It’s the Cheltenham Festival! - what to drink and who to back
How to prepare for racing's biggest party
As you can probably imagine, Wine Flights doesn’t pay the bills, nor does going around telling everybody how wonderful wine is. That’s why I have a day job, and it just so happens that the coming week is the most important one of the year for my employer, the Racing Post, because the Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday.
Cheltenham (as we shall call it from now on), is a race meeting where the best jumps horses in the world compete against each other. It takes endurance, determination and stamina to succeed – attributes also necessary for spectators, many of whom will be drinking, betting and enjoying the craic.
The meeting runs from Tuesday to Friday and 68,000 (or so) people will visit Cheltenham racecourse each day. Assuming each of these people will consume two alcoholic beverages during racing (and, believe me, that’s an extremely conservative estimate), 544,000 drinks will have been served by the end of the week. And that’s not including the pubs and bars around Britain and Ireland who will be screening the action live via ITV and serving racing enthusiasts throughout the afternoon.
The go-to drink at Cheltenham for many is Guinness, to the extent that a branded ‘Guinness Village’ exists on the racecourse. The attraction of this depends on how much you like Guinness and crowds. The stats suggest loads do, as an estimated 200,000 pints of the stuff will be pulled at the festival.
But what is the perfect pairing for the racing if, like me, you don’t like Guinness? Of course, other drinks can be purchased at the racecourse and there is a comprehensive range of hospitality options. However, it’s extremely pricey to dine and drink there. For example, the hospitality package for Chez Rouz, hosted by Michel Roux Jr, will set you back £1,075, and even hospitality in less-prestigious restaurants on the course will cost around £500. Unlike at Wimbledon, you can’t take your own booze and food in with you, and purchasing a bottle of Champagne at one of the many bars will cost you around £80. Unless you’re lucky enough to get a freebie via corporate hospitality, you’re in for an expensive day.
But you don’t have to venture to Cheltenham to have a great time. ITV will be covering the action every day, so stick on the TV, invite some guests over and pour some decent wine as you drink (and bet) your way through the afternoon.
Unfortunately I’ll be working too hard to partake, but if I was hosting, the following wine flight would go down a treat:
Late morning (to be drunk with nibbles)
You want to be literally salivating over the racing that lies in store, so a good English sparkling wine, with refreshing high acidity as a result of England’s cool climate, fits the bill. I’d go for the Rathfinny Estate Classic Cuvee from East Sussex, which retails at around £30. A cheaper, but reliable alternative is the Chapel Down Classic non-vintage, which you can currently get from Waitrose for £23.99 (reduced from £27).
Lunch
Racing starts at 1.30pm every day, so you’ll want to be eating early, or maybe buffet style, with quiche and pizza slices, is the way to go. A light red or a white would go down very well with a buffet spread. Stick with the English theme and go for the Simpsons Estate Chardonnay from Kent (Waitrose, £12.49 down from £17.49). An interesting alternative is a muscadet from the Loire Valley. It has freshness with a bit of richness from some lees ageing (look for ‘sur lie’ on the label). Most supermarkets stock it, including Aldi’s Specially Selected Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine Sur Lie (£6.99).
If you want red then pinot noir will maintain the freshness vibe. A horse called Mercurey is set to run on either Wednesday or Friday, so if you want to be topical select something from that Burgundy appellation. A top-quality choice would be Domaine Francois Raquillet’s Les Naugues Premier Cru 2021, which is £42.75 from Lea & Sandeman. Let’s hope the horse wins to cover the cost of that one.
A cheaper alternative would be a supermarket New Zealand Marlborough pinot. A horse called Majborough (which is close) is running in the Triumph Hurdle on Friday. I’m not sure why it’s called that, but his sire is called Martinborough, another region in New Zealand renowned for pinot noir, so there’s enough of a connection.
Mid-afternoon (after the big race)
By now the Irish would have won most contests. They have the favourite for the highlight on each day – from Tuesday to Friday in order: Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and the highlight of the meeting, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, so be prepared to raise a toast to that racing-mad country. But what with? Unless you want to try strawberry or raspberry wine (no, me neither), wine is out of the question when it comes to honouring Ireland with its own produce. Whiskey is more like it, and the Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (£44, Waitrose) is a reliable choice.
If whiskey is a bit too hardcore for the afternoon then what about some Madeira cake with some wine from that island. It’s hugely underrated and great value. The Henriques & Henriques 3 Year Old Full Rich Madeira (£13.99 Majestic, £11.99 mix six) is a good introduction to this sweet wine.
Celebrating your winnings
Have some fizz in the fridge ready to celebrate if you’ve managed to back some of the Irish winners. From a value perspective I would shun the major champagne houses, and to maintain the Irish theme I would suggest something made by talented winemaker Dermot Sugrue, who hails from near Limerick. His sparkling wines are tremendously respected and The Trouble With Dreams (£59.50 Fortnum & Mason), from Sugrue South Downs is complex, with high acidity balanced by brioche and nutty notes.
Drinks-themed horses
Chianti Classico – runs in the Ultima Handicap Chase at 2.50 on Tuesday.
Spiced Rum – Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at 4.50 on Tuesday.
Mercurey – Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle at 1.30 on Wednesday or the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at 2.50 on Friday
Best bets of the week
It’s not really within the remit of Wine Flights to provide betting advice, but seeing as I’m a racing journalist and it’s Cheltenham it would be remiss of me to end this post without giving some tips. So (one for each day):
Tuesday Mystical Power 1.30 Cheltenham
Wednesday Grey Dawning 2.10 Cheltenham
Thursday Crambo 3.30 Cheltenham
Friday Shishkin 3.30 Cheltenham (the Cheltenham Gold Cup)
Flight 11 - a bit of everything
Carlos Lucas Ribeiro Santo, Vinho Espumante (Bruto), Dao (£10 approx, Wine Society)
Budget fizz made from Portugal’s bical and arinto varieties. Made in the traditional method but little in the way of toasty, briochy notes, which makes it fairly simple with flavours of white peach, pear and lemon. Refreshing though and decent enough for the price.
J. Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay 2020, Arroyo Seco, Monterey (£10.50 for a half, Pacific Wines)
Made by grapes from the cool Arroyo Seco AVA but is 14% abv. Fruit notes of melon, pineapple and banana with vanilla, butterscotch spice and cedar from ageing on its lees and new oak. Good example of a full-bodied Californian chardonnay at a decent price.
Cantine Pellegrino ‘Cardilla’ Nero D’Avola, Sicily 2022 (£7.99 Lidl)
I’m always picking up a wine when I go to Lidl for its excellent bakery. Red fruit which isn’t too bad for the price. Medium-bodied and quite juicy. Not bad for a midweek glass with pizza.
Love this. I will be following some of these tips.