 It’s English Wine Week, 29th May – 6th June 2004; and there’s a great deal to celebrate, when vineyards around the country open their “cellar” doors to the public for free wine tasting sessions. Their aim, of course, is to raise public awareness of the recent developments and huge achievements among English wine producers who are proud to put their name on some of the finest wines in the world.
The British love affair with wine, however, is centuries old. The country’s acquisition of Bordeaux, in 1152 meant that royal circles and the upper echelons of society soon acquired a taste for fine wines, albeit shipped in from Bordeaux. Then, during the Middle Ages, monastic vineyards flourished. But after this early burst of enthusiasm, wine production virtually ceased in England until the 1950s when the country, once again, established its presence on the vine-growing map.
Today, the greatest concentration of vineyards is in the southeast, in the counties of Kent, East and West Sussex and Surrey, although many smaller vineyards are scattered throughout the country, particularly in southern regions, the West Country and East Anglia; the latter, interestingly, is supposed to be the driest part of the country.
The bulk of English wine (as opposed to British wine produced from fermented, reconstituted grape concentrate, imported into Britain) is dry, white and made from popular grape varieties including Seyval Blanc and Müller-Thurgau, as well as the German hybrids such as Huxelrebe, Schönburger and Bacchus. Madeleine x Angevine 7672, a grape variety unique to Britain, is also used increasingly in blends. Crisp, aromatic and becoming progressively drier, modern whites have a distinct air of tangy sophistication.
In fact, English wines are now competing on a global market in terms of both quality and price. In a blind tasting on BBC’s Look North programme, for instance, Oz Clarke, tasting wines in the £3 to £15 bracket, from various wine-growing regions of the world, opted for a local Leventhorpe Seyval Blanc, 2001 at an impressive £6 per bottle!
And, English wines have recently been notching up some pretty impressive awards, with a number of top London restaurants now featuring an interesting range of fine English wines. Elegant, dry English wines pair perfectly with lighter, modern style British cooking and indeed with most modern cuisines, from around the world.
But, the real vinous masterstroke is reserved for English sparkling wines. Now here we really have something to get excited about! Produced mainly from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grape varieties, recent vintages are truly pandering to expert palates: “The best stuff can really give the big-brand Champagnes a run for their money – at a lower price” enthuses Wine Magazine editor, Chris Losh. And, the inimitable Oz Clarke, in a recent BBC 1 Housecall, was also suitably impressed, selecting a Ridgeview Cuvée Merret Bloomsbury over a Grande Marque Champagne!
To the unenlightened, English wine has always been, and remains a bit of a joke; nothing in fact, could be further from the truth. English wines are up there with the best – they’re certainly challenging the big boys when it comes to quality and value for money, particularly in the sparkling wine sector.
So why not raise a glass to the success of English wine producers during English Wine Week? You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Despite the less than ideal British climate and geography, English vintners have somehow managed to come up trumps.
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