The best of Cornish Food and Drink Produce - Part 1

I feel that I am really lucky to live here in Cornwall. Apart from the amazing landscapes; the history; the myths and legends; and the beaches (and surf!), we are really blessed with the most wonderfully gifted people who create, make, produce, and sell food and drink.

Whether it's from plough to plate; from orchard to bottle; from hand line to BBQ; or from Daisy producing milk for our famous clotted cream, we are truly spoilt with excellent quality goods that are affordable. You can tell that a lot of love and pride goes into Cornish Produce.

I prefer to buy local and support the local supply chain. I love to go to local markets and meet the people who produce and sell the goods. I don't like to think that I take it for granted, but you can become too complacent.

I thought it would be good to do a series of blog postings about some of my favourite food producers in the county to share my appreciation of them with the wider world. So, first up, I would like to introduce you to the wonderful people down on the farm at Polgoon!

Polgoon Vineyard is located near Penzance, just outside of the village of Heamoor, which is where I grew up (and insidently spent many a time exploring the footpaths that surround the area). My memory of Polgoon, pre Vineyard days, was a derelict farm with run down farm buildings and wild fields. However, new life has been breathed into the farm land and Polgoon Vineyard was born six years ago by the Coulson Family. It really is lovely to drive past and see that the land and the buildings have been rejuvenated.

Polgoon produce the most amazing array of quaffable drinks! I was lucky to have a selection of bottles from some very good friends as a birthday treat. I promise you I haven't drunk them all yet! From "capturing the essence of summer" roses, to berry-licious reds, to sparkling Aval (a champagne style cider!) and soft sparkling drinks including pear and elderflower, they really are a tipple to try! Not only do they produce the most amazing drinks, they have also won a whole host of awards which really seals their success.

It's worth heading down to Polgoon as well as they have open days and you can have a look around the vineyard, see how their produce is made... and have a little tipple... followed by some bottles to take home of course!

Proud to be Cornish, proud to support Polgoon! Hic! Lets raise a glass... cheers!

http://polgoonvineyard.vpweb.co.uk/default.html

Part 2 coming soon... Cornish Cheese... (to go with the Polgoon Wine of course!!)