…Sorry about the pun. We’re just a bit excited.

Not really about the world cup though, to be honest. Of course we’re over the moon about Saturday’s game, but there’s another English team that have really stolen the thunder from Southgate’s boys, and they’ve already come home to Wine Rascal HQ.

Fitz winery are the scrappy bunch in the noble game of viticulture, and much like the lads in Russia, they’re somewhat of an underdog. As the English sparkling wine industry has prospered over the past few years, Fitz decided to try something different from the other successful producers. Standing out while also offering something new (and more affordable) to the UK, they opt for a fruitier, Charmat method fizz and more unusual grape combinations, rather than the Traditional, Champagne-style method of winemaking that so many producers in the UK have executed so well.

What they didn’t expect was the backlash they received from the English fizz mafia, which has stopped them from even labelling their product (made in Sussex) as an ‘English Sparkling Wine’! It’s fair to say they developed a thick skin and perhaps somewhat of a grudge after that…

The name comes from ‘Fitzroy’, the Anglo-Saxon name given to the illegitimate child of a king, representing their rejection from their own industry.

And their tagline? “Who wants to be a king when you can be a right royal…” –You get the idea.

Well, don’t worry Fitz. We at Wine Rascals love you, for your moxie and of course, your bubbly. What’s more, at a time when Prosecco prices are rising, pubs like Wetherspoons are announcing huge hikes in English stills and sparklings, and national pride is higher than it has been since 1966, we know the fizz-mad punters across the country are gonna go mad for you too. They’ve already had a feature recently in Harper’s Mag.

Give us a shout now to try it for yourself.