On a sunny Thursday 25th April we have hosted another wine tasting and this time we have gone big. Big on white wines, those that have the capacity to surprise and last, both on your palate and in the bottle in your cellar (for few years or so to develop even more).
British wines have gone a long way in a very short time. From what used to be a few wine enthusiasts making few bottles in the 80’s, wines grown in Britain are now a recognised wine-winners all around the world. This applies especially to sparkling wines but increasingly so to the still chardonnays, pinots and few other grape varieties.
There are now over 500 vineyards in Britain, the main growing areas are to the south of the island but there are award winning vineyards in Wales and vine is grown in Scotland too. Geographical Indications are now catching up with the success of few specific areas and some of those areas are now widely recognised – Sussex wines got their own PDO in Summer 2022 and Camel Valley’s Darnibole has had a PDO status since 2017 for example! I am sure more will follow.
England and Wales make about 4 million bottles and some of those have a recognised international following and the wine world now has to acknowledge that Britain is capable of making not only acceptable, but excellent wines.
This time round we have tested Ancre Hill’s Blanc de Noirs to start with, continued with their still Chardonnay, Tillingham’s Pinot Blanc and Charlie Herring’s Riesling.