I tried my first English Sparkling. In fact, it was my first English wine ever. Let’s explore English wines a bit.
Wines from the UK
Obviously, the UK is more famous for its beers, whiskeys and gin. However, it’s also historically been one of the biggest consumers of wine and sherry while also producing and consuming lots of Port. As far as producing wine in the UK itself, wherever the Romans were, wine has also been produced there. Despite this 2000 year history, it’s just not the first place one would think to grow quality wine given the cold and wet climate. On the other hand, with the help of climate change and dedicated growers, the quality has greatly improved.
Most wine production is along the southern coast of England and in Wales. Most of it is white wine. More specifically, traditional method sparkling wines have been the UK’s calling card. England has some warmer pockets with chalky soils not so dissimilar to Champagne. Sussex and Kent are where most of the best known sparkling producers are.
I found one from Wiston Estate, which is one of the top producers. Their estate is from the 16th century, but they’ve only been making wine there since 2006.
Tasting Notes
NV Wiston Estate Brut South Downs West Sussex England
Equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. 3-5 years lees time. 8 g/l dosage. All quite standard for NV Brut Champagne. Traditional coquard basket presses are used too, which is common in Champagne. Up to 20% from reserve wine. The nose is toasty, medium intensity. The palate is citrusy. Some apple. Fine bubbles. Savory backend. Could pass for NV Champagne. I want a little more on the nose though, which could eventually come as it airs out and warms up. At $35, it’s still a good big house Champagne proxy given the price of Champagne these days. However, there’s not enough production and distribution to easily find. The entire UK produced 21.6 million bottles of all types of wine in 2023 while Champagne produces 300+ million bottles per year. At the same time, with climate change, wine consumption decreasing and many French vines being pulled out to keep prices stable, maybe English wines will emerge with a bigger market in coming years. 89