Grape Britain: English wine is having its moment in the sun

Spectator

8 hours ago

Our homegrown wine was, until fairly recently, regarded internationally as a bit of a joke. Peter Ustinov could quip that he imagined hell to be 'Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine'. Likewise, Lord Jay, serving as a diplomat in Paris, recalled the British ambassador rubbing up against resistance from the home side – let alone foreigners – as he sought to be an early advocate. The ambassador was hosting Edward Heath, President Giscard d'Estaing and the governor of the Bank of France for lunch: 'I remember [ambassador] Ewen Fergusson saying, 'Sir Edward, wonderful that you're here. I am tempted to serve you a delicious English white wine'. 'I hope, ambassador, that you'll resist that temptation,' was his reply.'
But the situation has since been transformed. The 'British wine' of the past – mostly second-rate fortified wines made from imported grapes – has given way to more than 1,000 vineyards across the UK producing some world-class bottles.
This week, The Trouble with Dreams 2009 by the winemaker Sugrue South Downs became the first sparkling wine magnum to be named one of the top 50 wines in the world at the Decanter World Wine Awards. The Sussex sparkling white was awarded Best in Show – an accolade champagne has never achieved in the 1.5-litre bottle format. And at a 'Battle of the Bubbles' blind tasting at London Wine Fair last month, the 2010 Nyetimber 1086 was the overall top scoring wine, with Gusbourne's 51 Degrees North 2016 in second place – beating off everything from Dom Pérignon and Ruinart to Krug and Bollinger.
Champagne houses are buying up land in southern England to get in on the act. Patrick McGrath, CEO of wine specialists Hatch Mansfield, is the co-founder of one of them, having teamed up with Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger to plant in England. The estate, in Kent, sells under the name Domaine Evremond. Patrick tells me that there were differences between the continental climate of Champagne and our maritime conditions, but warmer weather has made southern England better suited to winemaking than ever. Taittinger is joined by Pommery whose decade-old partnership with Hampshire producers Hattingley Valley created Louis Pommery England. There have long been rumours that LVMH (owners of Moët & Chandon) is eyeing up investment opportunities. In 2023, California-based Jackson Family Wines bought 65 hectares of land in Essex's Crouch Valley.
We have the climate to thank, with the sunnier and warmer weather attributed to climate change having driven the sector's development. This is a success story that would no doubt grate with Greta but refusing to make hay while the sun shines would be asinine. As silver linings go, it's a jolly good one. Though I suspect suggestions that Hull could become 'the new Bordeaux' by 2100 with climate change enabling cabernet sauvignon production to flourish as far north as Yorkshire may be a dream too far.
Champagne houses are buying up land in southern England to get in on the act
Wine is one of the great success stories of British food and drink in recent years, and viticulture is Britain's fastest-growing agricultural sector. While quantities produced are still relatively small, and the vast majority is therefore consumed in the UK, about 8 per cent is currently exported with the Scandis in particular being great fans. The UK is already a world leader in the luxury sector, and consumers are always on the hunt for the novel and exciting. The potential is obvious.
The Establishment has embraced the new tipple. Chapel Down is already the official sparkling wine of England cricket, the Boat Race and Ascot. I am doing my level best to ensure all British embassies around the world are serving English sparkling whenever the occasion demands fizz, and to persuade Wimbledon to replace its long-running partnership with Lanson (the 'official champagne' of the Championships since 2001) with something English. Surely long overdue for the All England Club?
It's reaching new heights in the air. BA has started serving prestige cuvée English sparkling in First Class, with offerings from Nyetimber, Gusbourne and Sugrue South Downs also on the list. The airline has been offering English in Business Class since 2023 and while it hasn't abandoned champagne entirely, its growing confidence in our homegrown product is clear. Ditto top restaurants in London where it's increasingly rare to not have at least one English on the wine list. Royal stardust helps: Cornwall's Camel Valley became the first English wine label to secure royal warrants from the King and Queen last year. Indeed, the royals were early champions: rosé brut from Chapel Down in Sussex was served at the Prince and Princess of Wales's wedding in 2011.
Sparkling wine from Sugrue South Downs in Sussex has triumphed over champagne in the Decanter World Wine Awards [Sarah Weal]
It's not all plain sailing. Production is volatile: last year it was just 6-7 million bottles, largely due to the cool and wet summer, compared with 2023's record harvest of 21.6 million. Cost can also deter some (though there are deals to be found: Aldi has its Winemaster's Lot English sparkling wine at £9.99 throughout English Wine Week, from now until 25 June).
Champagne retains cachet and hasn't gone away. But those still snooty about our domestic product may like to know about the Englishman Christopher Merret. In 1662, in a paper presented the Royal Society, Merret became the first person to describe the method of adding sugar and molasses to wine to stimulate a second fermentation in the bottle to make it sparkling – a process we today call méthode champenoise. It's been suggested that British merchants were producing sparkling wine for several decades before Dom Pérignon and the rest of the French Champenois were doing so. Ooh la la. The French won't like that.