Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I buy English wine?
Which English wine should I choose?
Why don't the major supermarkets stock English wine?
What does English wine taste like?
What's the difference between English wine and British wine?
Do you deliver outside of the United Kingdom?

Why should I buy English Wine?
Shouldn't the question be; "Why don't I buy English wine?"
For many years we, as a nation, have been importing cheap food and wine from around the world with little or no knowledge of its quality, methods of production or effect its purchase will have on our economy. Unfortunately, there seems to be a blind consensus that imported wine is better than those produced in the United Kingdom. This just isn't true. The climate in the south of England has been compared to that of Germany, but in truth, in recent years it is more in keeping with that of the Champagne region in France, and that, apparently, produces some quite good wines.
Today, English wine is competing at the highest level in wine competitions around the world, but we simply do not produce the same volumes as other wine producing countries. Fortunately that is now changing with more vines being planted and more producers springing up all the time. By buying English wine, you are investing in the growth of an industry and the British economy. In return you have the opportunity to taste and savour unique English wines, grown in English vineyards and made in English wineries. What could be finer?

Which English wine should I choose?
One of the biggest questions we get asked is which English wine should I buy? Well you can’t go far wrong if you buy a medal winning wine, but what do the medals mean? Which is best? And what if the wine doesn’t have a medal? For more information read our English Wine Competitions page.

Why don't the major supermarkets stock English wine?
The major supermarkets do actually stock some English wines if you look hard enough or ask a member of staff to point you in the right direction. These will generally be from the bigger vineyards that can supply on a national level. However, due to the smaller volumes produced in this country; there just isn't enough to keep the shelves continually stocked. It's still very much a boutique industry in the United Kingdom and as such it is left to the wineries and vineyards to promote and sell their own wares through their own shops, farmers markets and online. Rest assured it is nothing to do with the quality of the wine.

What does English wine taste like?
It tastes like English wine. Due to our climate, there are only certain vines that grow and thrive in this country and without going into detail, there are several EU recommended varieties and others evolving all the time. The taste of the wine is dependent on a number of factors including, vine variety, soil, weather conditions over the course of the growing season and yeast used in the fermentation process. Different permutations of the above, and many other conditions, lead to an infinite number of possible taste outcomes. The English wine you choose, will have a taste which is all its own.

What's the difference between English wine and British wine?
A smack in the mouth from an English wine producer? Only kidding, as a rule they're a very friendly bunch, but there is such a lack of knowledge on this subject it has many within the industry frustrated. Put simply, British wine is generally fermented from imported grape juice and as such not entirely a "British" product. English wine is the real deal, the truly British product. English wine, is made from grapes grown in English Vineyards and produced in English wineries. This generally includes those wines produced in Wales.

Do you deliver outside of the United Kingdom?
At the moment we are only set up to deliver our wine to mainland UK. Our mission is to get English people drinking English wine and in the short term this is our focus. If you are outside of the United Kingdom and are happy to pay shipping costs, please get in touch via our contact page and we will see what can be arranged.