavour, say a plate of plain boiled potatoes or plain boiled rice, both are heavy in weight but low in flavour. At the other end of the scale think of a plate of raw, thinly sliced red or green peppers; these are high in flavour but light in weight. Wines can be the same. Riesling for example makes a lightweight wine that is intensely flavoured; while Chardonnay makes foll-bodied, heavyweight wines that can be low in flavour. Delicate wines and strong flavoured foods do not match.
Isolating the dominant flavour in a dish is not as simple as it sounds, often the dominant flavour is in the sauce. Take a chicken curry for example; it is not the flavour of the chicken that dominates. So think weight and then flavour intensity when selecting a suitable wine. A rich creamy sauce will need a wine that will complement the smooth creamy, buttery flavours of the sauce.
It is also worth considering the way the food has been cooked. If a food is cooked by a moist, gentle method such as steaming, it will require a lighter-bodied wine than a food that is roasted, which will require a wine that is fuller and more robust in body as the method of cooking adds more intensity of flavours to the food. Foods that have been cooked by frying will need lighter wines with good acidity, as the method of cooking increases the fat content. A slow-cooked dish that has been braised or stewed will be weightier and need fuller-bodied wines, as the flavours are intensified by the method of cooking.
The flavour character of a wine can sometimes be matched with food. For example:
- Grapey or floral characteristics like wines from the Muscat variety with fruit.
- Spicy flavours like Gewurztraminer with spicy dishes (the term spice when describing a wine can mean a number of different aromas such as white pepper, black pepper, doves, tinnamon, nutmeg and ginger).
- Oaked wines with smoked foods - the stronger the smoke the greater the oak can be.
- More neutral wines, such as Muscadet or Soave complement delicate flavoured food like seafood, and would be over powered by stronger flavours.
- Acidity: The acidity found in food must be matched by the acidity in the accompanying wines. Acidity is something we rarely think about in food. Tomatoes, an everyday ingredient in many foods, are extremely high in acidity. One of the characteristics of Italian red wines are their noticeable acidity. This is because Italian cuisine is dominated by two ingredients - tomatoes and olive oil - hence wines that go with Italian food need good acidity in them. Vinaigrette is a good example of acidity being added to a dish. The oil needs to be cut by the sharpness of acidity, so when making a vinaigrette you blend olive oil and vinegar together.
Dishes dominated by tart acidic flavours, like lemon, lime or vinegar, can be difficult and require care when matching as they will overpower most wines.
- Tannin: Tannin in red wine reacts with protein molecules. Foods with a high protein content, particularly red meat, will soften the effect of the tannin on the palate. This is why wines from tannic grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah/Shiraz, go well with roast meat and stews.
Light, fruity red wines with low levels of tannin, like Beaujolais and Bardolino, will complement white meats as these are low in proteins and lighter than meats such as lamb and beef.
Tannin in combination with oily fish can result in an unpleasant metallic taste, so the general recommendation is to avoid red wines with fish. However, low tannin reds are fine with meaty fish. Wines with a high tannin content can also taste better with salty foods.
- Sweetness: Dry wines can be tart and over-acidic when drunk with any food with a degree of sweetness. Sweet food is best with wine which has a similar or greater degree of sweetness; the sweeter the food the sweeter the wine needs to be. Late-harvest wines, especially botrytis-affected wines and sweet Muscat-based wines, are the ideal choice for puddings.
- Fat and oiliness: Wines with a good level of acidity can be superb with rich, oily foods, such as pate. For example, Sautemes works well with foie gras. Here the weight of both wine and food are similar, and the acidity in the wine helps cut through the fattiness in the food. This is also an example of matching a sweet wine to a savoury food. Crisp wines such as Riesling and unoaked Barberas can make a good match with fatty meats such as duck and goose.
