For centuries, one type of sparkling wine has dominated conversations among restaurateurs. Champagne. It’s the best-known fizz in the world and while it doesn’t have the highest production — the Italians and their Prosecco beat the French by about 300 million bottles a year — there isn’t a sparkling wine out there with a better reputation.
But is it justified? Emily Roux isn’t so sure. Recently, she and her father Michel Roux Jr held a lunch at her Notting Hill restaurant Caractére, where the pair secretly swapped out the French fizz in favour of English sparkling wine from Chapel Down. Those there thought they were attending the launch of a new cuvée from France. Not so. While the day was ostensibly a celebration of Champers, as the ruse was revealed it became a day of appreciation for home-grown English sparkling wine.
