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March 10, 2015

PRESS RELEASE: Her Majesty The Queen to name P&O Cruises’ new ship Britannia with Wiston Estate

Wiston_Britannia

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, will name the new P&O Cruises vessel Britannia at Ocean Terminal, Southampton, SO14 3QN, on Tuesday March 10, 2015 with English sparkling wine Wiston Estate.

P&O Cruises upholds its celebration of all things British by selecting sparkling wine from the Wiston Estate Winery in Sussex for the bottle smash moment at the naming ceremony. A nebuchadnezzar (equal to 21 regular bottles) of the quintessentially British Brut NV will be used for the ceremony itself while thousands of bottles of Brut NV and Rosé Vintage 2011 will be enjoyed during the various inaugural events that are scheduled to take place around the launch.

Rebecca Palmer, buyer for Corney & Barrow, Wiston Estate’s UK agent and distributor, says of the announcement:

“Wiston’s wines are delicious and fine; the estate’s star quality shone through at our first tasting with Dermot and the Goring family 5 years ago and remains true today. P&O Cruises’ decision to choose Wiston for such an important ceremony is incredibly exciting not just in recognising Wiston’s excellence, but also in championing the potential of the entire English sparkling wine scene.”

Olly Smith, wine expert for P&O Cruises, helped to choose the perfect English sparkling wine to celebrate the launch of the biggest ship to be built for the UK market. Olly Smith commented:

“I selected Wiston Estate to launch Britannia thanks to its impeccable quality and for its poise between modernity and tradition. Wiston stands for passion and pride as a technically masterful English sparkling wine producer since 2006 with heritage as a farming estate stretching back to 1743. But the main reason is because its bubbly is irresistibly delicious!”

The beautiful, family-run Wiston Estate is nestled in the heart of England’s rolling South Downs in West Sussex. Employing time-honoured methods Wiston produces sparkling wines of exceptional finesse and quality at the hand of its intuitive and talented winemaker Dermot Sugrue, using Britain’s only traditional Coquard press. Four nebuchadnezzars (the equivalent of 21 bottles) of Wiston Estate Brut NV have been specially commissioned for the naming ceremony of Britannia. In addition many more bottles of Brut NV and Wiston Estate Rosé 2011 will be enjoyed during the various inaugural events that are scheduled to take place around the launch.

Pip, Harry and Richard Goring of Wiston Estate said:

“Our family has been the custodian of the Wiston Estate in West Sussex for hundreds of years. However, it is only recently that we have realised our long-held dream to make sparkling wine here in the South Downs. We are delighted that Wiston Estate Brut has been chosen to name Britannia on the historic occasion of her launch.”

Wiston Estate Brut NV is a dry, refreshing and elegant sparkling wine, with a fine complex finish that combines youthful purity of fruit with more mature characters from long lees-ageing.

Notes:

Wiston Estate

Vineyard planting began in 2006 on an escarpment of pure chalk. Grapes are hand harvested and gently pressed in Britain’s only traditional Coquard press, one of only four outside France’s Champagne region.

Wiston Estate Brut NV

34% Chardonnay 33% Pinot Noir 33% Pinot Meunier. Hand harvested. Traditional basket press achieving only the finest, purest juice. Secondary fermentation in bottle. Long maturation (36 months on lees followed by 12 months in bottle) promoting slow, natural autolysis. Dosage: 9 g/l. Alcohol: 12% Price: £24.95 per bottle.

P&O Cruises and Britannia

Britannia, a new 141,000 ton ship and the largest ship built for the British cruise market, will be added to P&O Cruises’ fleet in March 2015.

Corney & Barrow

At 230 years old, Corney & Barrow is one of the longest established Independent Wine Merchants in the UK. Corney & Barrow currently holds two Royal Warrants, as suppliers to HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince of Wales.

To buy Wiston Estate wines please visit the Corney & Barrow website.

 

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