Terravina

We left the kids with my parents last week-end and drove down to the New Forest for a night at Terravina, the groovy boutique hotel owned and run by Master of Wine Gerard Basset and his wife Nina.  Basset is the co-founder of Hotel du Vin and bought the hotel that was to become Terravina in 2007 after he sold the HdV chain, but more of all that later.

Terravina

It was only a few days ago, but already the thought of the week-end gives me a warm nostalgic glow.  It felt like being in one of those glossy video commercials for Gant or Mulberry, where annoyingly groomed people meet up in beautiful surroundings for idle chatter by roaring log fires, and for once the reality lived up to the fantasy.  Six of us met to celebrate the (undisclosed) birthday of our lovely friend Pat - between two couples we'd managed to relocate four kids for the night, which was a feat in itself, and the bit they never show you in the commercials - and Helen and I met Pat and her husband Chris in Lymington before meeting up with kid-juggling couple number two at the hotel. Now Lymington is a fine Hampshire town and we had a drink in the excellent King's Head at the bottom of the High Street before wandering its festive streets - a bit of snow would have completed the Georgian Yuletide fantasy, but fine as it was.  We left town as it got dark, Pat having no idea where we were spending the night, but as a veteran of many a country house hotel (including Chewton Glen) expectations were high for such an auspicious (undisclosed) birthday celebration.

Our terrace

Terravina has been created out of a relatively small Victorian country house, totally renovated by Gerard and Nina in 2007, and you can read all about it on their comprehensive website, including video interviews with Gerard, virtual tours, etc.  There are only 11 rooms, and downstairs there's the Napa-style dining room with open kitchen, a bar with a snug, a private dining room and a small guest lounge, so the overall feeling is of intimacy and chic cosiness.  Our room was one of the smaller ones on the first floor, but it had a large walk-out terrace overlooking woodland and was classic, modern, tasteful throughout.  Little touches like fresh milk and an espresso machine are thoughtful.

Wine gifts

But besides the accommodation and the atmosphere, the big draw here is food and wine, and the expertise that Gerard and his team brings to the dining experience.  I need to point out that, although this is fine dining, it's not at all stuffy or formal - the dining room is pretty casual, with a large two-sided 'banquet' seat in the middle with tables around, and the service is never fussy.  Whilst Gerard was crowned 'best sommelier of the year 2010', we had the pleasure of the 'UK sommelier of the year 2009' Laura Rhys looking after us. I guess we must have looked as if we knew what we were doing, as Laura let us browse the list and match our wines without a look of concern when we ordered, although she would have matched wines to our meal with ease, and the next time we come (there will be a next time) I think it would be interesting to be guided.  Pat herself has a vast knowledge of Spanish wine - she's visited most of the major Rioja bodegas and more - so she ordered a FOS Rioja Reserva (2006?) which is very full-bodied and forward.  My wife thought it one of the nicest wines she'd tasted in a long time.  I went off-piste with a Lebanese Massaya Classic Red from the Bekka Valley - softer and more approachable than Musar, velvet and smoke to the fore, and I thought this was a fantastic wine.

Dining room looking towards wine cellar

Both bottles went well with the food.  Without detailing everything, there were starters of scallops with black pudding, game birds (with fried gizzards!) and fresh artisan breads.  I can't remember everyone's meals but I had a rib steak cooked to perfection, and there were shins of beef and fillets of fish too.  It was all done very nicely - clever but not too artistic, lacking the finess perhaps of a Restaurant 27 but that's not so much what Terravina's about - it's winning on the quality of food, along with the wine experience and the ambiance, and I liked all three of those.  We finished with coffee and drinks (ah the 21 year old Highland Park!) in the lounge over a game of 'His and Hers' (we let the women win...hmmm)

Breakfast in the morning was all you'd expect (although sadly disappointed with the Welsh Rarebit, which was more like cheese on toast) and we followed it with a long walk in the forest before we packed up and paid the (not too outlandish compared to other New Forest hotels you could mention) bill.

New Forest in the morning

I've nothing bad to say about Terravina.  My wife's comment on their guest sheet that the lighting's too dark in the bar and dining room is very true, and it makes it difficult to read the wonderful wine list.  I didn't have my glasses so it made it even more difficult in that light, but next morning I saw pairs of trendy reading glasses laid out and available for guests to borrow - what a touch (and what a good reading of their demographic perhaps!)

Chris, Pat, Helen (Mrs CdP), Jane and  Jason

We'll go back to Terravina in the new year -  I think it would make the perfect summer week-end break with the kids too as there's a swimming pool and plenty to do in and around the Forest.  Last week-end made for a perfect run-up to Christmas, and thanks to Pat for letting us share in her birthday.