While planning a trip to the UK next year my research suggests that great progress has been made in recent years . I would be very interested to learn of wineries/vineyards worth visiting. Are mthere any regions where producers have the potential to attract wine industry based tourism ?

It really depends whether you're a modestly informed drinker like most of us, or seriously involved in the wine business.

If the latter, there are a few hundred wine enthusiasts who make small quantities of decent wine more or less at the extreme edge of where it's possible to make wine (yes, I know there are vineyards in Sweden these days, but no-one drinks their stuff except as a curiosity). Many of their owners love talking about what they do, and they've overcome barriers growers in warmer climates haven't had to deal with. If wine-making's your thing, there's a list of people who like visitors at www.english-wine.com/vineyards.html.

If you're a tippler, though, they're not that interesting. Wine gets heavily taxed here: wine made in England has to carry the exact same tax as wine made in France or Italy, and only a tad less tax than Australian or Californian. England's not good for vine productivity - so a decent "champagne" (our soil and climate are close to identical to that round Rheims) is actually pricier than the French stuff. So while English wines get lots of prizes (many, to be honest, in competitions where you get a prize just for paying the entry fee), they're poor value for money: why pay £10 for OK white wine when you can get good Chablis for less?

So I doubt the industry will ever be much more than a pleasant way for English enthusiasts to turn a big fortune made in financial services into a much smaller one. Our soil produces wonderful apples, pigs and lambs. It turns into pretty countryside and hosts beautiful villages with fantastic pubs selling great beer. Why go touring round something we're never going to be very good at when there's lots worth seeing that we're terrific at?

England will doubtless host international vinification conferences every fifteen years or so. But the roads through the South Downs are never going to rival that amazing bit of the A31 between Dijon and Beaune whose turnoff signs get us all drooling.

Wines of England??? Isn't this where the term oximoron was conceived?

The word 'oxymoron' was created many centuries ago by scholars of language.

There are some excellent wines produced in the southern half of England by some very enthusiastic growers, usually medium whites due to the climate, but in small quantities.
I wouldn't use them as a theme for a visit.

FYI, they are often served at formal banquets given by the Queen for visiting heads of state. FYfurtherI, during the Middle Ages vineyards existed as far north as Newcastle due the very mild climate 500 years ago. Whither global warming?

I've tried some really good local wines on the Isle of Wight more than 20 years ago (sorry don't remember the exact name of the place, the winery was an old manor). Adding 'great progress made in recent years', their wines must be absolutely fantastic by now.

Most progress is apparently being made in the sparkling wine industry - something to do with the soil in the southern counties (Sussex/Kent) having similar properties to those in the champagne region. The one winning all the prizes against the French champagne houses is Nyetimber.

Here's the BBC's take:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_rad...parkling.shtml

Good question.

Firstly under EU legislation England is not allowed to make quality wine...this is a technical term that need not worry us

All along the South coast are some very good wines with Champagne type being so good that the Champagne houses of France (obviously) are buying up the companies.

Nyetimber is the best example of this and is a good 16/20.

Finally, no idea how to buy a drinkable chablis for less than £10 unless it is in a 60% off sale

Cornwall and Devon look interesting as to climate, terrain and soil types. Camel Valley sounds particularly interesting and definitely scheduled for a visit when we go there next year. See

http://www.camelvalley.com

I am not sure if I understand their marketing approach though.

Everything I read concurs that the sparkling wines are the real stars for now, and worth a try if you are in the neighborhood. I see Nyetimber mentioned a lot, along with Carr-Taylor. Haven't had a chance to try them yet, myself, though.

quokka - I believe you may be thinking of Barton Manor. Good wine indeed. I have a feeling that the business may have stopped producing some years ago but I will be happy to be corrected.

Barton Manor. That rings a bell indeed. Hey, that was more than 20 years ago... More than 25 indeed. To be honest, I was 16... and the judgment quoted was that of my father, who knows a 'bit' more about wine than I did at that age.
No idea if the winery still exists, would be a shame if not - I've never made it back since.

Cant find it at:
http://www.englishwineproducers.com/...dnameabc.htm#b

Maybe a name change.

In the early 80s I worked as secretary at Chilford Hall at Linton near Cambridge. Then there was a small vineyard producing some very pleasant wines. Looking at the website it would seem that the business has expanded considerably, and I see tours are offered. It is a lovely location and the sculptures are impressive.

http://www.chilfordhall.co.uk/vineyard.htm

On the Gloucestershire/Herefordshire borders is the Three Choirs Vineyard.
http://www.three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk/

I just logged in and saw the English Wine Thread back at the Top. This is very encouraging ): I enjoyed reading julia_t's links and particularly Three Choirs in an area that I would not have expected wine production.

Here in Australia, when we travel in the countryside, we tend to drop in to visit wineries/vineyards to sample their latest offerings at the cellar door.

Over time new wineries have appeared in regions that had not previously supported any form of grape growing.

In England, generally, the climate only supports a relaively shorter growing season, but it appears there are grape varieties that have been well selected and work well. More importantly there appear to be very unique soil conditions that enjoin to achieve some interesting and positive outcomes.

In planning our trip next year we now have a number to visit. Thank you

>>>Finally, no idea how to buy a drinkable chablis for less than £10 unless it is in a 60% off sale<<<

Here in Germany, we can buy a decent Chablis for 6.50 Euros, which is 5.21 GBP.

They ship to Britain.

www.hawesko.de

I just wanted to pop in to say that everytime I scroll past this headline "The Wines of England" on the message board, I have to suppress a gag reflex! Honestly.

I'm not saying it's fair, and it's certainly not an informed response, because I've never tasted English wine. I'm only pointing out that the wine producers of England face an uphill climb in terms of marketing.

Some 30 years ago, Monty Python was able to get a considerable amount of laughs from a sketch on Australian wines - very few people laugh at the Australian wine industry nowadays. Possibly English wines will become a success story in a decade or two.

As Flanner has said, price is a major issue. I have several vineyards within 5 miles of where I live, but their average bottle of local wine is around £8 - far too expensive for the "average" consumer.

I'm only pointing out that the wine producers of England face an uphill climb in terms of marketing.

I don't think that they are aiming for the mass market.
Why on earth should the thought of English wine make you gag?
The grape varieties are similar to those (I think) that are used in Germany. The slow ripening process is an advantage. Do you think that they are trodden with dirty feet?

>>Do you think that they are trodden with dirty feet?<<

Might add some interesting yeast flora...

It might well.

Isn't cider supposed to be vastly improved if there is a dead rat in the vat?