"Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used – Shakespeare"

Food and wine is often cast as a rather mysterious and unique division of science, but its not as mysterious as it seems to be, its actually simple. The history of wine in UK can be dated since Roman times. There were numbers of vineyards in England and Wales area by the time of the Norman Conquest, most of them attached to monasteries. The areas of concentration were the coastal areas of the southeast, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

First modern commercial vineyard was established at Hambledon in Hampshire in 1951, but it the significant development in UK wine industry is not more than last 30 years.

Climate for wine agriculture

Wine Industry is based on production of grapes. According to the geographical conditions UK is not suitable for Grapes production. In U.K. they are grown primarily in Southern England and Wales but not in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In some parts of Southern England the subsoil is chalk or limestone and has the same geology as Champagne in France.

Vine varieties

The main grape varieties planted in the UK are Reichensteiner, Bacchus, and Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Muller Thurgau and Sylva blank.

British Wine: English and Welsh wine is produced from fresh grapes grown in the UK, whereas British wine is a form of 'made wine' which can be manufactured in the UK and Ireland from imported grapes, grape juice, grape must or a combination of these with fruit or fruit juices etc. Although ‘made wine’ products can be called ‘wine’ they must be prefixed with a term such as British, mead, fruit, tonic etc. These products are not governed by the EU Wine Regime.

With all these difficulties there are more than 250 commercial vineyards in the UK and the industry is transforming itself from one dominated by small scale hobbyists into one that’s surprisingly commercially astute.

Best English Wines:

1. Nye timber widely regarded as the best English wine. 2. Curious Grape Brand name of the UK’s largest (and probably best) producer, New Wave Wines. 3. Three Choirs Sizeable operations in the midlands making some well priced and tasty wines. 4. Davenport the UK’s leading organic producer, making fresh, bright full-flavored whites. 5. Denbies in the North Downs, this is a large producer with some smart wines.

Other important wines are Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc, Margan Cabernet Sauvignon, Margan Shiraz, Margan Merlot, and Andes Peaks Merlot Rapel Valley.