Wine & Food

The cuisine of the Sussex coast and the sparkling wines of the Downs are linked by the very same cool, salty air. What ends up on the plate here is rarely heavy, but often mineral-driven and lightly salty – exactly the kind of setting where high acidity and a fine mousse work better than sheer power.

Selsey crab and scallops from Rye Bay call for a Blanc de Blancs, a sparkling wine made purely from Chardonnay. Its taut citrus edge lifts the natural sweetness of the crabmeat without masking it. The carbonation cuts through the scallop's richness like a squeeze of lemon.

Southdown lamb is a different story. The breed was developed some two hundred years ago by the farmer John Ellman near Glynde. Its meat carries the flavor of thyme and small snails the sheep graze on the Downland pasture, giving it a faintly herbal, wild character. A more robust rosé, high in Pinot Noir, suits this far better than any pale Blanc de Blancs.

With Sussex Charmer, a hard, Parmesan-like cheese, it's best to open a longer-aged cuvée, since salt softens and rounds out the acidity in the wine, so a sparkling wine that seemed austere on its own suddenly tastes far more approachable alongside the cheese.

When it comes to Sussex Pond Pudding, the suet-crust pudding steamed with a whole caramelized lemon inside, dry sparkling wine falls completely flat. Against so much butter, sugar, and acidity from the lemon peel, you need a noticeably sweeter, off-dry style. Otherwise, even the finest Sussex sparkling wine will taste thin and sour by comparison.