English Wine News

More than 70 MPs were given a taste of game and English wine at Westminster in December at an event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Shooting and Conservation and the All-Party Group for Wines and Spirits. Organised by BASC, The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, guests sampled the likes of carpaccio of venison, wild hot-smoked mallard and roulade of potted pheasant. These were accompanied by wines from Wickham Vineyard; their Fumé 2011 and Wickham Row Ash R..

It seems that in the world of English wine there's much more to celebrate than just Christmas. The Daily Telegraph reports that Kentish winemaker Chapel Down is toasting a record grape harvest after more than doubling its yield, year on year.  Whilst a good harvest was predicted during the growing season it has exceeded all expectations.  The bumper crop, weighing in at 131% more than the 2012 harvest, follows two years of poor yields from the company’s vineyards in Tenterd..

We always suspected that that you don’t have to buy the most expensive Champagne and mince pies at Christmas to get the best.  Well the annual taste test, led by the consumer watchdog Which?, confirms it. Judges gave the Marks and Spencer English Sparkling Vintage 2009 by Ridgeview, and Ridgeview Bloomsbury 2010 scores of 79% and 78% respectively.  This was slightly higher than the 77% awarded to both Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut NV and Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut NV. O..

English wine producers are confident that this year’s crop can banish memories of last year’s rain sodden harvest as picking comes to an end across the country.  Unlike many counterparts in France, English wine producers are reporting 2013 to be one of their better harvests of the past years.  There are no official projections for size of harvest but quantity is almost certain to be up on last year and according to Julia Trustram Eve, marketing director for trade body English Wi..

A report out this week predicts a global wine shortage as demand outstrips supply.  Poor weather over the past three years, particularly in France and Argentina, has led to the worst shortfall in forty years of around 300 million cases. This has been exacerbated by a huge increase in demand from the US and China.  The report by Morgan Stanley Research which was published this week also states that wine prices are about to rise. Conversely production in Sussex is growing, says Ch..

Biddenden Scheurebe 2011, produced by Tom Barnes, the third generation of winemakers at Biddenden Vineyards has been awarded a Bronze medal at this year’s English & Welsh wine of the year competition.  The wine, which is the first that Tom has produced, was judged by a carefully selected panel of judges, including Masters of Wine. Wines for which the vineyard is best known also picked up a number of awards, including Biddenden Vineyards’ rosé wine – Gribble Bridge Rosé – which wa..

Really?  Is that still what you think? A supposedly wise friend of mine once said “I tried a glass of English wine once and I didn’t like it.”  Well that’s one way to judge an entire industry.  Oh the uproar it would create if I were to say the Irish were stupid, or the Scottish were tight, based on a chance encounter with someone who did just manage to fit the stereotype.  But it seems perfectly acceptable to “English wine bash” based on the same principle. Well, ..

Joseph and Clare Pestell, owners of Melbury Vale Vineyard, are pleased to announce that they have made an agreement with John Edginton to continue the winemaking activities of Fonthill Wines. From the 2013 harvest, grapes from the vineyards managed by John at Fonthill Gifford, Dinton and Awbridge will be processed at a new sustainable winery being built at the Melbury Vale site close to Cann Mill on the A350 south of Shaftesbury. Fonthill products (still and sparkling wines, cider, li..

25th May to 2nd June is English Wine Week This year’s English Wine Week sees the great and the good from in and around the English wine industry throwing open their doors, putting up the bunting and doing whatever they can to promote the very best produced from English and Welsh vines.  Tasting, discounts, tours and a whole range of other events can be found on the English Wine Producers website. Obviously Great English Wines is no exception and are offering a 10% discount on all..

Where can you see a pack of wolves, a flock of sheep and a 12 foot tiger prowling in the Oxfordshire countryside this Spring?  These unlikely companions will be unleashed in the grounds of Bothy Vineyard as part of an ambitious sculpture show from 11 - 19 May. 200 outdoor sculptures, produced by over 50 local and UK-wide artists, will be sited around the 7 acre grounds of Oxfordshire’s oldest vineyard, drawing visitors through the vines, orchard and wildlife areas. These large sculpt..