When the TT winners step up onto the podium this year, the magnums they are presented with for the traditional celebratory spraying will contain locally made Foraging Vintners’ rhubarb fizz.

Ian Swindells and Mary Beth Coll, set up the craft winery in Port Erin in 2017, producing a range of sparkling wines and rum alongside their ever popular Foraging Vintners wine bar. Rhunessa, their rhubarb sparkling wine, is described in the tasting notes as ‘created using the methode traditionelle: light and effervescent with a light pink hue and dry rhubarb finish’.

It also stars in one of FV’s signature cocktails, the Rhugo: combined with gin and elderflower syrup in a balloon glass with lots of ice, it’s guaranteed to get anyone’s evening off to a good start.

A lifelong TT fan, Ian approached organisers to ask who supplied their podium fizz.

When they admitted they just went out and bought some prosecco, Ian immediately offered to supply the local fizz for free.

He says: ‘I think it’s great exposure for us as a company but also for the Isle of Man. It shows that we’re doing things a little bit differently here.’

As well as producing 30 magnums for winners and podium finishers in each race they are also releasing 999 replica bottles for members of the public to buy: ‘It’s exactly the same ferment as in the winners’ bottles, they are drinking the exact same batch.

‘This one went down in the summer of 2020 and it’s ready to drink straight away but it’s also quite happy waiting for the next five years. All of our ferments are about that age when they go for sale.

‘We do a slow, low temperature controlled ferment which gives us a cleaner taste.

‘Then it spends time on the lees (sediment) in the tank, just to give it a little bit of depth and then it’s just the time that it takes to do the bottling, labelling and distribution. It all adds up to two years.’

If Ian and Mary Beth have the whole process down to a fine art these days, it’s because they have been through the learning process involved in their first years of producing wine.

Ian says: ‘There are no books on doing mass-produced country wines, like we do, so a lot of the problems and issues we had to start with, we didn’t really have anyone else to turn to: ferment times and types of yeast are all unique to what we do.

‘There are other people who are making rhubarb wine but maybe not the same as we are, especially sparkling.’

Another thing they have struggled with is getting a consistent supply of locally-grown rhubarb. Because it has to be processed within 48 hours, otherwise it doesn’t ferment well, the issue has been having a large enough batch available at the right time.

Ian says: ‘At the moment it’s still being done from Yorkshire, but we have a guy who’s growing rhubarb for us now on the Ballamona straight so I’m hoping to get our first next year.

‘But we make sure there’s always some Manx rhubarb in the Rhunessa: we just have to time cutting what we can locally with the arrival of the main amount.’

Ian goes on to explain just how much it means to him to have magnums of their fizz on the TT podium.

He says: ‘It is so amazing for us to be doing this. I grew up in Australia watching the Duke TT videos, laying down on the carpet wearing my dad’s motorbike helmet.

‘To have ended up here, and now to be making bottles for the podium, is such a dream come true.

‘It really feels like one of those lifetime achievements.’

l Replica bottles of the TT rhubarb fizz are priced at £27.50 and are available from Foraging Vintners Wine Bar, the Cosy Nook Beach Bar and Cafe; the Isle of Man TT VIP tent; the Victory Cafe on the Mountain Road; The Wine Cellar, who are FV’s primary stockists and distributor; all the EVF stores islandwide; the Isle of Man Airport, and the Black Dub at Mile 9 on the TT course.

Foraging Vintners will also be doing an on-course bar at the Black Dub during TT fortnight.