English Wine Week

English Wine Week, happening annually from the third Saturday in June, is a celebration of British wines and a chance to appreciate locally made vintages across the UK. Running from June 15th to 23rd this year, it offers vineyard tours and tastings, along with special menus at local restaurants to complement the flavours of English wines. It’s a week-long tribute to the craftsmanship and diversity of British winemaking, inviting everyone to enjoy the best of homegrown excellence.

The Landscape of English Wine

Viticulture in the UK has a long history, tracing back to Roman times and possibly earlier. The ancient Domesday Book even lists 42 vineyards in England and Wales, including ‘Nitimbreha,’ which inspired the name of the famous Sussex producer Nyetimber.

Despite this rich heritage, the UK’s wine industry is still relatively young but growing fast. Today, there are almost 900 vineyards across Great Britain, with more being added each year. In 2019 alone, three million vines were planted, expanding the total vineyard area to just over 3,800 hectares. However, the unpredictable climate brings challenges, causing wine production to fluctuate greatly. For example, the frost-hit 2017 vintage produced only 5.9 million bottles, while the abundant 2018 vintage yielded 15.6 million bottles. This fluctuation reminds us that grapes, like any crop, are at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Regardless of these challenges, England’s winemaking prowess shines brightly, especially in the production of top-quality Classic Method sparkling wines, mainly along the south coast. This prestigious winemaking technique involves the crucial second fermentation happening directly in the bottle, resulting in exceptional quality and flavour.

With diverse soils ranging from granite in Cornwall to greensand in Sussex and chalk in Hampshire and Kent, paired with increasingly favourable temperatures, the future of the UK’s sparkling wine scene appears remarkably promising.