Still longing for your invite to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding? While you might not be one of the lucky guests, you can still enjoy a taste of the wedding with a glass of Chapel Down.
Via Food & Wine, rumor has it that Chapel Down will be the wine of choice at Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal nuptials. This English wine was also served at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011 as well as a recent Kensington Palace event hosted by Prince Harry.
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Since its start in 2001, Chapel Down Winery built its name on sparkling wines grown in Kent. Kent is one of England’s prime wine growing regions. It boasts the same chalky, limestone-rich soil as Champagne, creating the perfect growing conditions for sparkling wine. Now, as interest in English wines grows, Chapel Down Winery is rapidly becoming an industry leader.
The winery is also seeing growing success with emerging varietals. In particular, a white wine made from the Bacchus grape is being touted as “England’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc”. Bacchus is a hybrid of of Riesling, Sylvaner, and Muller Thurgau, and boasts the same tropical aromatics and crisp acidity as Sauvignon Blanc. Additionally, their Union Red is a blend of Pinot Noir, Regent, Rondo, and early Pinot Noir.
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Now, onto the real question. How can one obtain Chapel Down wines? The brand is readily available in the U.K., but not in the U.S.
For U.S. residents, online seems to be the key. We were able to find two Chapel Down sparkling wines on wine.com: the non-vintage Brut Classic ($45) and the non-vintage Brut Rosé ($53). To note, this is a significant markup from the cost of buying the wine in the U.K., where the Brut Classic is just £23 per bottle ($32). You can also order the wines directly from ChapelDown.com. However, their website states that there will be a significant shipping cost.
Tip: U.K. residents, stock up now. Prices are bound to rise again as Chapel Down continues to grace more royal tables. Prices have already risen compared to just two months ago, when Food & Wine cited a price of under $18 per bottle.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for Chapel Down when Prince Harry and Megan Markle tie the knot.