English bubbly booms as UK vineyards toast production record
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Version 0 of 1. Move over Moët, bye-bye Bollinger. The march of English sparkling wine from a mouth-puckering novelty to a player on the burgeoning global market for premium fizz has taken a further step forward with a boom in production. Burgeoning demand for brands such as Nyetimber and Ridgeview is turning parts of the South Downs and beyond into an English Épernay after a doubling of the amount of land in England devoted to vineyards in the last seven years and a 43% rise last year in wine production. Related: Sparkling English wine - a growing reputation for gold medal quality Whereas bubbly alcohol in Britain was once the preserve of cider makers, premium English sparkling wine has long been seen as on a par with top champagnes. But now there is evidence that the critical success is leading to a sharp rise in production. Final figures for the 2014 harvest from the Food Standards Agency reveal that a record-breaking 47,433 hectolitres of English sparkling and still wine – the equivalent of 6.3m bottles – has been made, smashing the previous record of 2013 when nearly 4.5m bottles rolled off the production line. According to trade bodies, at least two-thirds of English output is sparkling wine, suggesting that about 4m bottles of bubbly have been made this year. However, the UK’s love of French sparkling wine still dominates these domestic upstarts, with Britain importing 32.7m bottles of champagne worth more than £340m last year, making it the world’s second-largest champagne market outside France. English wine producers have struggled in the past with an inconsistent climate and higher production costs than continental rivals. But last year domestic vineyards enjoyed a long, warm spring and summer, bringing high-quality grapes in large volumes. Stephen Skelton, a wine growing consultant, said: “The last two years have provided excellent growing conditions for our grapes – great flowering weather and a warm summer. The vineyards have produced some very good quality grapes and volumes of still and sparkling wines.” Julia Trustram Eve, marketing director of the English Wine Producers trade body, said the emboldened industry would target more overseas markets. “English wines really are on an upward trajectory. As volumes continue to grow, so will our efforts to develop markets both here and abroad.” The UK wine region has doubled in seven years and now stands in excess of 2,000 hectares, with most planted with grapes for sparkling wine. According to the UK Vineyards Association, there are now 470 vineyards in England and Wales. Significantly the average size of a vineyard is the highest ever, reflecting the industry’s growing commercial success. English or Welsh wine is made from fresh grapes grown domestically, not imported. A consortium of Sussex wine producers has become the first in the UK to submit a bid for “protected designation of origin”. If approved, that means Sussex wine would be elevated to the ranks of other protected British products, which include Arbroath smokies, Cornish clotted cream and stilton cheese, which have to meet tough taste and production criteria. Production of sparkling wines has increased by nearly 150% in the last five years and more is coming on to the market, from established producers whose products have clinched top international awards to new English wine brands, the industry claims. The latest entrant is luxury retailer Harvey Nichols, which has joined forces with award-winning wine-makers Digby Fine English to launch its first own label English sparkling wine this month. Such is the confidence in its own-brand bubbly that Harvey Nichols delves into the baroque lexicon of wine lingo for the product description, describing an “attractive citrus and white stone fruit aroma” that is a “rewarding partner to seafood”. Supermarkets are reporting strong sales of English wines, which were once maligned on grounds of taste and cost. Sales in 2014 were worth an estimated £78m, with many domestic supermarkets routinely stocking a range of English still and sparkling wines. Marks & Spencer has just added significantly to its range, introducing wines from vineyards across the UK and recently launching its first Welsh wine, the Tintern Parva bacchus from Parva Farm Vineyards in Monmouthshire. Waitrose, which stocks more than 100 English and Welsh wines, has reported a 177% increase in sales of domestic brands over the past year. Waitrose’s English wine buyer, Rebecca Hull, said there was “real momentum” in the English wine industry. “The success of English wine is a culmination of dedication and effort from some talented winemakers across the country who have gradually built the reputation of our wines from the ground up.” |