500 vineyards over 5000 acres....
If you like wine and you haven’t heard of the big English (& Welsh) wine boom then you must be living under a rock. With one million vines set to be planted in the UK this year, more and more Brits are turning their hand to wine making. Some are starting from scratch, others have studied winemaking at places like Plumpton College, one couple, Ruth & Charles Simpson, have even returned from their successful wine estates in Southern France to start growing in Kent, whilst others are calling in the pros from Champagne and elsewhere to advise on their wine production.
The predominant category is sparkling wine, made using the traditional grapes of Champagne and other grapes such as the Germanic varieties traditionally suited to cooler climates.
But sparkling aside, there are also fabulous still wines appearing on the market, such as the pinot noir from Hush Heath Manor, or very tasty Bacchus Block from Devon based Lyme Bay Winery.
What’s driving the growth in English wine production?