| Until recently, English wines, especially sparkling, | | | | than autochthones grapes as Seyval Blanc or |
| were just known and consumed in Britain. It | | | | Huxelrebe, to reserve for still wines. 'Some from |
| begins to change! Everyone is speaking about the | | | | the non-champagne varieties would have been |
| climate change... The Champagne Climate arriving | | | | better without the bubbles,' said Stevenson. |
| to the South of England with rumours of | | | | -Pink sparkling category showed 'certainly some |
| Champagne houses buying or looking for vinelands | | | | horrors', despite a rose wine coming second. |
| in the Sussex. | | | | 'I was hoping we'd got over this,' said Jefford. |
| English wines (still or sparkling) really improved | | | | 'There were some quite good wines,' he added. |
| over the past few years. English sparkling are | | | | 'We should keep trying. If we had done this 10 |
| now competing with Champagne. The most | | | | years ago, it would have be a lot worse.' |
| recent blind tasting took place the 10th March | | | | A new phenomenon |
| 2008 (so few days ago!) organised by Decanter. | | | | UK supermarket chain Waitrose has announced |
| The tasters were Stephen Skelton MW, wine | | | | they will plant vines to make their own sparkling |
| expert, Tom Stevenson, Champagne specialist, | | | | wine. They hope to plant 4 or 5 hectares of |
| Oz Clarke, Benoit Gouez, Chef de Caves at Moet | | | | Champagne grapes, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on |
| & Chandon, Waitrose's Dee Blackstock MW, | | | | their 1,600ha farm in Hampshire in Southern |
| Andrew Jefford, award-winning wine writer and | | | | England this year. |
| Decanter columnist and Steven Spurrier, | | | | We know that chalk hills and clay loam soils are |
| Decanter's contributing editor. | | | | the best to grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot |
| Over 60 sparkling wines from England, Wales and | | | | Meunier as in Champagne or Chablis. That's on |
| the Channel Islands, 3 Champagnes and one | | | | that kind of soil Waitrose will plant their vines. |
| sparkling wine from Napa Valley in California were | | | | The Waitrose sparkling will be ready for sell in |
| tasted. The Top 3 Sparkling wines were Theale | | | | 2014. |
| Vineyard Founder's Reserve 2003. Meopham | | | | The United Kingdom has currently 300 vineyards |
| Valley rose and Plumpton Estate's The Dean. | | | | and produces around 3.3 million bottles per year, |
| The first Champagne, Duval-Leroy, ranked | | | | but both planting and production are set to |
| seventh. It was beaten by UK offerings from | | | | increase in coming years to an exemption from |
| Camel Valley, Ridgeview, Nytimber, Denbies and | | | | the European Union vine planting ban. |
| Balfour Vineyards. | | | | According to a Decanter's journalist,'Land in |
| The tasters agreed on some aspects: | | | | southern England, especially Sussex, Dorset and |
| -The elite of English sparkling can face in blind | | | | Hampshire, is considered ideal for growing grapes |
| tasting Champagnes without blushing | | | | for sparkling wine. French producers including Duval |
| -Except with exceptional vintage, English sparkling | | | | Leroy and Boisset are known to be - or to have |
| have some problems with acidity even (too | | | | been - actively looking for vineland in the region. ' |
| present even for the best producers) 'Acidity was | | | | Still according to Decanter, 'Other producers as |
| always a problem with English sparkling wines and | | | | diverse as Chateau Pape Clement proprietor |
| I don't see that improving,' said Skelton. 'That was | | | | Bernard Magrez, and Randall Grahm, owner of |
| the real problem with the good wines.' Others | | | | Bonny Doon in Santa Cruz, have expressed |
| agreed, citing winemaking faults and a lack of | | | | varying degrees of interest in southern England, |
| elegance in some wines. | | | | which has the great advantage of costing a |
| -Traditional grapes of Champagne (Chardonnay, | | | | fraction of continental vineland. |
| Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) give better results | | | | |