Why English wine is so painfully expensive – and how to find the best-value bottles
With English sparklers often weighing in at well over £30, home-grown wine is undoubtedly on the pricey side. But there are good reasons for these eyebrow-raising price tags.
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Best-value bottles to buy
How to find the best value in English wines
First, grape yields are relatively low in our cool-climate vineyards. Simon Woodhead, founder and winemaker at Stopham Vineyard in Sussex, says the grape varieties capable of ripening in chilly England, such as the pinot family of vines, tend towards 'very small bunches of grapes', so less fruit comes from each vine than from, say, cabernet sauvignon in hotter parts of the world.
There are no economies of scale to speak of. The industry is still young and most wineries and vineyards are relatively small – two-thirds of commercial English vineyards are less than 7.5 acres, according to industry body, WineGB.
Then there's the, ahem, occasional very poor year for grape farmers – I hardly need to say that English weather is unreliable. Last year, for example – a wash-out for many English wineries. A bad harvest (vintage) obviously pushes up costs overall.
As for the sparklers, almost all are made in the meticulous, time-consuming and ultimately expensive méthode traditionnelle (AKA champagne method).
Nonetheless, I urge you to try English wines if you haven't already. That pesky cool climate means that when the vintage is a good one, there's a delightful tingling acidity, and super-fresh, zesty fruit flavours – impossible to find in mass-produced, hot-region wines.
The coming days are a great opportunity to give home-grown wine a whirl, as it's English Wine Week from 21-29 June, when many local wineries throw open their cellar doors and vineyards for special events, tastings and promotions. The best way to enjoy English wines is at the cellar door, talking to the producer, and sitting among the vines.
And there are ways to get better value out of English wines – follow my tips to make the most of them.
Best-value bottles to buy
How to find the best value in English wines
Look out for special offers
Obviously, but right now in particular, as English Wine Week always brings on a flurry of special deals. My bottle recommendations below feature several very keen offers running in June and July.
Match English wines with food – and drink them now
Savour them with light savoury food like summer salads, mild cheeses, light seafood and fish dishes, cold pork and chicken, creamy pasta sauces and simple risottos. With their relatively light styles (English wines generally have lower ABVs than many other wines) they especially suit the summer season, so don't tuck them away until Christmas – they don't work as well with hearty winter food.
Seek out own-label stars
Some of the best-value English wines are now made for the major retailers under own-labels. There are some in my list of best buys below.
Don't overlook cheaper Charmats
Char-whats? The Charmat or tank method of making sparkling wine (as used for prosecco) is less expensive than the champagne method, and some English wineries have adopted it for certain labels. You won't get the rich complexity of a traditional bottle-fermented fizz, but some of these new sparklers are more than decent and often have lower price tags.
Don't just stick to sparkling wine
Still wines from England are getting better and better, and they often come in more cheaply than the fizz as they are cheaper to make. Reds are gradually improving, but for now the whites and rosés, in general, offer more consistent high quality.
Don't serve English wines too cold
To really appreciate their value, don't treat these wines as easy quaffers; instead appreciate and savour their elegant aromas and fresh-as-a-daisy flavours by serving them the right way. Chill the sparklers, whites and rosés well (but not too cold; I like mine at about 8-10C), and once opened, drink them up within three days.
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