Still or sparkling? England is knocking out great bottles of both
In just a few decades, English wine has gone from virtually nonexistent to standing up on a world stage. A cooler climate, chalky soils and coastal breezes, particularly around Sussex, Kent, Essex and Suffolk, have created ideal growing conditions for grapes like Bacchus, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, leading to an explosion in the production of English sparkling wine.
The big players in the sparkling scene – Nyetimber, Chapel Down, Gusbourne, Rathfinny – are regular award winners and are producing bottles good enough to rival those coming out of France. Our fizz is so good that many renowned Champagne houses have started planting their own vines on these shores and in 2024 Tattinger launched their first English sparkling wine. Exports of English sparkling wine have been rising, with vineyards also seeing an influx of tourists, helping to keep the industry buoyant.
While English sparkling wine is what the nation is best known for, the still wine game is improving at a rapid rate. The weather has certainly had an impact; though still cooler than other wine growing regions like the Med, Australia, Argentina and California, the UK climate is warming, which is more favourable for grapes for still wines.
The level of industry expertise is following the same pattern. Some of the sparkling wine producers have been in business for over 30 years and there’s now a solid winemaking community in England, one that’s only getting stronger. That, coupled with what Nic Rizzi of importers Modal Wines calls, “the advantage here of not being restricted by tradition or consumer expectations, which is a perfect condition for innovation”, and an increasing desire to support local, means the English wine scene is truly flourishing.
If you need any more proof, just look at wine lists across the city, which are featuring more and more English bottles.
Sessions Arts Club in Farringdon champions English wines and is launching its own English Pinot Noir Rosé label this summer. Though some tend to err on the side of caution when ordering, Head of Wine Sophie Liverman says “those who know absolutely love exploring the selection of producers on our list and I am very proud to feature each one.” Her faves? Sophie Evans, Daniel and Nicola Ham, and Ben Adams to name a few. New British bistro Tavern has Ben Adams wines on its list, which are being made near Winchester (and are a favourite of the Modal team, along with those being made by Northern Wine and Daniel and Nicola Ham).
Ben Adams also features on the selection at The Golden Tooth, the new gastropub from Papi’s Matthew Scott and Charlie Carr. Charlie, who also operates Wingnut Wines, has curated a cracking list that’s 80% English, which has bottles from the likes of Matt Gregory (“accessible but very unique and amazingly produced”), Daniel and Nicola Ham (“so good”), Westwell, Ham Street Wines, and Numbers. “Every time I try an English wine at the moment my mind is blown, the consistency of excellence is wild,” he says, and his list definitely reflects that.
Aulis, Simon Rogan’s chef’s table restaurant in Soho, has gone a step further, offering an all-English drinks pairing for its tasting menu, which includes five English wines and a sake, two of which are produced just three miles away. According to sommelier Charles Carron-Brown, the reception to the English wines has been very positive. “I think consumers are becoming more and more aware of these vineyards on their doorsteps. People love a good story and having some wines made locally is certainly up there,” he says. “I think sommeliers are loving being able to showcase wines from the UK and it’s great to see more and more getting behind this.”
Not content with pouring the wines, London is making them too. London wineries typically source grapes from a variety of different growers and the increase in English vineyards means they have more domestic grapes to work with. The lack of appellation or tradition in the capital gives London-based winemakers the freedom to make pretty much whatever they want, often on shorter production runs, making them adaptable to both the market and the harvest. As Victoria Daskal points out in the Financial Times, many London wineries also have built-in routes to market – Black Book, Renegade and Numbers have on-site bars, Vagabond operates eleven bars in addition to its urban winery – making English wines even more accessible.
So where can English wine go? In terms of quality, the consensus is up and up thanks to the emergence of star winemakers, the breadth of variety, and improving conditions.
If, as Charlie points out, the government can make it a bit easier on the producers, by overhauling UK alcohol duty for domestic producers, providing more support for vineyard agriculture (like in France) and encouraging cooperatives through grants (like in Spain), then everyone will win(e).
Our favourite? The Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir or a Matt Gregory Field Blend – we’ll cheers to that!
