“I don’t like to tell people how a wine should taste,” says Master of Wine Jo Ahearne. My job is to guide and answer questions and let people discover and explore themselves.”
THE Angel Wine Club is hosted in one of the city’s oldest free houses, The Angel pub, 6 Angel Street, in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter is a haven for ale enthusiasts and a “proper boozer.”
It was recently recognised by The Telegraph as one of the 500 best pubs in England. Its Sunday lunches have become the stuff of legends courtesy of talented local chef Dan England, who heads up the kitchen.
The pub belongs to the award-winning wine merchants, Carringtons Fine Wines. Carringtons was founded by Ciaran Keaney and his late brother Michael in the 1990s. They were fed up with only southerners having access to the best wines.
The Wine Club is held in the top room. It’s an invitation only club dedicated to the joy of “hanging out, talking wine and drinking top-tier vintages.”
“Forget stuffy classes,” the website states. “This is a social, relaxed environment. Jo will take you through a through a selection of 6 premium wines and a mystery wine on the last Thursday of each month.
Who is Jo Ahearne?
Jo is one of only 400 Master of Wines in the world and she certainly knows her stuff. Born and bred a Cockney, she spent 10 years making wine in South Australia, was a buyer and blender for M&S and head of wines at Harrods.
She has worked her way around Europe including consultancy projects in Macedonia, Romania, Beaujolais, Hungary, and Provence. She produced her own wines in the village of Vrisnik on the island of Hvar, Croatia until Covid hit and she returned to the UK to work for Northern wine distributor Boutinot. She started a UK wine and cider project Gander (her mother’s maiden name) and does tastings and wine consultancies in between.
Her philosophy is simple:
“Fine wine isn’t about labels, it’s about personality, elegance, depth, truth.”
Today she is turning her attention to the exciting evolution of English, Welsh and Irish wine. Her interest was sparked by a Gusbourne vineyard Chardonnay that impressed her with its Burgundian depth and a Welsh red from Vale Vineyards in North Wales with its freshness and crunch.
Wines of GB sparkling wine tasting
Eatnorth attended the Wines of Great Britain sparkling wine tasting in May. Wines produced in Great Britain have grown up. They recently won 25 Gold Medals in the International Wine Challenge 2026.
Starting with an aperitivo, a Negroni made with Barolo Chinoto. The intimate group of a maximum of 14 curious wine lovers were soon taken on a journey through 6 wines retailing from £25 to just under £100 a bottle and a mystery wine that shocked us all.
Sparkling discovery
Whinyard Rocks Powys Col Rondo 2023
Grapes: 100% Rondo
“Refreshingly crisp and fruity sparkling red with freshly picked blackberries on the nose and palate.”
Made in the Italian Col Fondo ‘ancestral method’ of re-fermentation in the bottle without disgorgement. Unfiltered, no fining and fermented with indigenous wild yeast.
Serve: lightly chilled at 13°C. Enjoy as an aperitif. Perfect with a mezze or grazing board. ABV:10% Vegan.
Whinyard Rocks is a small-scale low-intervention vineyard on a fourth-generation sheep farm. The name is taken from a distinctive outcrop of exposed late Silurian rock on the farm.
In 2017, James and Susan moved from London with the dream of making wine on the family farm. They planted 800 vines by hand. The vineyard now contains 5 white grape varieties: Solaris, Phoenix, Muscaris, Ortega and Bacchus and two red grape varieties: Rondo and Regent.
No added sulphur.
Carringtons £25 (awaiting new vintage).
Lost in a Field Frolic Pét-Nat 2024 produced from two English counties, Herefordshire in the west and Kent in the east.
“A very English vintage. Cool and challenging.”
Grapes: Reichensteiner 59%, Herefordshire Madeleine Angevine 39% plus 2% Cabernet Cortis, the latter is a red grape variety with the flesh of the grape being red as well as the skins.
Tim Wildman MW first started making pét-nat in Australia. The wine is made with a contract wine maker in Kent called Define. The wine is called Lost in the field because when Tim was looking for the heritage grape varieties he would literally get lost in a field.
The colour is a purple pink with aromas of strawberry and red cherry, with a touch of fennel, a nod to cooler climate. On the palate, cranberry, red currant fruit and a transportation back to childhood sweets with rhubarb and custard.
“You only need a little Cabernet Cortis to get a vibrant pink, says Jo. “What I like about this is it’s quite a purple pink. It looks alive. The grapes are early ripeners so the acidity is balanced. Tim really slows the process down to get this incredible wine.
ABV: 9.5% 1589 bottles, their smallest production ever!
Lost in a Field is on a mission to rescue the fast-disappearing heritage grape varieties planted in the UK in the last century.
Take a look at their Lost Vineyard Preservation Society. A grassroots movement, bringing together local communities and the UK wine trade through volunteer programmes, crowdsourced funding, and collaborations with like-minded businesses through events such as Lost Under the Stars camping weekends and Harvest Tea Parties.
