English Wine might seem like something that should exist. But if you think about it it actually makes a lot of sense.
Firstly, vines are weed like plants, they’ll grow absolutely anywhere – its just the quality of grape and consequently wine they produce that will vary.
Secondly, the climate is changing, the weather now is different to what it was 100 years ago. Its pretty much universally acknowledged that the world is getting warmer. And we hear this from all the winemakers in the traditional wine regions. Climate change is causing them work harder to make great wine.
So why is our first reaction to English Wine – “You can’t make wine good wine in England!”
If you look through the data, the climate in Southern England is very similar to what the climate in Champagne was 100 odd years ago. Then if you look at the soil, the same Limestone subsoil runs all the way from southern France up to Southern England. So why shouldn’t the English be able to produce good quality wines? Because they can, and they are! And the French are starting to notice and get involved. In fact, Taittinger has planted a vineyard just near Kent.
