Ep 340: UK Wine and its Past, Present, and Future

<p>Although limited in availability, English wine is rising in popularity. Climate change, bedrock soil that's similar to Champagne and Chablis, and growers with know-how have changed England from a producer of mainly plonk wine into a viable wine nation, with sparkling wine leading the charge.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/UK-sparkling-wine-making-630x417.jpg" alt="" width="428" height="283" /><span style= "font-size: 8pt;">Source: Decanter</span></em></p> <p> </p> <p>Access in the US is limited, so admittedly this is more of an academic exercise, but in the show we discuss the history, as well as the present, and bright future of UK wine. </p> <p> </p> <p>After discussing the history (<a href= "https://www.winegb.co.uk/history-of-the-industry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">details which can be found here</a>), we get into details of climate, regions, and styles of wines. Here are the show notes: </p> <p><strong>Climate and land</strong></p> <ul> <li>Most of the wine regions in the UK are at 50˚ latitude and higher, making it hard to ripen grapes. Long daylight hours in the growing season, and temperature diurnals, however, lead to slow ripening and the development of aromatics -- all very positive for UK wine. </li> <li>The weather in the UK wine regions, although warmer and drier than all other parts of the UK, and warmer than it used to be, is still erratic -- with winds, rain, and humidity creating issues during flowering and harvest. </li> <li>There is limestone chalky soils in Sussex, Kent, Essex, and throughout Southern England – a great foundation on which to grow grapes used to produce sparkling wine</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p>The <strong>grape varieties</strong> planted:</p> <ul> <li>Pinot Noir 29.7%</li> <li>Chardonnay 28.9%</li> <li>Pinot Meunier 11%</li> <li>Bacchus 6.9%</li> <li>Seyval Blanc 4.2%</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img style= "display: block; margin-l