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Raise a glass to English wines

Feature

You may know your Rioja from your Rhône and your Bordeaux from your Beaujolais, but how clued up are you on English wines?

Long regarded as a bit of a joke, English wines have become very grown up over the past few years. Grape vines thrive in warm, long and dry summers, such as those you’ll find in Italy, Spain, South Africa and California – not the rainy ones we are used to here, which are too cool, damp and short for successful viticulture.

However, in recent years English wine has become a force to be reckoned with, even beating the traditional competition at international level. And there are now more than 250 commercial vineyards in the UK, with the industry transforming itself. The varieties of grape that can be grown and harvested successfully in England are dictated by the climate and soil conditions. The black grape varieties are the most difficult to grow, needing a warmer climate to ripen correctly, but there are some that can be grown successfully without the need for tunnels.

The chalky soil of southeast England and the local climatic conditions, which can be likened to the Champagne region of France, have resulted in great success for English sparkling wines. This year, Throwley Vineyard near Faversham, Kent, was awarded a silver medal for its Throwley Reserve Brut 2001 in the International Wine Challenge.Proprietor Duncan Wilson says, “It really demonstrates the quality of our wines when the Throwley Reserve Brut 2001 wins the same medal as Dom Perignon 1998.”

Where to buy

Most wine sold in Britain is sold in supermarkets. Unfortunately, you will have to search the shelves to find decent English wines, but you should find at least two or three in any large supermarket. Some now have a policy to stock local produce and this ought to include wine. Expect to pay between £3 and £4.50 a bottle.

There are still quite a few specialist wine merchants around, and they should stock at least half a dozen English wines. Expect to pay £5 to £12 a bottle.

Wine can also be bought online and delivered direct to you at home. There are now a small number of specialist wine merchants which only sell online. Winehub – www.winehub.co.uk – sells fine still, sparkling and dessert-style wines and liqueurs produced by East of England vineyards and English Wine Service. Bestenglishwine.co.uk sells all the recent award winning wines from throughout the UK, including red, white, sparkling white and dessert wine – particularly useful if you are not completely confident in your choice.

Some of the larger English vineyards, such as Three Choirs, Denbies and Camel Valley are now selling their wine direct to the public online.

Picture caption: Denbies of Dorking in Surrey produces top class English wine.
MyVillage 15th August




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