Wimbledon gets its very own champagne
Plus: Jam sessions with Jah Wobble, barbecues for charity and £400,000 put aside for culture, sports and community projects in Merton
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It’s the middle of summer, though it might not feel like it. For those of you not tempted by a holiday abroad, we’ve got you covered. This week’s edition is all about having fun in Wimbledon. There are comic book masterclasses, jam sessions with famous musicians, properties to salivate over and barbecues to attend. We’ve also got an informative interview with Wimbledon Brewery founder Mark Gordon — in it, he tells us all about Wimbledon’s brand new champagne, Wimbledon White.
Please send in your photos of the week and keep commenting on the posts below. Shoot me an email if you have an idea for an interview, a conversation starter, an event that needs covering or a story that needs telling: zak@thewimble.com
I think that’s all for now. Happy reading!
News snippets 🗞
💸 More than £400,000 will be given to the Borough of Merton to enhance culture, sport and community projects — Merton’s Cabinet has allocated the money to three key projects in a bid to enhance the area’s amenities. Merton has also been awarded the Cultural Impact Award by the London Borough of Culture 2027 programme. Read more here.
🔥 Lithium-ion battery was reportedly the “likely cause” of the fire at the Suez Recycling Centre in Merton — 15 fire engines and 100 firefighters from seven different fire stations all helped to tackle the blaze on Saturday. Reports are also coming in that the centre was reopened yesterday for public use. Read more here and here.
🌹 South London Botanical Institute take a walk through Merton to raise funds for Wandsworth and Merton Green Parties — the group, led by Roy Vickery, raised £95 for the Green Party, which a spokesperson said will help “spread the word on environmental issues” around the local area. Read more here.
📉 New study finds that Wimbledon’s young men live longer than in most London boroughs — a new interactive map finds that Hackney North & Stoke Newington have the highest mortality rate in young men with 702.5 per 100,000 people. Wimbledon’s rate came in at 278.9. To read about the charities trying to tackle these statistics and to see the full map, click here.
🛑 Disruption between Wimbledon and Waterloo this week — on Wednesday 24th July a fire near the tracks caused delays and disturbances for commuters. Read National Rail’s announcement here.
Property of the week 🏡
Why go on holiday when your home looks like this? If this isn’t luxury then I don’t know what is. Look at that study. Think of all the memoirs a person can write in there. Think of all the cups of tea a person can slurp on whilst sinking into a Chesterfield chair. Think of all the rainy days sitting behind a desk looking out through the bay window. If I had £9,500,000, I know what I’d spend it on. Check out more here.
Put the Moët back in the fridge — Wimbledon has its own champagne.
I like local things. I like local beers, local restaurants and local produce. I also like champagne, but when is champagne really “local”? The answer is never, until now. Last week I sat down with Mark Gordon, founder of Wimbledon Brewery, to talk about Wimbledon’s new champagne, Wimbledon White. Made by independent producers in France, this champagne is a beautiful blend designed to capture the very essence of a Wimbledon summer.
Z: What was the idea behind the Wimbledon White?
M: We’ve always championed independent producers. The world is increasingly dominated by big brands. If you try to get an independently-owned beer in Wimbledon you’ll struggle. So the idea behind the champagne is the same as it is for all of our drinks: other than making our own excellent spirits and drinks, we want to curate other independent producers’ drinks.
And where did the idea for a champagne come from?
I was spending a lot of time in France and thought, why don’t I take the opportunity to go to Champagne and meet with independent producers and bring some samples back? [Laughs] Tough job, Zak, but someone’s gotta do it. I wanted something evocative of Wimbledon’s summer. At the time, we were doing a special beer for Virgin Atlantic and they sent over some of their highly trained staff to try the champagne samples. In the end, we got them to do a straw poll and Wimbledon White was the winner.
Talk to me about the champagne itself.
It’s a Grand Cru Champagne. Only 10% of champagnes are Grand Cru [check out this handy explanation of crus here]. You have lower level champagnes [villages] that are only 80%. Then there’s Premier Cru which is 90-99% and then you have a Grand Cru which is 100% because the terroir is perfect.
It’s 35% chardonnay and 65% pinot noir — is that why you chose it?
We tried a huge range. One of the issues you deal with is not just the grape variety but the dosage: the sugar they put into the second fermentation in the bottle. Now, Moët and Veuve Clicquot are all around eight grams of sugar, which is still pretty dry. Wimbledon White is around seven. Personally, I like them even drier. I’ve been talking with some of the independents in Champagne about getting a champagne that’s zero grams of sugar.
