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Forget the fizz – celebrate homegrown grapes with these white, red and rosé vinos
English sparkling wine has taken the world by storm in recent years. Compared favourably to champagne, its sales are booming and the best-known bubbles have won a host of international awards.
But it’s not the only homegrown vino worth your time. Though unpredictable English weather usually means still wine plays second fiddle to sparkling, there are now several excellent examples well worth raising a glass to.
Grapes have been grown in the UK since Roman times but a warm 2018 led to a particularly successful harvest that saw wine production double. In 2021, Majestic Wine even reported a 99 per cent growth in still English wines during the previous year.
The most successful wines tend to be made from grapes that flourish in cooler climates including chardonnay and pinot noir, though new grapes and styles emerge all the time.
Increasingly warm summers combined with British winemakers’ considerable expertise mean the ever-growing complexity and quality of English still wines should soon attract just as much attention as their sparkling siblings. We’ll definitely drink to that.
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We tested all these wines at the recommended temperature, sipping and savouring each one on its own so we could really judge its aromas, colour and flavours. We also paired each one with foods we thought it would complement, then tested all the whites alongside each other before doing the same with both the rosés and reds to find the exceptional English still wines we’d gladly drink again and again. These are the tipples that came out on top.
Don’t rule out English still wine until you’ve tried these bottles which are all fantastic examples of homegrown grapes. Generally, whites are more commonly available and our favourite, Bolney Wine Estate’s pinot gris, is a beautifully balanced bottle we’d always have room in the fridge for.
However, reds should no longer be overlooked and we were wowed by the Gusbourne pinot meunier 2020. But if you really want to splash out, choose any bottle from Balfour Winery’s Winemakers’ Collection and you won’t be disappointed.
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