Popularity of English wines continues to rise

Popularity of UK-produced sparkling wine has been on the rise, said a recent report, highlighting how English sparkling wine has been gaining prestige in recent years, with some experts even comparing it to Champagne in taste and quality.

According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis report, English sparkling wine volume rose by almost 11 per cent from 2015-2020. 

There has been a splurge of interest from overseas in recent years as wine media and critics have started to “talk more fondly and more positively about the wines from England”, Jonathan White, spokesman for British wine producer Gusbourne told a media outlet recently.

Gusbourne planted their first vines in Appledore, Kent, in 2004. They released their debut Brut and Blanc de Blanc sparkling wines in 2010. They said that demand has been growing ever since.

The pandemic also gave local producers a boost in 2020 because travelers who could not visit wineries abroad “started to realize that they could actually visit a winery at home,” reports quoted Anne McHale, a certified master of wine in London, as saying.

McHale elaborated how English wines, when compared to Champagne, are both similar – as it also uses the same three grapes Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier- but also unique at the same time.

“We’re quite a bit further north than Champagne. It’s cooler. And as a result, you get a higher level of acidity in the grapes, which then translates into more of a sort of mouth-watering bite of crispness and freshness in the wine,” says McHale.

Exports of English wine doubled in 2019 to 550,000 bottles. Brexit permitting, WineGB expects exports to account for 30-40 per cent of the total wine produced in Britain by 2040, bringing in some £350 million per year.

Despite the booming popularity, English wine industry dealt with its own set of problems this year- labour shortages and delayed shipments. Winemakers, in fact, say for the first time they have struggled to find enough pickers for harvest.

Over the past five years, almost six million vines have been planted in southern England – enough to produce 18 million bottles. It has created thousands of much-needed skilled jobs in rural areas, particularly in management, sales and marketing.

With migrant workers not returning because of Brexit and Covid, winemakers in the country faced considerable issues at the time of harvest.