- Spice: Hot spices like chilli reduce the sweetness in wine and can make dry red wines seem more astringent. Spices can also accentuate the flavours of oak. A good match for spicy food are wines that are made from really ripe, juicy fruit, either unoaked or lightly oaked. Wines such as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc can work well with spiced foods, as can ripe Chilean Meriot.
- Smoke: Smoked foods need wines with enough character to cope with the strength of the smoking. Lightly smoked salmon is a classic partner for Brut Champagne; smoked meats like pork can benefit from some slight sweetness in the wine like that found in some German Rieslings; smokey barbecued flavours suit powerful oaked wines like Australian Shiraz.
- Salt: Salty foods are enhanced by a touch of sweetness. Think of classic combinations like prosciutto and figs. The same works with wine. Roquefort cheese & Sautemes and Port & Stilton are famous matches. Salty foods also benefit from a little acidity. Avoid tannin wines as the salt seems to bring out the bitterness of the tannin. Salty foods such as olives, oysters and other shellfish go best with crisp, dry, light-bodied white wines. Manzanilla or Fino Sherry are classic partners for olives and nuts.
FOOD & WINE MATCHING BY "VINEYARDS OF SHERBORNE"
Starters:
- Asparagus: White Burgundy or Californian Chardonnay
- Artichoke: Loire Sauvignon or full flavoured rose
- Avocado: Chablis or Muscadet
- Caviar: Champagne
- Pates: Rich wine for rich and light wine for light
- Foie Gras: Sauterne or Alsace Riesling
- Salads: Old World Sauvignon or Muscadet
- Snails: White Burgundy or SW France reds
- Light Soups: Sparkling wine or Pink Champagne
- Heavy Soups: Beaujolais Villages or Alsace Pinot Blanc
- Game Soups: Heavy red from Rioja or Rhone
- Terrines: Aromatic Alsace or German
- Vinaigrette: Gewürztraminer
- Tomato based Pasta: Pinot Grigio or Nero d’Avola
- Cream based Pasta: Montagny or White Rhone
Fish:
- Fish with Sauces: scadet or Sparkling wine
- Mackerel: Sancerre or New World Sauvignon
- River Fish (general): Full bodied rose or Sancerre
- Pike: Dry white Bordeaux
- Salmon: Chablis or Pouilly Fuisse
- Trout: German Riesling or Alsace
- Shellfish (general): Muscadet Sur Lie or Pouilly Fume
- Crab, Scallops: Premier Cru Chablis
- Lobster: Grand Cru Chablis
- Crayfish: Sancerre or New Zealand Sauvignon
Meat:
- Beef: Elegant Claret or New World Cabernet
- Steak and Beefburgers: Zinfandel or New World Cab/Sauv Shiraz blend
- Rich Casseroles: Full bodied Claret, Rhone, Rioja or Chianti
- Light Casseroles: Good Pinot Noir or SW France reds
- Duck (a l’Orange): Fleurie, Cru Beaujolais or Beaune
- Game: Pomerol, Chateauneuf Du Pape or New World Shiraz
- Goose: Chianti or Pinot Noir
- Ham: Young Beaujolais or Chianti
- Lamb: Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent or Classic Claret
- Offal: Chateauneuf Du Pape or Rioja
- Sweetbreads: St Emilion
- Pork and Veal: Medoc, Beaujolais or off-dry white
- Poultry: Primitivo, light bodied red or flavoured white
- Roast Poultry: Fitou, Givry or Moulin-a-Vent
- Coq au Vin: Very good quality red Burgundy
- Chinese Food: New World Sauvignon, Pinot Blanc or Riesling
- Curry: Rich wine for rich and light wine for light
- Pizza: Valpolicella or Valpolicella Classico
Desserts:
- Cakes and Gateaux: Tokay or Monbazillac
- Chocolate Puddings: Sauterne
- Crème Brulee / Caramel: Sauterne or Barsac
- Fruit: Late harvest Riesling or Pink Champagne
Cheeses:
- Blue-Veined: Sauterne or Barsac
- Stilton: Port
- Roquefort/Gorgonzola: Tokay or Sweet Riesling
- Soft/Semi-Soft Mild: Light Pinot Noir or Valpolicella
- Soft Strong Cheeses: Fitou or Cotes du Rhone
- Hard Cheeses: Chateauneuf du Pape and fine Claret
- Parmesan: Chianti or Barolo
- Goat’s Cheese: Sancerre, Loire Sauvignon or New World Sauvignon
SHERBORNE IN DORSET (SOUTH WEST ENGLAND)
Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, 6 miles (10 kilometres) east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. In the 2011 census the population of Sherborne parish and the two electoral wards was 9,523. 28.7% of the population is aged 65 or older. The town is served by Sherborne railway station.