Would you say that wine is quite complicated for people who aren’t in the know?
We did an event with Time & Leisure the other night and I realised that a lot of people know very little about champagne. They’ve been drinking it all of their lives but they don’t really know much about it. I’m not saying that in a negative way. I just think it’s nice with something like Wimbledon White where you can get it in front of people, talk about it and start to build a greater appreciation for something they’ve been consuming all of their lives. It’s also great that we’re doing it with independent farmers. There are 4,000 producers of champagne grapes but they’re dominated by six big houses. Of the 300 million bottles of champagne produced, Moët makes 40 million and so does Veuve Clicquot. People get used to drinking that and end up wanting a brand more than anything else.
What are your ambitions for Wimbledon White and beyond?
It took us quite a while to get the product into the country because of the joy that is Brexit. So this year is really all about getting the champagne out and getting it known. Then it’s about marketing and getting it into as many Wimbledon establishments as possible. I’d also like to make a Chablis and then we have our gin which we’ll be distilling. We’re also going to be doing a whiskey — that’s a longer project because whiskey has to be aged in oak barrels for a minimum of three years. When will that be ready … 2028! Oh my goodness, that’s a long way away.
Is the dream to get the champagne into the tennis — take over from Lanson?
No, not really. We [at the brewery] like to talk about there being more to Wimbledon than the tennis. Wimbledon is a place where town meets country and I want to use places with those associations. I want to be trumpeting the other important and brilliant things about Wimbledon.
Wimbledon White is available to buy on the brewery’s website now.
Photo of the week 📸
Thank you to Gillian Darlington for the photo of the week. This picture was taken on one of the “friendly walks” organised by Gillian herself. Keep sending the photos in: zak@thewimble.com
Word Salad 🥗
We’ve gained quite a few subscribers since our first Word Salad, so I think it’s best we lay down the ground rules again.
The theme this week is “London Bridges”.
The rules are simple. The length of the words you are looking for are at the bottom and are in alphabetical order. Hold you finger on one of the labels for a clue. You can make words diagonally and in any direction.
Click here to play.
If you fancy playing more Word Salads, download the app for iOS or Android.
The Wimble’s to do list
🍗 BBQ fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support — take your friends and family along to a good old fashioned barbecue this weekend. There will be fizz, steaks, dessert wines and good vibes — and it’s all for charity. Tickets can be purchased from Lindi Roe. Her email is lindiroe@blueyonder.co.uk
Where: 9 Parkside Gardens, SW19
When: Sunday 28th July.
💥 Comic book and writing masterclass — professional artist Yaz Crouch is at the Polka Theatre this week running a session for children on how to create a comic book: drafting ideas, drawing and writing your characters in a classic comic book style, and finally sharing your own comic books at the end of the day. You can see her process above. Book your tickets here.
🎸 Tuned In with Jah Wobble — join acclaimed musician Jah Wobble (John Wardle, former bass player and founding member of PiL) in Wimbledon on Monday night for a jam session. Tuned In began in 2019 as a project aiming to tackle loneliness in the Merton area. The session is open to anyone who would like to meet new people, play a bit of music and get their creative juices flowing. Particular focus is placed on men who are 50+ experiencing loneliness, but the event is open to all. Check out more here.
Where: Wimbledon Library
When: Monday 29th July, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
🙏 Seated Tai Chi — head over to Wimbledon Quarter next Wednesday for a relaxing session of seated Tai Chi. Though it will be free to attend, please make sure you book your space in advance. The Quarter will be running two 30-minute sessions. Reserve your space here.
Where: Wimbledon Quarter
When: Wednesday 31st July, 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM / 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Question of the week 🔍
Last week I asked you why there is a farming locality named after Wimbledon in New Zealand. The answer: a resident shot a bullock from a considerable distance. The year was 1880 and it was deemed a shot worthy of the shooting competition held in Wimbledon, England at the time.
Q: What year was Wimbledon absorbed into the Borough of Merton?
You’re up to date 👋
Thank you for tuning-in this week. Please comment below, shout out any upcoming events and get in touch if you have something you want to say: zak@thewimble.com. Stay tuned for upcoming features and collaborations with events throughout the town. For now, enjoy the rest of your week, take it easy and let’s hope we get some sustained sun.