English wine.. worth a swig??

[honkytonkman]

I tried to buy some English wine (red or white) in local off-licences and was either laughed out of the shop or given a strange look. The general consensus by the owners is that English wine is really bad and not worth a look? Is this true?

[FTVS]

yes - occasionally food and drink programs come up with an english wine that is drinkable but UK simply doesn't have the soil or the weather to make decent wine.

[Pinotage]

Tesco's stock several English wines. Look for bottles from 'Three Choirs' vineyards, Tescos has their very drinkable blends at reasonable prices.

 

Its absolute rubbish to say that English soil is not suitable for making wine, but the weather is a problem. Southern England and Wales are at the upper limits for growing wine. Because wine is primarily the result of fermentation of the sugar in grapes which is produced by sunshine, the more sunshine they get, the more sugar they produce and the better the wines sugar prduced.

 

There are thousands of varieties of wine grapes and English vineyards tend to grow those bred for northern climes, so German varieties like Muller Thurgau were popular however more recent varieties like Bacchus, Schonburger and Ortega are giving very good results.

 

Perhaps the most successful English wines are the 'methode champenoise' sparkling wines. The best is Nyetimber of a quality to match Champagne and better than most cheap ones. These are made from th same varieties grown in Champagne, and on the same chalky outcrop - this stretch of chalk underlying Champagne crosses the channel, making the famous white cliffs.

 

Red English wines are not so common. Thats because the colour comes from the skins of black grapes and a lot of sunshine is needed to get good colour. But early ripenining varieties such as Rondo are producing good colour.

 

There are over 400 vineyards in England and Wales. Why not use Oliver Richardsons site to find a vineyard near you, visit it and make up your own mind?- http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~richards/wine/regions.htm

 

[Obo]

what a fantastic answer, but I guess we should expect it from you considering your name Pinotage

[Pinotage]

See also this news item on the Decanter site. 2002 is a great year for English wines -  

http://www.decanter.com/news/newsdefault.asp?newss
toryid=942&ListStart=1

 

COLOR="green"> Thanks for your kind comments Obo

[LynneMcF]

I realise I am exposing myself as a Guardian reader, but if you look in Saturday's Guardian (12th) there is an article recommending three British wines that are supposed to be very good, with prices and stockists. Might be on the Guardian website, if you can't find a copy of the paper.

[healey]

Hey, why am i not surprised at the reaction. You got it in one, it really is not worth a look, even if it were �1.50 a bottle, I tried that Concorde once........argh!!!!!!!! Stick with the New World stuff matie, not expensive now and well worth a swig or more cheers

[Pinotage]

Ignore Healey.

 

Concorde is not English wine.

 

There is English wine and 'British' wine. English wine is the legal name of wine made from grapes grown in England and Wales and pressed and fermented in the region of growth,

 

British wine is the name given to an alcoholic beverages made in the UK from imported material. That could be condensed wine (like Boots wine kits), dried grapes which are then re-hydrated, or grape must.

 

Concorde and Rougemount Castle are examples of British wine. As are the many fortified British 'Sherries' and 'Port's, although they can no longer use the words port or sherry.

 

Make up your own mind. Some are excellent, some not so good. They are not cheap cheap, as they are made in individual small wineries working at the limits of winegrowing. Its hard to compete pricewise against the huge wine factories of Australia and France with limitless production and good weather.

 

But they are an expresssion of England & Wales terroir and well worth supporting and enjoying.

[honkytonkman]

Thanks Pinotage. Fantastic answers! I will definitely seek out a vineyard and give it a go. :)

[sparshotta]

I really like English wines. I enjoy them so much that I got involved with my local vineyard. Mimram Valley in Hertfordshire www.mimramvalley.co.uk