A South Downs vineyard produces the Government’s favourite wine, and it is a red. Ridgeview Wine Estate near Hassocks produced the most popular wine in the Government wine cellar, with more than 350 bottles drunk in the last two years. It was announced that more than 5,500 bottles of wine and spirits were drunk from the wine cellar since 2022.
According to a biennial report on the wine cellar, 306 bottles of Ridgeview’s Cavendish red were consumed in 2022/23 and another 66 in 2023/24. The vintage, costing £36 a bottle, is described as “a delicious foodie wine” on the Ridgeview website. The wine has tasting notes of red berries, almond and toast and is best paired with duck, trout or charcuterie, the estate said.
Around two-thirds of the wine drunk over the past two years was British, the new report suggests. The wine collection is meant to “provide guests of the government, from home and overseas, with wines of appropriate quality at reasonable cost”. Founded in 1922 and located in the basement of Lancaster House in Westminster, the wine cellar includes an 1878 cognac and 1964 Krug champagne in its collection.
It is managed by the Government Wine Committee, which is chaired by a retired senior diplomat and consists of four qualified masters of wine. The committee advises on both the buying and selling of wine, with the collection intended to be “self-financing”. Thursday’s report shows the Government spent £47,327 buying new wine in 2022/23 and £49,862 in.