Why England are winning at wine – here’s what to drink this summer

There’s something exciting happening on our shores – and no, I’m not just talking about the potential of winning the Euros. English wine has found its groove... and it’s totally delicious.

I still remember the first time I tried Nyetimber sparkling wine some years ago – the West Sussex estate is widely credited as igniting the English wine category, especially after one of their wines beat Bollinger and Louis Roederer in a blind tasting at the 2003 Sparkling Wine World Championships.

An Australian friend had worked a vintage there and cracked open a bottle for me to taste. I couldn’t believe that it was made in the UK. I was used to bristly, overly acidic, still white wines that definitely didn’t leave you coming back for more. But thankfully, things are changing at a rapid pace and there has never been a better time to try English wine.

We’re fortunate to live in a country where there’s a real boom in our homegrown wine sector. Sales in sparkling wine alone have increased by 187 per cent from 2.2 million to 6.2 million bottles since 2018. According to data released by the Food Standards Agency and WineGB, last year over 87 vineyards were registered, representing an increase of 9.2 per cent from the previous year – taking the number to over 1,000 registered vineyards in the UK – this is the opposite of general wine trends. Our thriving industry can be supported by you and me choosing to try, buy and drink it.

Whether you’re a regular English drinker, or new to discovering the wines of our shores, I’ve picked a selection of some of the best wines to try at the moment – both sparkling and still. Yes, English wines are expensive – remember, they’re made in one of the most marginal climates for wine in the world, and land and production costs are high. But as volumes increase we should see the market opening up to a wider range of price points.

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Not far from Ashford in Kent are the charming vineyards of Westwell. They’re making a selection of seriously good wines, in a fun, inviting and low-intervention way. The Pelegrim NV is their benchmark sparkling wine and I love it. Its bubbles were energetic and delightful in my glass – and I was smitten with the licks of lemon curd tart and its racy saline edge. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find its mouth-watering acidity leaving you excited about the next glass. This is a perfect example of an “extra-brut” style.

£33, from various stockists including Uncharted Wines

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Charles Simpson, co-owner of Simpsons wine estate, boldly stated in 2019: “I believe that in Kent we can have, not the best vineyard sites in England, but the best vineyard sites in the world.” Whether or not you agree with this statement, they’re certainly making some outstanding sparkling and still wines, and the Canterbury Sparkling Rosé is no exception. Made from 100 per cent estate grown pinot noir, I found this wine as beautiful to look at as it was to drink it – it is the prettiest rose gold with elegant fine beads of bubbles. It’s vivaciously packed with aromas of crushed cranberries, raspberries and grapefruit zest, delivering mouthfuls of strawberries and vanilla cream. It felt so soft and supple in the mouth, with no harsh edges and is perfectly balanced, lifting any occasion that you choose to enjoy it on.

£35, available nationwide including Simpsons Estate

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I don’t know if it was my romantic side coming out of me, but it felt like I was having a life affirming windswept walk across the clifftops of the South Downs when I tasted this wine. It is a sensational wine with great expanse and depths of flavour – there is ripe orchard fruit and citrus brought together with beautiful toasted, biscuity notes and a mineral edge which left my mind wandering to the landscape from where these grapes originated. Dermot Sugrue is a winemaking legend, and it’s wines like this that display why. If you’re after a treat, your dreams will come true with this bottle.

£49, available nationwide including The Sourcing Table

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It is almost impossible to find an English wine for under £10, but Aldi have managed to do it. Working with the highly respected winemaker Sarah Massey at Devon’s Lyme Bay winery, they’ve delivered a wine that represents great value for money. On the nose, it reminded me of a bowl of fruit salad: pineapple, melon and ripe apple, all of which carries through to the palate, alongside some white peaches and a touch of honeysuckle, too. In the mouth it had a surprising generosity that I wasn’t expecting – quite a contrast to their single varietal Bacchus which is also currently available. A true cuvée ”blend” of English classic grapes: reichensteiner, bacchus, chardonnay and seyval blanc – it’s excellent value and a good starting point to enjoy English wine.

£9.99 Aldi (in-store nationwide)

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Made by the talented winemaker Ben Smith, who over 17 vintages has really honed his craft. Don’t be fooled, as I was when I first tried Bacchus, by the water-white appearance of this wine in your glass – it is not a shy grape. Penn Croft’s Village bacchus is abundant with elderflower, ripe pear and grapefruit. My lips were tingling from its puckeringly juicy and crisp freshness – with the orchard flavours lingering happily for some time. If you’ve never tried bacchus before, this is an excellent example as it’s not as heady as some expressions, and is ever-so quintessentially English, like a hedgerow in full bloom.

£19, Penn Croft

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Great wine starts in the vineyard – and the wines produced on the 35 acres of the Oxney Estate are a shining example. I generally dislike comparisons of a wine being like another, but truly, if you love Chablis, you will adore this Chardonnay. As I poured the wine, the aromas were so excited to get out of the glass and revealed a nose filled with Amalfi fresh lemon and orchard blossom. And then there’s the joy of tasting it – you’ll be treated to mouthfuls of citrus-zest freshness, a juicy apple bite, and a long lingering creamy finish. As with all the wines, I tasted this over three days, and it didn’t lose any of its life throughout – it is totally beguiling and utterly charming.

£25, Oxney Organic Estate

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So often you can taste a wine which presents itself well, but leaves nothing to excite you in the glass. This wine has all the trappings of something “cool”; a new English wine brand created by design and music loving friends, it really could’ve been a bit “emperor’s new clothes”, but it wasn’t. This is both a serious and seriously delicious rosé. There are gorgeous flavours of alpine strawberries, orange zest and bitters, and a vibrant acidity which leaves you yearning for another glass. It’s made from 100 per cent pinot noir grapes sourced from the Crouch Valley, Essex. Whilst the jewel in Essex’s riviera might only be Southend-on-Sea, I’d take a bottle of this over a St Tropez Provençal rosé any day.

£29, The Heretics

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In 1991, Will Davenport planted two hectares of vines and unintentionally started a life-long business as a wine producer. He was pioneering in his decision to undergo organic conversion in 2000 and is widely recognised as one of the benchmark English producers, consistently making outstanding wines. This pinot noir looked so bright and energetic in my glass – while light in body, it was packed full of sour cherry, fresh cranberry, rosehip and raspberry, accompanied with a lick of vanilla and sweet spices – all tied together perfectly with soft, supple tannins. Pinot noir can be very precocious, especially in our marginal climate, but this is an outstanding example that red wine from England isn’t just a gimmick. I immediately wanted to get some friends over to share this joyful wine.

£24, available widely nationally including Buon Vino

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If you think English red wines are watery and thin, think again. Giffords Hall, nestled in the Upper Stour Valley near Bury St Edmunds, quietly produces wines of great quality and outstanding value. This had a deep, inky purple hue in my glass and the fruit was just bursting out. It’s a delightful combination of blackcurrant preserve, cinnamon spice, soft vanilla and black cherries. A beautiful, medium bodied wine which is effortlessly easy to enjoy and a total bargain to boot.

£16.95, Giffords Hall

Rosamund Hall (DipWSET) is a freelance writer and wine expert