English Wine Week at The Pipe of Port

May 18, 2015 by Martin - Pipe of Port

English Wine Week - Week commencing 25th May at The Pipe of Port

Wine from our fair shores has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years, from being a local curiosity to now being sought after all over the world. There are still many barriers that face many English Wine producers, not least the fact that they attract exactly the same duties and taxes to those from wine that is imported (something that is different in most competitive markets of the world).

English Wine is not cheap! We seem to have a mentality that tells us that we should be comparable in pricing to wines from elsewhere in the world, but that’s not be the case. Land is expensive, labour is expensive, running costs are expensive and we have a marginal climate that doesn’t always ripen enough grapes (I was involved in sourcing wines for the London Olympics. Locog had asked us the majority of the wines to be English, but the 2011 vintage was so poor, there was very little wine available). All of this adds up, and don’t forget the £3-4 that goes to the government in all of this.

Most of the wines we produce are likely to be from varieties that are not instantly recognisable – that’s because our climate is not warm enough to ripen them. Grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio simply don’t work with our weather. Instead we have to rely on varieties that have been bred to suit the vagaries of the English elements, the most successful of which is Bacchus. At its best, wines from this variety are fresh and crisp with peachy elderflower fruit. Red wines are particularly difficult to get right as red grapes require more warmth and sunshine to ripen properly. There are a few producers making exceptional Pinot Noir but these are in short supply and very expensive.

So how do we compete on the global market? It’s all about the fizz! The English have been at the heart of sparkling wine production since its invention; Christopher Merrett (a physician and scientist) discovered that adding sugar to wine created bubbles some 40 years before Dom Perignon documented the same, and if it wasn’t for English Oak firing the glass kilns, Champagne bottles would not be thick enough to withstand the pressure inside. The reason why we’re best suited to producing sparkling wine is because the grapes require less ripening than those used for still wine. There are a lot of similarities between the great vineyards Champagne and those of the UK not least the similar climate, but also the chalky soil (which runs from Champagne along Northern France, under the English Channel before forming the white cliffs of Dover and the Jurassic Coast). English Sparkling Wine is also where you’ll find the best value; I would quite happily put most of our bottles up against a Champagne of the same price, and I guarantee the quality will be comparable. The only thing the French have is centuries of marketing and brand awareness!

We’ll be celebrating English Wine Week with an ‘English Food & Wine Supper’ on the 26th May, but will also be serving English wine by the glass and in wine flights all week. We also have some delicious local produce including fresh Asparagus from Great Wakering. The wines we’ll be serving will be coming from the following producers:

Chapel Down, Tenterden, Kent
Chapel Down is the largest and most awarded winery in the UK. They source grapes from all over the South of England, including Essex, which gives them the flexibility and quantities to produce consistently good wines year in and year out. They also make some cracking beers!

Gusbourne Estate, Appledore, Kent
The first vines were planted here in 2004, but they have quickly become one of the leading lights of the trade. They only Burgundy clones for their vines that give very low yields, but delicious richness. Producers of one of the best Pinot Noirs from our shores.

Stopham Estate, Pulborough, West Sussex
Bucking the trend a little, Stopham are making a name for themselves by using international varieties such as Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc for their white wines. Winemaker Simon Woodhead began his career designing parts for Formula 1 cars, but started his winemaking adventure in 2007 by planting vines on the banks of the river Arun. The wines are fresh and vibrant, reminiscent of the purity and intensity of the wines of New Zealand

To make a reservation at The Pipe of Port please call 01702 614 606.