Come off it, English wine is delicious

I hate to pick a fight with a fellow Speccie scribe but, as this august organ’s drinks editor, I must take issue with Dr Andrew Cunningham and his recent dismissal of English wine. Andrew lives in West Sussex and I live in East Sussex. He explains that he’s near Nyetimber, Nutbourne and Kinsbrook (not to mention Ambriel, Roebuck and Tinwood); I’m near Breaky Bottom, Court Garden and Ridgeview (not to mention Artelium, Black Dog Hill and Bolney). There’s no question that we both live in bona fide wine regions. 

There are 950 vineyards in the UK and over 200 wineries, from Kent to Cornwall and from Devon to Denbighshire. There are a dozen alone in Yorkshire. And, as Dr C points out, sales of English wine are booming. This is for good reason: the best are blooming delicious. I admit that there are some also-rans – dreary, acidic, over-priced examples produced by folk belatedly clambering on the English wine bandwagon, intent simply on having a fancy wine label to their name.