What is Madeleine Angevine?

What is Madeleine Angevine

Join us as we take a deep dive into what is Madeleine Angevine, the first vines we welcomed into our home at Alder Vineyard.

After tasting a delicious bottle, or two (such a chore) of Madeliene Angevine from other local vineyards, our love affair with this deliciously crisp grape variety blossomed. We soon had our first delivery of young Madeleine Angevine vines ready to start on our English wine journey. But what is Madeleine Angevine? Where did it come from? And why do we love it so much?

 

Origin - What is Madeleine Angevine

Where did it come from?

Now, this bit is going to be a bit more technical, so stick with us. There are a few different grape varieties known as Madeleine Angevine, with the original being from the famous Loire Valley in central France. The original variety was formed from a cross between two grapes, Madeleine Royale and Précoce de Malingre.

The Loire is home to a lot of the varieties you will be used to seeing, from Sauvignon blanc to Pinot noir. So why haven’t we heard of Madeleine Angevine before? Well, France’s wine industry is made up of appellations, these are specific areas and rules only allow for certain grape varieties to be included in wines from these regions. An example of an appellation in France is Sancerre, an area in the Loire Valley, where wines can only be labelled as Sancerre if they are produced from Sauvignon blanc or Pinot noir grapes. When these appellations were formed Madeleine Angevine wasn’t included and as a result, isn’t grown as much in the Loire Valley (Wine folly have a great guide to Loire valley wines here). But in the growing UK wine industry, Madeliene Angevine is proving to be very popular, especially in the south-west as it fits our cooler climate and doesn’t mind a little rain. It certainly seems to thrive on our south fasting slopes on the edge of Dartmoor.

 

Origin - What is Madeleine AngeGrowing - What is Madeleine Angevine

What’s it like to grow?

Now we’d hesitate to say growing vines is easy, but as grape varieties go Madeleine Angevine is not too over-demanding. Growth on the vines is quite steady so they don’t get as out of control as our Rondo sometimes can! They love bathing in the sunshine on our Devon slopes and enjoy a good soaking, which is good as we all know, it’s not always sunshine in England. The only yearly battle we have is with wasps, they just love the sweet smell of the juicy Madeleine grapes, we do too! but the wasps have to share. Thankfully over the years, we have started to perfect controlling the number of wasps around the vines so we can make sure there is plenty for us all.

 

Taste - What is Madeleine Angevine

How does it taste?

Madeleine Angevine makes a beautifully delicate wine that is pale in colour, off-dry and gloriously fruity. Our 2018 vintage is brimming with hand-picked juicy grapes, filling your glass with fruity overtones of melon, apple and gooseberry. Delicious! It pairs perfectly with fresh Devon seafood, chicken or light pasta dishes and we recommend serving a bottle perfectly chilled (4°C).

 

Love - What is Madeleine Angevine

Why do we love it?

I mean you just have to taste a glass to answer that one, we love the refreshing, crisp delight a glass brings. Madeleine Angevine will always be our first variety, these hardy vines grew with us and nurtured our love for English wine as we learnt to care for them. Alder and Madeliene are a perfect pair, the vines thrive year on year, are a true delight to care for and make an even tastier glass at the end of the year.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our deep dive into what is Madeleine Angevine, and if we have tempted you to give it a taste check out our latest vintages here.

Adam Birch

Adam Birch

Head of creativity
Share on...

join our vine club

Scroll to Top

Welcome to the club!

We are so glad you decided to join us. We have just sent you an email to confirm your email address then you’ll be a fully-fledged member of our Vine Club.

We have your Booking!

We will check our availability and be in touch soon to discuss your private group tour booking via email. 

Breakfast Club - Offer

To celebrate Breakfast Club now being served Wed-Sun we are offering 15% OFF all our breakfast plates when you join us on a Wed or Thu throughout March  – Learn more

We are Covid secure

Yours and our teams safety is our number 1 priority. We have made a number of changes in the vines to keep us all safe. This is under constant review and will be updated when the government advice changes.

safe travels

We have been verified by Visit England as ‘Good to go’

Social distancing

Please keep to a 2m distance when you visit. We have set all our tables at least 1.5m apart and do recommend face coverings in all indoor areas. Our team will still be wearing face covering when around you too.

Tables size limits

To continue to keep us safe in the vines we are keeping our tables limited to 10 people. We can accommodate larger groups but please get in touch to discuss any 10+ bookings with us.

Hand washing & cleaning

We have introduced a number of hand cleaning stations and guests are required to use hand sanatisor on entry. Our team are washing their hands between each customer and we are disinfecting all tables and chairs between use.

Payment

We are offering table service in the kitchen and advice using contactless or card payments where possible.

We have your Booking!

We will check our availability and be in-touch soon to confirm your table via email.

Booking for today?
Please call us on 01566 783 409 as we may not get to your email in time. 

We have your entry!

We’ve got our fingers crossed for you. We will send you an email to confirm your entry and we will be back in touch once the competition closes. Good luck!

By using our site you are accepting our cookies. We use cookies to help our site tingle your visual taste buds! Find out more