Wiston Estate Rosé NV 2019

Wiston Estate West Sussex Rosé NV two flutes and summer flowers

Ain’t no party without bubbles – and Wiston Estate Rosé NV is a garden party in a bottle. Spotted in Waitrose (rude not to try when it has a Muddy pink label), it’s a delicious blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier grapes. You get a floral-fruity aroma and a touch sherbet for extra zing. From £36, buy here.

Stanlake Park Pinot Noir Rosé 2022

Stanlake Park’s bestselling Pinot Noir Rosé (a double silver medal winner in the Global Rosé Masters, no less) is a seriously sexy summer splash from Berkshire. I grabbed a bottle from the vineyard’s cellar shop and it’s everything a summer rosé should be – delicate flavour and colour, with a hint of raspberry, cherry and grapefruit. A rosé so good it avoids the sickly sweet lady petrol category like the plague. From £15.99, buy here.

Ovens Farm Solaris 2021

An English white winning at the Decanter World Wine Awards? You betcha. What’s more, it’s not from the sunny shores of Sussex or Kent, but from Lincolnshire. I tried it a few weeks back at top Lincs restaurant and it’s a real find – dry, crisp, aromatic with hints of apple, peach and honeysuckle and a doozie for a sunny day in the garden. £96 for six, buy here.

Dinton Folly Brut 2021

Dinton Folly Brut Sparkling Wine Buckinghamshire

This tiny seven-acre vineyard in mid-Buckinghamshire, produces delicate sparkling wines using Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. You’ll find it on the menu of five star hotel Hartwell House in Aylesbury (where I’ve had the pleasure of testing it at length) but it’s well worth by-passing the mark up and nailing a case for your garden party. The pink sparkly is like gold dust, but the Brut, more to my taste, is less sweet and will do the tricky nicely. From £34.95, buy here.

Halfpenny Green Chardonnay 2019

Halfpenny Green Wine Estate South Staffs Chardonnay and Pinot Noitr

A bit of a hidden gem, Halfpenny Green Wine Estate in South Staffordshire is a 30-acre vineyard growing 16 grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and weather-hardy types like Bacchus and Madeleine Angevine. There’s a lovely onsite restaurant in Bobbington and the multi-award-winning Chardonnay is well worth trying. It’s a full-bodied white with notes of peach, tropical fruits, honey and lemon – and a far cry from the oaky 90s vinos. Forget your ABCs and give this one a go. £20 per bottle, buy here.

In need of ginspiraton? Quaff Club tried and tested 6 fab new fruity gins.

QUAFF CLUB: Elegant English wines for your garden party

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