“Come quickly for I am tasting the stars!”
Champagne has long been associated with celebration. It is said that Dom Perignon himself, when serendipitously discovering “fizzy wine”, said to his fellow Benedictine monks “Come quickly for I am tasting the stars!” – a cause for celebration from the get go.
By the time champagne production had been perfected, due in no small part to the discovery by English scientist Christopher Merret of what would become known as “dosage” (and the not insignificant problem of exploding bottles had been overcome) the taste for champagne, its rarity, and expense all added to the evolving tradition of celebrations being accompanied by bubbles.
And so it is apt that the Quob Park’s own sparkling wine making journey got fully underway with a celebration.
On the 25th June 2008, Quob Park founders Rob and Tracey Terry married at St Nicholas Church in Wickham, Hampshire, before going on for photos and to celebrate here at Quob Park Estate.
To celebrate the festivities, an English Quality Sparkling Wine was sought, but having tried many of those available on the market at the time, none were found that lived up to expectations.
In lieu of a suitable English Sparkling Wine, three of their favourite fine Champagnes were selected: a Perrier-Jouët for arrival drinks, Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque for the meal, and a 1993 Vintage Louis Roederer Cristal for the toast. These Champagnes together with the Terry Family’s favourite day to day Champagne of Veuve Cliquot, and Rob and Tracey’s favourite Champagne from their honeymoon – a Vintage Dom Perignon Rosé, acted as the inspiration, and implanted the desire to create what would become Quob Park’s Exceptional English Sparkling Wines.
After extensive research, consultation, planning and investment, and having ruled out the procurement of an established vineyard in the area from as early as 2001 (when Quob Park was first acquired by the Terry family) due to quality concerns, the first vines were planted at Quob Park Estate in 2015, and so the Quob Park winemaking journey began in earnest. However, Exceptional English Sparkling Wines were first commissioned, under the Quob Park Estate brand, by the Terry family, from much earlier with some Vintages available dating back as early as 2013.
Following a great deal of hard work, effort, love and passion from the dedicated Quob Park family and extended family team of winemakers, including our award winning winemaking partners, the first early tasting of our 2018 Vintage Heritage Prestige Cuvée Rosé was held on the 25th of June 2020 – coinciding with both the celebration of both Rob and Tracey’s 12th wedding anniversary, and the 900 year anniversary of St Nicholas church – the image of which appears on every bottle of Quob Park English Quality Sparkling Wine.
