Why British wine could be your next favourite wine region

According to a recent OECD report, the average Briton drinks the equivalent of 120 bottles of wine every year. Money.co.uk, meanwhile, suggests that in 2020 alone, approximately 1.77 billion bottles were consumed across the UK.

We are a nation of wine lovers, routinely guzzling vino from France, Spain, Italy, Chile and Australia, yet until very recently, we have been guilty of producing very little of the stuff on our own shores. But times are changing.

We are in the midst of a wine revolution. Wine production is not only on the rise—more than three million vines were planted in England and Wales in 2019, up from one and a half million in 2018—but UK wines are winning scores of international awards every year.

In 2022, the UK had a record-breaking year at the Decanter World Wine Awards, winning 151 medals, while Dorset winemaker Langham Wine Estate was named the world’s best sparkling wine producer in 2020.

England’s first commercial vineyard only opened in 1952, and given that it takes around eight years from planting for sparkling wine—the predominant wine produced in the UK—to be ready for sale, this is undeniably a rather impressive underdog success story.

Britain is, to all intents and purposes, a baby in the winemaking field, but it is a sector that is truly beginning to blossom.

Credit: Winniepix, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr. Chapel Down winery in Kent has been inundated with awards for their fine British wine selection

Gusbourne Estate is a boutique English winery in Kent. The winery is less than two decades old, with its first vine planted as recently as 2004, but it is already an established name in Britain and beyond.

It is the only three-time winner of the International Wine & Spirits Competition English Wine Producer of the Year, and has won more than 200 awards at international competition.

Charlie Holland, head winemaker and CEO at Gusbourne, studied winemaking at university 15 years ago, and was convinced he would eventually have to move overseas if he wanted to establish a career in the wine industry.

“To be honest, I thought it would be my ticket to somewhere warmer and more exotic, but the opportunity came up to make wine in England and I decided to stay,” Holland says. “I can’t think of a more exciting place to be making wine at the moment.”

Josh Donaghay-Spire, head winemaker at Chapel Down, another Kent-based winery that has been inundated with international awards in recent years, is of a similar mindset.

“Wine regions are only born once. To be a part of this in the county and country of your birth is not something many winemakers get to experience, and it was an opportunity I knew I had to pursue,” he says.

The enthusiasm and excitement shown by both Donaghay-Spire and Holland is shared by Lucinda Colucci, business development and marketing manager at Blackdown Ridge Estate, a winery that boasts scores of award-winning English wines.

“UK wine is definitely becoming more respected in the global markets,” Colucci says. “We are now creating world-class wines that can stand, with pride, next to those of our global competitors.”

Grapes tend to thrive in regions that are warm, have free-draining soil, and are blessed with an abundance of free space.

Britain, which has an average daily temperature of 14°C, is relatively high on open space and nutrient-heavy soil, but is not—for good reason—known for its ample sunshine.

This is part of the reason why wine production on this isle has, historically, been little more than a British pipe dream.

“The brave few who planted years ago battled with very different weather conditions,” says Colucci. “It still isn’t ideal given we have a rather damp climate, meaning mildew is a constant worry, but with long hot summers, like the one we had in 2022, it isn’t as much of a problem.”

Britain's warming climate could end up helping its fledgling wine industry

Rather than being a hurdle to overcome, Holland considers the country’s increasingly warm climate to be a positive for Britain’s burgeoning wine sector.

“Our environment is actually one of our biggest assets,” he says. “We have unique growing conditions in England, and these are reflected in our wines.

"We combine a very long ripening period with cooler conditions, which means we are able to produce wines that are packed full of flavour, but still retain vibrancy and freshness.

“We [Gusbourne Estate] only produce vintage wines, and vintage is all about the expression of the conditions we encounter in a given year in our unique environment. That means there’s a story, a fingerprint, an imprint. Each vintage presents an authentic reflection of a time and place.”

Weather is far from the only consideration when it comes to wine producing, and it is certainly not the only obstacle wineries encounter—though, as Donaghay-Spire says, some problems are far more welcome than others.

“Our biggest challenge is making enough wine to satisfy the thirst of our consumers,” Donaghay-Spire says. “It’s a great issue to have! We love our ability to try new things in England and so we’re constantly reviewing what is possible.

"A good example of this is our Kits Coty Chardonnay, a style which wouldn’t have seemed possible 45 years ago when the first vines were planted at Tenterden.”

In the last two decades, the number of wineries in the UK has almost doubled, going from 106 in 2000 to 197 in 2021.

And, with intimate wine-based knowledge becoming more widespread, job opportunities becoming more available, and the reputation of British wine getting stronger by the year, it would be a brave individual to bet against more vineyards cropping up in the near future.

“It’s a really exciting time for the English wine scene,” Holland admits. “As a relatively new wine-producing region we are not restricted by many of the laws and legislation others are bound to.

"While the focus must always be on quality, this freedom of restriction leads to creativity, meaning more and more exciting new wine styles and winemakers.”

According to Colucci, one of the main difficulties historically faced by the UK wine sector is that it tends to be more expensive than foreign imports that are produced on an industrial scale, but this is something he feels is now becoming less of an issue.

“It has taken a long time for the public to move away from the idea that the more affordable wines being brought into Britain are better.

"The move towards drinking less but drinking better has opened up people’s minds to experimenting. More people are now happy to buy one bottle of great wine for £10, instead of three bottles of mediocre wine for a bargain price.”

This is a point seconded—and expanded upon—by Donaghay-Spire.

“English wine is in the ascendancy as a result of our terroir, climate, and the sustained investment in the industry, resulting in wines that are gaining international recognition and increased loyalty from UK consumers.

"There is now huge potential to build upon the great assets of our climate and exceptional geology and discover how truly great English wine can be. We are optimistic that the recent harvest could be the best yet.”

Vineyard tours could pave the way for more eco-tourists to come to the UK

It is also worth highlighting that, aside from the unique qualities associated with UK wines, consuming wine produced just down the road can play a role in reducing the country’s overall carbon footprint, largely because it is far more environmentally friendly to transport wine from Kent to London than it is from Tasmania to London.

Additionally, vineyards are widely considered an eco-tourism attraction, with visitors touring vineyards on foot, and the money they spend being invested into sustainable, cost-effective production methods which not only bolster wineries’ bottom lines, but enhance their green credentials.

“We encourage visitors to come down to our vineyards in Kent to see where the grapes are grown, where the wine is made, and to taste through the full range of wines we produce, both sparkling and still,” Holland says.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen a large and consistent rise in the number of visitors we welcome to the estate. We’re open year-round, and even in the cold, dark days of winter we have people coming.

"If that doesn’t give confidence that English wine is already popular and that that popularity is growing exponentially, I don’t know what will!”

Read more: Emerging wine regions

Read more: Rediscovering winemaking in Austria

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