Suffolk’s Winning Wines

Our Croatian wine loving pals and experts (see sister site Croatia Online - Gold Medal Winning Wines) may well be drowning their sorrows in a swift glass of rakija (grapa) or two when they read this posting. Not only did we experience the quality of Suffolk’s wines today, but it was also suggested to us that grapeseed oil might be more healthy than olive oil. That’s something we will need to sound out our Croatian friends on as, during the whole of our eight years on the Dalmatian Coast, Croatia’s best olive oil was feted as the nearest thing to the fountain of youth available to mankind! See  Croatia Online - Solta The Island Of Olives for more information. Whether or not Croatia simply prefers to process its pips into fiery rakija rather than oil is something to be discovered.

That’s not all we learnt during a fascinating day out at Shawsgate Vineyard and Winery, thanks to cashing in a birthday present “experience voucher”. These Experience Days run from May until the end of August and start with a gentle introduction followed by a trip around the vineyards and then the winery, culminating in a tasting session and a delicious lunch.

Run by a charming  father and son team, a pair of pros if ever there was one, you’ll learn about the whole process of making wine and what makes for a good and bad one. The Shawsgate Winery concentrates on quality rather than quantity and with taxes, duty etc making up nearly the first £4 of any bottle of wine sold in the UK that seems a sensible choice. We tasted some very different and very delicious wines made from grapes that are “squeezed” at less than 2 bars pressure so as not to harm the delicate components that lend the distinctive and superior taste.

Some other great snippets:

1. The highly sophisticated German made pressing machine has every form of technology except something that indicates when the grape juice tray is full. For that Shawsgate use fluid level indicators, normally a favourite of the blind, that vibrate when the liquid reaches the indicator.

2. The rows of vines run from east to west and if you walk between them, you will notice an increase in temperature.

3. There is a science to everything, from the best way to train the vines, through sterilising and cleaning the equipment, to bottling and the stoppers that go in the bottles.

Rather than divulge more of the secrets, have a look at the Shawsgate website and maybe taste some of it yourself. For those that want to debate the pros and cons of the health giving qualities of olive oil and grapeseed oil  have a look at Ehow and the following You Tube link which may offer a bit more than you were looking for!

Rural But Rekindled Redlingfield

The Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project (RCCIP) features heavily in these early postings on Suffolk Online but no more than it deserves. Not only do we get a chance to put a little bit back into the community,  but we also get to explore some of the most remote parts of rural Suffolk.

Redlingfield is a credit to itself, Suffolk and the project. On Tuesday when we visited we were told that there were only 54 homes in the village yet 30 locals turned up for coffee which put the mug collection to the test! Also something of a record we believe across the whole of the county, and all the more impressive as the weather wasn’t great for sitting out on the small village green.

Redlingfield has no pub and no shop and is a prime example of what the RCCIP can help to achieve with a willing, enthusiastic and resourceful local audience. Acting as a catalyst the project provides a periodic focal point to help Redlingfield’s residents get to know each other better, to the extent that the social life of the village seems to have taken off. That’s in addition to the project’s main purpose of bringing helpful information and resources to the doorsteps of isolated communities.

We also had the chance to meet the indomitable founder and inspiration for the project, Sally Fogden. RCCIP was borne out of another cause that Sally put plenty of time and energy into - “Farms in Crisis” - and it seems that the farmers themselves were instrumental in helping Sally  take her fight for help for rural communities to a higher level.

Redlingfield is intrinsically a charming village with plenty of history and much to be proud of, not least the spirit of its community. It also has a great website and local magazine where you can find out more  - Redlingfield. Our only regret is that the demand for refreshments prevented us spending more time chatting to the locals. However a reasonably prompt cup of builders strength tea or coffee was the least we could provide on a cool showery “summer’s day”!

Rising Stars Of “Suffolk”

We’re stretching Suffolk’s borders in this posting, but at least one of our young stars, is so close geographically and in spirit, that I hope readers will excuse the poetic licence.

Suffolk Online was lucky enough to be invited to a local preview of pOperatically Speaking on Sunday and felt that geographical technicalities shouldn’t prevent us sharing it with a wider audience. Such was the talent and presence of the two virtuosos that the fact that they are both just 16 was somewhat irrelevant. It was a spine tingling performance that we would have paid good money for on the professional singing circuit.

pOperatically Speaking is the performance that Callum Bicknell and Emily Stanghan have put together for the Edingburgh Fringe Festival next week. Neither are strangers to public performances and their already established credentials would bring wistful sighs to singers twice their age. Just as excitingly, their style and repertoire breaks the mould of the dumbing down of music that many of us have witnessed over the past few years. Emily, a sparkling Soprano, and Callum, a rich baritone, sing, either solo or as duets, a carefully chosen Robbie William’s number (with a twist) just as easily and powerfully as a Gershwin or Quarantotto/Sartori.

What’s more they’re a grounded and charming pair of young people and blessed with more than just a little help from their multi skilled and multi tasking family who spend almost every spare moment enabling and supporting their many and varied  performances.

If you’re anywhere near Edinburgh between the  9th and 14th August (preview 8th August, 18.45), Emily and Callum are at Augustine’s (Venue 152), 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL for a one hour performance starting at 18.25, tickets £5.50, Box Office 0131 510 0022 or link to Ed Fringe - Poperatically Speaking, to book online.

For more information on the featured stars link to Callum Bicknell and Emily Stanghan

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Reviewed by Jane Cody for Suffolk Online. Jane is a regular reviewer for Time Out publications.