British wine growth trebles

[Blackleaf]

Raise a glass to England's sparkling wine industry

By David Derbyshire, Consumer Affairs Editor

(Filed: 30/05/2005)

On the chalky downs and patchwork quilt of southern England, a quiet revolution is taking place. As the 50-year regime of food subsidies comes to an end and farmers search for new ways to make money from the land, many are turning to drink.

Across Kent, Hampshire, Essex and Sussex, fields of pasture, hops and wheat are being ploughed up and planted with vines.

Frazer Thompson

Frazer Thompson admires the colour of his rosé

According to some industry experts, the amount of English farmland devoted to wine production will double over the next few years, turning what was once a minor curiosity into a major business.

And despite the perception that English wine is undrinkable, producers are starting to compete seriously with traditional wine countries.

In 2004, a sparkling wine produced by Chapel Down in Kent won a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge awards - one of only 22 vintages to take the prize and beating many champagnes.

In a recent Which? blind tasting, three English sparkling wines did better than their French counterparts.

Last year, a record 2.8 million bottles of English wine were produced. According to a new poll, released to mark English Wine Week, 42 per cent of Britons say they have either bought an English wine, or seriously considered doing so.

Owen Ellis

Chapel Down winemaker Owen Ellis tests a pinot noir

"I'm not surprised at these findings, as over the past few years, England has been placed firmly on the map as a quality wine producer," said Julia Trustram Eve, of English Wine Producers.

Today, 333 British vineyards covering around 2,000 acres are producing grapes, with many more on their way.

Although the Romans successfully grew grapes in Britain, amateur wine growing only began to take off after the last war, while commercial growing started in earnest in the 1970s. Initially it was assumed that German varieties would work best in Britain's wet, chilly climate.

In the past five or six years, many producers have changed dramatically.

The biggest success has come with sparkling wines, produced with the same grapes and techniques as the champagne producers.

"Sussex is only 88 miles from Champagne, and the average temperature is only a single degree colder," said Mrs Trustram Eve.

The soil is also similar. The chalk slopes of Champagne disappear under northern France to reappear as the South Downs. The new vineyards that are appearing are mostly in the South. However, a successful vineyard has been established near Leeds.

The industry has been given a boost from the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which is forcing farmers to face market forces. "It is now a viable alternative for farmers and commercial producers are discovering it," Mrs Trustram Eve said. "It involves a great deal of initial investment which you don't get a return on for four years. But you get a higher profit margin, particularly for sparkling wines."

Farmers can get between £500 and £2,000 profit on an acre of vineyard, depending on the yield, weather and quality of grapes.

Britain's biggest producer is the Chapel Down Winery in Tenterden, Kent. It has its own 25-acre vineyard, and buys grapes from 50 growers with a total of 180 acres. Over the next five years it plans to expand dramatically and contract 1,000 acres.

Caroline Stockley, a spokesman for the winery, said: "There are a lot of farmers going out of business who think there's no alternative other than selling land to a developer. But this is a viable alternative."

dailymail.co.uk

[SnakeProphet]

You really hate the french don t you?

[wunarmdscissor]

i know its gettin a bit ridiculous blackleaf , give it a rest

[Mekorig]

Next i will try Libia wines...they say it are excellent, like UK wines.... :

[warden]

Blackleaf is posting a thread he thinks a lot about,if you dont like his thread dont post

If Blackleaf posted a thread you agreed with you all would be fighting to post day after day

Keep them comming Blackleaf

[SnakeProphet]

Interesting.....I seem to agree with many things then.

[warden]

Interesting.....I seem to agree with many things then.

652561[/snapback]

What about british wine then ,have you tried it

I always go for Calafornian wine,or Australian

[SnakeProphet]

What about british wine then ,have you tried it

I always go for Calafornian wine,or Australian

Unless Blackleaf is going to try French wine I will stay away from the British.

[warden]

What about british wine then ,have you tried it

I always go for Calafornian wine,or Australian

Unless Blackleaf is going to try French wine I will stay away from the British.

652568[/snapback]

That is your choice,who knows maybe he is drinking it as we speek having a good laugh at us all

[Blackleaf]

French cause chaos by destroying Spanish shipments

Daily Express

By Gabriel Milland, Foreign Editor

Struggling French wine industry workers were behind a recent armed attack on a Spanish lorry bringing agricultural produce to France.

Faced with fierce competition from abroad and plummeting sales, the desperate French are taking increasing militant action to make their case heard.

About 30 masked men - some carrying knives and makeshift clubs - stopped the truck laden with Spanish goods near Remoulins in the south of France on Monday.

Hundreds of melons were burned before the Spanish driver was told to "go home".

The Languedoc-Roussillon regions on the Spanish-French border - and particularly busy A9 where the hijack took place - has become the focal point of such protests.

French wine workers have organised the so-called operation toll free on the busy main road between Remoullins and Orange. They have regularly stopped lorries arriving from Spain, holding them up and then destroying stock.

Local police have also reported criminal acts ranging from trains being set on fire to physical attacks on Spanish tradesmen. "The situation is very serious," a Nimes police spokesman said yesterday. "We are doing everything we can to stop the violence and the illegal destruction of property".

A handful of arrests have been made for public order offences in recent weeks and weapons have also been confiscated.

The Spokesman added "Trains carrying Spanish produce have been set on fire. We cannot rule out the possibility of French wine growers being responsible." Exports of French wines have dropped 13 percent in the first quarter of this year, according the French Federation of Exporters of Wines and Spirits.

Earlier this year producers staged their biggest nationwide protest in 100 years seeking state aid to end the crisis in their industry.

A barrel of Bordeaux wine now sells for an average of £500, compared to £1,000 five years ago. French wine producers are also losing market share to New World wines and traditional rivals but even new emerging British wines. In Britain there are now over 400 vineyards, and a number of producers have won acclaim for critics abroad. Another problem is that the French are drinking less with the average person consuming 58 litres a year, compared with 100 litres in 1960.

Philippe Vergnes, head of the local wine producers trade union, said "We need an urgent solution. Something must be done". Domenica Bussereau, the French agriculture minister, has organised a crisis meeting with the vineyards association.

Edited June 2, 2005 by Blackleaf

[Blackleaf]

What about british wine then ,have you tried it

I always go for Calafornian wine,or Australian

Unless Blackleaf is going to try French wine I will stay away from the British.

652568[/snapback]

Unless you try British wine, I'll stay away from the French.

I live in a free country. I had a bottle of red British wine the other day. Beautiful it was.

[jeceris]

i will try to keep an eye out for the british wines, as long as it's not called plonk.

i've never been a fan of french wines anyway.

two favourites presently are, yellowtail, from australia i believe.

and , two oceans, from south africa, very nice as well.

i'll try the british if you try the canadian wines from the niagra region, deal?

[warden]

The French have always shown the way when they think some thing is not what they want or expected to get

We brits sit back and moan about it ,the french go full steam ahead,and it usually works