- Historic Buildings: Sherborne's historic buildings include Sherborne Abbey, its manor house, independent schools, and two castles: the ruins of a 12th-century fortified palace and the 16th-century mansion known as Sherborne Castle built by Sir Walter Raleigh. Much of the old town, including the abbey and many medieval and Georgian buildings, is built from distinctive ochre-coloured ham stone.
Other notable historic buildings in the town include the almshouses of saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, founded in 1438 and expanded in the Victorian era in indistinguishable medieval style architecture; the conduit, hospice of St Julian, and Lord Digby school, now known as Sherborne House (designed by Benjamin Bastard). Sherborne House, famed for its mural by Sir James Thornhill. was a subject for the BBC's "Restoration" programme in 2004, and was sold in 2008 by Dorset County Council to a developer, Redcliffe Homes, for £3 million. Its renovation included rebuilding an unstable rear wall.
- History: The town was named scir burne by the Saxon inhabitants, a name meaning "clear stream" (see: Bourne (placename)) and is referred to as such in the Domesday book.
Sherborne was made the capital of Wessex, one of the seven Saxon kingdoms of England, and King Alfred's elder brothers King Ethelbert and King Ethelbald are buried in the abbey. In 705 the diocese was split between Sherborne and Winchester, and King Ine founded an abbey for St Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne. In 933, King Æthelstan granted land at Sherborne to the nuns of Shaftesbury Abbey under the condition that they would recite the Psalter once a year on All Saints' day and say masses for the king. The bishop's seat was moved to Old Sarum in 1075 and the church at Sherborne became a Benedictine monastery. In the 15th century the church was burnt down during tensions between the town and the monastery, and rebuilt between 1425 and 1504 incorporating some of the Norman structure remains. In 1539 the monastery was bought by Sir John Horsey and became a conventional church. Sherborne was the centre of a hundred of the same name for many centuries.
In the 12th century Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England, built a fortified palace in Sherborne. The palace was destroyed in 1645 by General Fairfax, and its ruins are owned by English Heritage.
In 1594 Sir Walter Raleigh built an Elizabethan mansion in the grounds of the old palace, today known as Sherborne Castle.
Sherborne became home to Yorkshireman, Captain Christopher Levett who came to the West Country as His Majesty's Woodward of Somersetshire, and who remained in Sherborne when he turned to a career as a naval captain and early explorer of New England.
- Governance: In the UK national parliament, Sherborne is within the West Dorset parliamentary constituency, which is currently represented by Oliver Letwin of the Conservative Party. In local government, Sherborne is administered by Dorset County Council at the highest tier, West Dorset District Council at the second tier, and Sherborne Town Council at the lowest tier.
In national parliament and district council elections, West Dorset is divided into 24 electoral wards, with Sherborne forming two of these: Sherborne West and Sherborne East. In county council elections, Dorset is divided into 42 electoral divisions, with Sherborne's two wards together forming Sherborne Electoral Division.
- Education: There has been a school in Sherborne since the time of King Alfred, who was educated there. The school was re-founded in 1550 as King Edward's grammar school, using some of the old abbey buildings, though it is now known simply as Sherborne School. The school remains one of the top independent schools in Britain, boasting numerous successful alumni, including Alan Turing, Jeremy Irons, Chris Martin, John le Carré, John Cowper Powys.