Carringtons £25.00
1276 Herefordshire Blanc de Blancs NV 2019/2020 blend. Herefordshire.
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay.
“Classic English Sparkling.”
A classic English Traditional Method sparkling wine 12 months on lees with aromatics of green apple, citrus and peaches Clean, fresh, and lively on the palate. Perfect with Lindisfarne Oysters. International Wine Challenge Silver Award 2026.
ABV 11.5%
Carringtons £31.20.
Everflyht East Sussex Single Estate NV Brut. Sussex.
Grapes: 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Meunier plus 5% Reserve Wine as a dosage.
Everflyht is a single estate vineyard set at the foot of Ditchling Beacon in the heart of the South Downs National Park. The name Everflyht’ is inspired by the six Martlets of the Sussex crest symbolising knowledge, adventure, and learning. The birds never land and are always in flight.
Founded by the Ellis family, Ben, Sam, and their three daughters in 2016. It has pioneered regenerative viticulture practices, setting aside 3.5 hectares of land for biodiversity with over 400 trees, wildflower meadows, and 800m of hedgerow around the estate. It’s Cuvée Edition 3 NV was crowned English Sparkling NV Trophy Winner at the International Wine Challenge 2026. Everflyht has a large tasting room with vineyard views, Outdoor terrace for drinks and light-bites and tours are available.
The single estate NV Brut is on lees for 20 months. It is pale golden in colour and with fine consistent bubbles. Aromas of baked apple with bright lemon, baked shortbread. The palate is elegant with ripe red apple and brioche.
Gusbourne Kent Blanc de Blancs 2014. Appledore, Kent.
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
On lees for 40 months. Bright golden in colour, with aromas of preserved lemon, ripe pear, and brioche. The palate is elegant, with candied citrus, stone fruits, and toasted hazelnuts. A complex wine with attractive mineral notes and a long, rounded finish.
Carringtons £70.00
Nytimber Sussex Tillington Vineyard 2013.
Grapes: 73% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay.
“Nyetimber has been instrumental in putting English sparkling wine on the map.”
Established in 1988 by Stuart and Sandy Moss. The winery is named after a farm that dates back to the 11th Century, located near the vineyards.
The wines are produced using traditional Champagne methods. It has 170 hectares planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.
The Tillington Single Vineyard is a limited-edition wine made from a single vineyard site located on the south-facing slopes of the South Downs in West Sussex.
The 2013 vintage is a blend of handpicked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. The wine was aged for 60 months in bottle to develop complexity and depth.
The wine has a pale gold colour. It has aromas of white flowers, citrus and stone fruits along with a it has delicate aromas of white flowers, citrus, and stone fruits, along with a subtle toasty note from the extended aging process. On the palate, the wine is elegant and refined, with flavours of ripe peach, lemon, and brioche. A long and satisfying finish.
ABV: 12%
Carringtons £97.76.
Mystery Wine
Lark & Folly, Sussex
Grapes: Reichensteiner and Huxelrebe.
You will be surprised to know, this wine has 17 years laid down on the lees,” says Jo. When Lost in a Field founder Tim Wildman was literally lost in a field, looking for heritage grape varieties, he wanted to make a Pét-Nat, He was chatting to a young viticulturist in the vineyard of a heritage variety he was looking for, who told him about a gentleman, who a long time ago had planted a vineyard. The owners of the vineyard have still got some of the wine he used to make, but he ran out of steam and didn’t complete the process.
Tim found out he actually had 6000 bottles in his cellar of Reichensteiner and Huxelrebe grape variety sparkling wines that he had made. It had not been disgorged.
In 2003 he took 12 bottles just to make sure the consistency was there and said it was “rather lovely.”
He now buys 500 bottles at a time. The wine had the original crown cap on it and it was rusted. He disgorged and added seven grams of dosage and chose not to put a Champagne cork on it and instead sealed it with a new crown cap. He started this label on it.
“The fact it has 17 years on lees is just bonkers!”
Tasting note: After 10 years you will get a complexity that is not just about texture. It’s like tarte tartin in a glass. The mousse has integrated well giving it a softer, gentler fizz. Lovely balanced acidity. Drinks well as an apéritif but with the structure for roast chicken or pork belly.
Carringtons £36.99
The wines were served with Lindisfarne oysters, charcuterie, cheese and pickles.
Wine Club Monthly Tastings
- 30th July: Burgers and fine wine: join us round the charcoal pit for a selection of burgers and seriously delicious and serious wines.
- 27th August: Albariño v Alvarinho – is it really the white Burgundy of the Iberian Peninsula?
- 24th September: Rioja Alta: Is high altitude the answer to elegance in Rioja?
- 29th October: Jura and Savoie: ghouls and ghosts may abound at this time of year but these wines are merely shrouded in mystery rather than cobwebs and creaking coffins.
- 26th November: Bordeaux: left bank v right bank, luscious v structured, friendly v austere, is it really that simple?
Sign up here to join the wine club
