English wines are getting under the nose of some of the top industry professionals with an array of English vineyards leading a revolution in UK wine making.
Hot spots across England have in recent years been producing internationally acclaimed bottles, with recent research suggesting there are now around 800 in the UK. In 2020, 8.7m bottles of wine were produced in the UK, with industry experts forecasting this could rise to 40 million in the next 20 years.
The changing climate and chalky soils are leading to this boom, which has in turn translated to strong demand for land suitable for planting vines. The south-east of England is a particular hotspot with leading champagne houses eagerly purchasing land in the region to yield top-class produce from land which is seeing a similar makeup to that of Northern France.
French champagne house Taittinger is just one of the many prestigious producers setting up operations in England with the aim of producing sparkling wine by 2023. Taittinger along with their UK partner Hatch Mansfield Ltd and friends set up Domaine Evremond, this unique collaboration marked the first time that a champagne house has invested in the UK.
The collaboration saw the purchasing of 69 hectares of farmland in Kent, with 40 hectares of this planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes with the intention of producing a range of premium sparkling wines.
With the mass growth in the UK wine sector and the quality of the wine produced winning top awards on the international scene, the demand for land shows no sign of slowing down with sought after and suitable plots selling for a premium price tag.
Chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes are the three grapes traditionally blended to make champagne and it’s noted that these are flourishing in England. A study published in scientific viticulture journal OENO One has found that significant areas of Southern England could soon experience ideal growing conditions for making red wines from Pinot Noir grapes. Experts predict that English wineries should act now to capitalise on climate changes which are soon to make ideal conditions for making red wines.
Decanter World Wines Awards, the world’s largest wine competition and judged by top wine experts from around the globe awarded a flurry of awards to English wine producers. Amongst the winners the Wiston Estate’s Blanc de Noir Brut 2014 picked up gold. Equally the WineGB Awards 2022 saw producers from almost every county in England awarded medals, picking up gold, silver and bronze.
It is clear that English Sparkling Wine is captivating the world, from our small land we are rivalling key industry players in the world to produce some of the world’s finest Sparkling Wines, we are most definitely becoming a land of wine and glory.
