La Mare Winery Visit
Wine Travel Experts were honoured to do a VIP tour of La Mare Wine Estate in Jersey this April. Established in 1972, La Mare is a fascinating place to visit. The only winery on the island of Jersey, and home to a growing range of delicious wines and spirits.
As with everything on the island, La Mare is serene and beautifully presented. From the moment you walk up the manicured pathways, you find yourself in a calm and tranquil green space, where the vines, restaurant, and children’s play area all share the same green space. This is a winery with a difference – a place where the whole family is welcome to come and enjoy. Children can even join in on the winery tour, enjoying samples of chocolate and grape juice.
We spent time with the talented Jordi Sanvicens Moreno, La Mare’s winemaker who has built his career making wine in off the beaten track locations. After six years making wine in Indonesia, Jordi has made Jersey his new home. He now oversees the production of not only red, white and rose wines, but also some really innovative ciders and spirits. La Mare is a boutique winery, producing just 12,000 litres of wine each year – all of which is consumed in the Channel Islands. That’s right, unless you want to taste the bottles we’ve brought home with us, you have to travel to Jersey to enjoy these tasty wines!
A brief experiment with Pinot Noir saw the viticultural team realise that the grapes that grow best in Jersey are similar to those grown in England. Here you’ll find the white wine varietals are comprised of Seyval Blanc, Orion and Sauvignac, with Rondo and Regent the red grapes of choice.
Our favourite wine of the tasting was the Perquage Rose 2025. This is a blend of Seyval Blanc, Regent and Rondo varietals, producing a lightly colour rose wine. Think Provence rose, but with a backbone of orange peel and white peach notes. We loved the history of the name of this wine too. The word Perquage dates back to the days when those who had committed a crime in Jersey were allowed to take sanctuary in the local church for a week. On their 7th day of refuge, they would have a choice; face the authorities and pay for their crime, or walk along the Perquage path and leave Jersey for good. The Perquage path was a coastal one-way path, meaning you would have to take your chances swimming to the nearest land; depending on where you were on the island, this could be Guernsey or Nova Scotia!
La Mare is on the same latitude as Champagne, so it is no surprise that the Champagne method production is a feature at La Mare… although in a truly novel way. Jordi and the team take pride in their cider production, with a second fermentation in bottle production cider made this year. It is currently ageing and the anticipated launch date is 9th May – Liberation Day!
Aside from wine and cider, La Mare also boasts a beautiful copper still that makes the estate’s own gin, vodka and liqueurs. The apple brandy cream liqueur was delicious – especially as it was served in an edible chocolate cup!
As if this wasn’t enough, La Mare is the lead producer of Jersey’s unique (and moreish) Black Butter. Black Butter is a traditional blend of apples, cider, lemons, sugar, mixed spices, liquorice and a splash of their very own cider. The Black Butter is turned into spreads, fudge and much more. We were blown away by the variety of delicious drinks and foods produced at La Mare, making visiting La Mare a must for any gastronome exploring Jersey.
