6.20pm - 7.00pm
Sparkling Wines & Champagnes
Hosted by Charles Metcalfe
The great thing about the UK wine market is the widely available variety of sparkling wines from all over the world. Whether it is a Spanish cava, an Italian prosecco, a Californian sparkling, or a fizzy wine from down under, the quality of what is available, has significantly risen in the last five years. These modern sparklers are challenging the king of wine, Champagne, who is desperately fighting a rearguard action, in the battle for value for money.
Charles Metcalfe is one of the best-known, most spontaneous and amusing wine critics in Britain. He presented drinks and occasionally food items for 12 years as one of the Richard-and-Judy team on the ITV programme, ‘This Morning’, and was the drinks expert for ‘Taste Today’ on the Taste TV CFW channel. He has also presented many wine and food programmes on the Granada Breeze satellite channel.
He is co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge, the world’s biggest wine competition, held annually in London, and was one of the founders of Wine INTERNATIONAL magazine.
Charles’ book, ‘The Wines of Spain & Portugal’ won the 1989 Glenfiddich Drinks Book of the Year Award. He is currently writing a book called ‘The Wine and Food Lover’s Guide to Portugal’. Charles talks regularly about wine to public and private audiences.