It's not often I venture into wine writing. I only do it occasionally and those occasions are novelties, like Cliff Richard's Vida Nova or the Chateau David I used to buy in Sainsbury's.
However, I'm sometimes the lucky recipient of donations from those who have a bottle of wine they don't want and my sister returned from the Scilly Isles with this rarity.
St. Martin's vineyard is the most south-westerly vineyard in England, which comes as no surprise but their website doesn't seem to mention prices, which would be interesting. It is possible that it comes in a bit more expensive than it justifies but that is not to say that it doesn't make an immediate impression which I thought was lime but the label claims for gooseberries. It is more like a Sauvignon Blanc than a Chardonnay, a bit more attention-seeking than a Soave, but less rebarbative than the Philip Larkin books I have photographed it in front of.
It is all the things one expects of a summer, light drinking refreshment with a disarming zest and friendly demeanour and as the climate continues to make the British Isles more suitable for vine cultivation, its position on the outskirts of the industry should assure it of a niche in the market as long as it is not outrageously priced.
