WHAT'S THE DRAW?
In 1982, British businessman Sir Peter Michael bought Sonoma County’s Sugarloaf Ranch with a clear mission in mind: “to produce handcrafted single-vineyard wine in the terroir-driven tradition of Burgundy and Bordeaux, under the California sun and in California soil.”
At the time, it was an unprecedented challenge, but thanks to some dogged determination – plus a little assistance from some of the biggest names in winemaking (not least Helen Turley, Mark Aubert and brothers Luc and Nicolas Morlet) – Croydon’s most celebrated vintner now owns three of Napa Valley’s most revered wine estates. Seven of his wines have placed in Wine Spectator’s list of the world’s top 100 wines, four in the top 10. Eleven have received 100 points from the Wine Advocate, and plenty of others have received 99 points.
Largely to showcase these achievements, in 1998, Sir Peter opened the five-star Vineyard Hotel & Spa in not-so-sunny Berkshire. Since then, the hotel’s wine cellar – often described as a temple to Californian wine – has steadily ballooned and now boasts over 30,000 bottles, 100 of which can be enjoyed by the glass. The hotel has also won its fair share of awards (including, over the years, various Michelin stars) but in that time it may have hosted too many conferences to be considered “cool”. Which, in a way, makes it something of a hidden gem.
The dining room at The Vineyard
WHAT TO EAT
If The Vineyard’s wine sets the bar high, its food certainly meets the challenge. There are three restaurants here, two of which are 3 AA Rosette rated, but we’d argue in favour of The Tasting Room. Here, Executive Chef Tom Scade (who trained under John Williams MBE at The Ritz, London) creates five-course seasonal tasting menus that showcase the wine, naturally, but also his take on modern Californian cuisine.
In reality, it’s more like 10 courses but half take longer to admire than they do to eat. Indeed, Scade’s dishes are undeniably miniature works of art, presented and elucidated (in our case) by a charming young waiter with the same reverence they use to describe the works at Claredon’s, the fine art gallery just down the road. Scade does well to remind us of California where possible (tacos are an easy shoe in) but it’s dishes like Badger Flame Beetroot, one of a handful that showcase produce from the hotel’s kitchen garden, that really demonstrate what he’s capable of. The damsen choux farci accompanying the Merrifield Farm duck is an inspired twist on the traditional French approach to dressing up a cabbage.
For Autumn, the wine pairings seem decidedly light on Californians but for the Pahlmeyer 2019 which goes up against Bordeaux’s Château du Domaine de l’Eglise 2017 in the menu’s signature blind tasting. It’s a canny marketing ploy. Guess which people tend to prefer…
A deluxe suite at The Vineyard
Simon Brown
WHAT TO DO
Given the hotel’s location just outside Newbury, The Vineyard makes a convenient base for those heading to the races, whether that’s Donington Motor Circuit or Newbury Race Course. Highclere Castle isn’t far away either. Generally speaking though, this is a hotel for weekending wine buffs who aren’t looking to go too far.
Admittedly, most are of an age that suggests they may not have work on Monday (and likely listen to Classical FM – also founded by Sir Peter, in 1992), which is convenient given the Vineyard’s USP. But increasingly, the hotel is welcoming a younger demographic. “The core tenets haven’t changed,” says Andrew McKenzie, the hotel’s Managing Director. “We put the guests front and centre, but looking back we were perhaps a bit too formal in the early days. We’ve relaxed over the years and made a conscious effort to make our offer more accessible. These days we call it ‘Relaxed Luxury.’’
Of course, any luxurious and relaxing weekend wouldn’t be complete without at least a couple of hours in the spa, purging oneself of the previous evening’s Cuvée Indigène (it’s wise given how much more there is where that came from). While you’re there, the Regenerating Hip-To-Toe Treatment might sound like another one for the oldies, but give it a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
