Queen elizabeth ii starts making fizzy wine 20170209 p5prs8.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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This was published 9 years ago

The Queen has a shiny new job title to add to the incredibly long list

Natalie Cornish

Her full title is already quite the mouthful — 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith' — so you'd think that Queen Elizabeth II wouldn't want to add to it. But, the 90-year-old monarch is now a British sparkling wine maker, too.

Her majesty — who celebrated 65 years on the throne this week, making her Britain's longest serving monarch — had more than 16,000 vines planted in Windsor Great Park, near Windsor Castle six years ago. In 2013, the grapes, which include chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, were harvested, fermented, blended and aged. Then, three months ago, the first bottles of royal sparkling wine hit the shelves. They sold out in minutes. Now, a second batch from the Queen's vineyard is set to be released this spring.

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The Chief Executive of the family run estate who blended the grapes in to wine, Tamara Roberts told the Daily Mail that Royal Windsor Wine is "very good". She added that within the next decade, the vineyard could be producing 20,000 bottles annually.

Bottles are expected to retail for around $57 each. And, while many collectors will want to see their investment increase in value, Roberts says "it's impossible to guess how much it might be worth one day". She also adds that the first batch should be consumed by 2025.

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