Until 1992 there were also two grammar schools, Foster's School for Boys and Lord Digby's School for Girls. Both schools merged with another local school to form The Gryphon School. Other well-established schools in the area include Sherborne Abbey Primary School, Sherborne Prep, Sherborne Girls and Leweston School (girls). Sherborne International caters to international students.
- Environment and community: Sherborne has an active green community, with various environmental and sustainability organisations in the area. The Quarr Local Nature Reserve at the northern end of the town makes use of an old quarry and landfill site, Sherborne Area Partnership oversees a successful environment forum and, in 2009, Sherborne became an official Transition Town, running a number of projects and events as a community response to climate change and peak oil.
- Sport and leisure: Sherborne has a Non-League football club Sherborne Town F.C. a cricket club (Sherborne CC) and a rugby club, Sherborne RFC.
- International relations: Sherborne is a founding member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).
SHERBORNE CASTLE AND GARDENS
Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The 1,200-acre (490 ha) park formed only a small part of the 15,000-acre (61 km2) Digby estate.
- Sherborne Old Castle: (50.9494°N 2.5024°W) is the ruin of a 12th-century castle in the grounds of the mansion. The old castle was built as the fortified palace of Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England and still belonged to the church in the late 16th century.
- Sherborne Lodge: After passing through Sherborne on the way to Plymouth, Sir Walter Raleigh fell in love with the castle, and Queen Elizabeth relinquished the estate, leasing it to Raleigh in 1592, Rather than refurbish the old castle, Raleigh decided to construct a new lodging for temporary visits, in the compact form for secondary habitations of the nobility and gentry, often architecturally sophisticated, that was known as a lodge. The new house, Sherborne Lodge, was a four-storey, rectangular building completed in 1594. The antiquary John Aubrey remembered it as "a delicate Lodge in the park, of Brick, not big, but very convenient for its bignes, a place to retire from the Court in summer time, and to contemplate, etc." It had four polygonal corner turrets with angled masonry as if they were actually to serve for military defence, which Nicholas Cooper suggests "may be an obeisance to the old building". Its most progressive feature for its date was the entrance, disguised in one of the corner towers so as not to spoil the apparent symmetry of the facade, which was centred on a rectangular forecourt. The entrance vestibule also contained a winder stairwell and gave directly on the hall.
During Raleigh's imprisonment in the Tower, King James leased the estate to Robert Carr and then sold it to Sir John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol in 1617. In the 1620s, the Digby family, in order to suit the lodge to a more permanent seat, added four wings to the house in an architectural style similar to the original, retaining the original corner towers.
- New castle: In the Civil War Sherborne was strongly Royalist, and the old castle was left in ruins by General Fairfax of the Parliamentary forces in 1645. The name "Sherborne Castle" was then applied to the new house, though today the term Sherborne New Castle is generally used to refer to it, in the same manner as "Sherborne Old Castle" is used for the ruins.
Through the early and mid-18th century William, 5th Lord Digby, who laid out the grounds praised by Alexander Pope, and his heirs Edward, 6th Lord Digby, who inherited in 1752, and Henry, 7th Lord, created Earl Digby, laid out the present castle gardens, including the 1753 lake designed by Capability Brown, which separates the old and new castles. The ruins of the old castle are part of the gardens, being conspicuous amongst the trees across the lake. King George III visited the house and gardens in 1789, shortly before awarding Henry Digby with a peerage. When Edward, 2nd and last Earl Digby died in 1856 the house was passed to the Wingfield Digby family, who still own the house. The house was modernised by the architect Philip Charles Hardwick.
In the First World War the house was used by the Red Cross as a hospital and in the Second World War as the headquarters for the commandos involved in the D-Day landings.
The gardens are Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. They are open to the public much of the year, and the house is open to the public most Saturdays. The estate often hosts special events, such as concerts and firework displays. The old castle was leased by English Heritage and is now separate from the rest of the estate.