* Amps Team Wine of the Year 2024, chosen by Philip*

By Philip Amps

“As some of you may know I have been occasionally rude about English wine in the past, but it has come such a long way. Just before Covid struck, I attended an informal dinner with a number of other wine merchants at Henners vineyard in East Sussex, hosted by the winemaker. She told us that she had been offered some really good fruit from other growers, but she did not have any use for it. A discussion started within the group as to why don’t we take it and try to make a good, honest and great value English sparkling wine. Many glasses of wine later the idea was formed and then the hard work began!

To shorten a very long story and lots of hiccups on route, Amps is now a shareholder in Native Grace Brut MV, made by Henners. There are ten shareholders, all independent wine merchants, with an investment by Henners, who provide the winemaking expertise and the winery.

We sourced fruit from growers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent and Sussex, and our winemaker Collette O’Leary, put the blend together for us. It was aged for two years on lees then rested for six months before labelling, and now it’s on the market!

We took over an old Henners label to save on design costs and we won’t be putting a foil over the bottle, as this will help the environment and save costs. The first 4000 bottles will also be packaged in gift boxes, as Henners had some boxes left over from the previous Native Grace.

So our first investment into our own wine and we are rather proud of what we have produced… give it a try!”

Gently persistent fizz with great depth of flavour. Richer and rounder than most. Apple, spice and sweet pastry aromas accompanied by candied citrus and brioche notes on the palate. Balanced acidity and mouth-wateringly long length.