It’s English Wine week!

We celebrate the growing band of English wines! With the weather we’ve been enjoying and a bank holiday weekend, now is the time to enjoy the weather with a glass of English fizz or great Rose, white or red.

Great Britain and especially England, aren’t at the front of your mind when it comes to imagining great wines. If you live in the South of England, you may have noticed over the last few years that those slopes and hills at favourable angles have been planted with vines! Our UK conditions are really good and we’re starting to get some recognition for our fantastic selection of wines and award winning sparkling wines.

You might be surprised to hear that we actually have a much longer history of viticulture that spans over 2000 years. It was only in 1536 when the Dissolution of the Monasteries ruined much of England’s wine growing.

UK vineyard

Plus, if you’re not fond of the grape variety (there’s always a few!) it’s worth noting that wine can also be made from many other products such as strawberries, elderflower, rhubarb and even nettles and clover.

The south of England enjoys a very similar climate to Champagne, so everything is starting to fit into place. We also have chalky or sandy soils that are perfect to grow wonderful grapevines and our occasionally snows and cold are actually good for the vines thrive as a hard frost and the cold kill off any nasty bugs while they lay dormant.

English sparkling wines are made in the same way as the French Champagnes and we can even use the same grape varieties for pinot noir and chardonnay. Unfortunately we are not allowed to call in champagne due to EU laws of product origin. Perhaps Brexit will allow us to call it Champane?

It is a real shame that we’re so inclined to pick up a bottle of French wine and turn our nose up at English varieties. British wines hold a certain elegance and finesse that you wont find in other wines and to top it off, we are supporting our own local producers. Perhaps with Brexit we can remove some of the tax on English wine?

Pinot Noir is very much at home in the English climate. Light in tannins with hints of raspberries and cherries and sometimes in a more savoury pinot noir you will find earthy flavours like mushrooms, vanilla and forest. This wonderful wine is light enough to go with baked salmon, but also complex enough to hold its own with a roast duck and you won’t have too much difficulty tracking a bottle down if you’re looking in the right places. As a matter of fact British wines frequently win awards, including eight trophies for the Best International Sparkling Wine and four for the Best Sparkling Rosé.

Seeing as our wines are being recognised as a serious wine contender abroad, it’s about time we took notice, or at least search out and try our local wine?

For great wines see what is on our local food & drink map in your area or search our MarketPlace for unusual, and delicious, fruit or herbal wines.

You could even become a wine maker yourself and use some of your your home grown produce of forage some local hedgerows!