Sussex Vino
History
The United Kingdom might be better known for beer and whiskey, however, the UK has had a long history of winemaking since the Imperial Roman occupation in the 1st century. Also it is said that the British are the first people in the world who produced sparkling wines in the 16th century before Dom Pérignon.
Britain has historically played a major role as consumers rather than wine producers. The Bordeaux region in France became the territory of the King of England in the early 12th century and the wine trade flourished. When the 100-year war broke out between Britain and France (in the 14th to 15th century) it ceased all trade between them, so Britain changed its business partner to Portugal and imported their wine such as port and Madeira. Britain has been an established market for wine consumers and for collecting fine wines from all over the world.
Why didn't Britain produce wine for a such a long time?
気候
Climate
It is because the climate in the UK was not suitable for growing vines successfully. Due to the cool climate and lack of sunlight it was extremely difficult to grow vines producing quality grapes which are essential to make good quality wines. Looking at only the latitude, the UK is located at similar latitude as Sakhalin, Russia. Fortunately, the temperature here won't drop too low because of the warm ocean currents around the UK. However, even in Southern England, which lies slightly to the north of the Champagne region which is considered as the northern limit of viticulture. Under these conditions the grapes cultivated in England have been mainly German varieties (Muller-Thurgau, Seyval Blanc, Dornfelder, etc.) which can thrive in the cool climate. Wines produced have been generally unremarkable in quality.
Then the big turning point came in British winemaking history. In the early 1980s some vineyard owners started replanting the existing grape varieties with international varieties/Champagne varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Their challenging spirit, with help of global warming, has led to a successful change. In addition to those two varieties, Nyetimber started planting Pinot Meunier, the third champagne variety, in 1988 to produce sparkling wines using the traditional method like Champagne.
In fact, climate change was a great benefit for English wine producers and made it possible to ripen those Champagne grape varieties more stably. Before the 1990s, natural alcohol levels at harvest were 5-8% but since 2000 it has never been under 10%.
土壌 Soil
Another factor for their success is the soil. The soil type in southern part of the UK is rich in calcareous soil which is considered the best soil for growing good grapes for quality wines. A similar calcareous soil extends to the Champagne region of France. Along with the soil the weather conditions in southern England which has a large diurnal range in temperature between day and night also contributed to grow good grapes. This aspect is another important factor for good quality viticulture. Making the most of these features sparkling wines produced by traditional method like champagne became mainstream in England.
Meanwhile, in 1997 Nyetimber's Classic Cuvee (1992 vintage) won the gold medal in the sparkling wine category at the IWSC (International Wine & Spirits Challenge). This category covers all sparkling wines from all over the world except Champagne. It was the first time that an English wine was recognised internationally for its quality. Since then the number of vineyards and wineries, especially in Southern England has increased and the quality of wines has improved significantly. The acreage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay accounted for only 5.7% of the total in 1990, however, it has increased to more than 66% in 2019. Also sparkling wine accounted for nearly 70% of the total wine production in the UK in 2019.
A blind tasting competition organised in Paris in 1976. Among the entries were six top Californian Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay as well as four top French Bordeaux and white Burgundy. The judges were among the best tasters in France and surprisingly chose Californian (Napa Valley) red & white wines ahead of the top French wines. This transformational event became known as "the Judgement of Paris". A comparable event to this also happened for English sparkling wines in April 2016.
It was a blind tasting in Paris for Champagne and sparkling wines. In this event France's top wine judges rated English sparkling wines higher than Champagne in two categories* out of three. Many French panellists thought these sparkling wines were the finest Champagne.
[*Nyetimber (2009 vintage) and Gusbourne (Kent) rose (2011 vintage)]