Fizzing with promise

THERE were more than a few surprises in store at the English Wine Producers' tasting in London recently. "Very good, creamy mousse, plenty of complexity and richness," read my tasting notes for Chapel Down Epoch Brut. "This really exudes class - deliciously full with biscuity notes," I enthused about Nyetimber Premiere Cuvée Blanc de Blancs, while Three Choirs Estate Reserve Siegerrebbe 1997 was "slightly spicy with a clean, lively elderflower character". In other words, I found some wines I really liked.

This is not meant to sound facetious - even the wine-makers agree that, until recently, the standard of most English wine was not impressive. "If you had gone to that tasting 10 years ago, you would have found a lot of wines that were undrinkable," says John Worontschak, the outspoken Australian wine-maker who has played a major part in putting English wine on the map.

Now working as a consultant for Denbies in Dorking, Surrey (he was appointed in September), as well as continuing to head the wine-making team at Valley Vineyards and consulting for Sharpham in south Devon, Worontschak is in a good position to look back over the progress made recently in English wine. "We've found a niche market where we can turn a profit," he says.

And he thinks there is much more scope for English wine to be sold in restaurants and bars. "Of course, I would say that," he laughs, "but English wines are great aperitifs and excellent with seafood, too - to have a good crisp Seyval Blanc or Bacchus with seafood or fish is amazing." Yes, he would say that, but I tend to agree. And there's something very positive (not to mention fashionable) about promoting local produce, too.

One pub that has enjoyed success selling English wine is the Nobody Inn near Exeter. Owner Nick Borst-Smith sells by the glass a house white that he has "made to measure" by the Three Choirs Winery in Gloucestershire. The current blend, produced specifically for the Nobody Inn, is made from four different white grapes. "The essence of the exercise is to get both quality and price right," says Borst-Smith. "We sell it for £1.50 a glass and people are pleasantly surprised by that price level. We sell loads and loads of it."

But the Nobody Inn is something of a rare exception among rural pubs. "We are still seen as competing with Liebfraumilch in most country pubs," notes Worontschak, "although trendy bars and pubs in big cities are beginning to support English wines in their own right."

At last there seems to be enough good stuff around to support. Sure, there were a few dodgy, badly made wines at the English Wine Producers' event, and there were more than a few mediocre ones. But the best of the crop, as my tasting notes spell out, were absolutely delicious, with unique flavours and aromas of hedgerow flowers, grassy meadows and freshly cut citrus fruits.

David Cowderoy, of Chapel Down Wines in Tenterden, Kent, is upbeat. "The image of English wine is changing," he says, "which is good, because it needed to. Whereas in the past there were many tiny vineyards, now there are some much bigger operations that really are commercially minded, and we are turning out some good stuff." Certainly, wineries such as Chapel Down, Denbies and Valley Vineyards are a far cry from yesterday's "hobby vineyard" belonging to a retired colonel with one hectare of vines. These bigger businesses target supermarkets, off-licence chains and, increasingly, restaurants. Chapel Down has been working closely with wine wholesaler Matthew Clark to get some of its excellent English wines into on-trade outlets.

Still, Cowderoy concedes that it is going to take "a long time to build up the brands and the new image" of English wine - "but," he says, "we're well on the way now."

So why aren't more English pubs and restaurants supporting English wine yet? "It's still a fairly tough job to sell English wine," admits Worontschak. "There remains a lot of prejudice to overcome, and I've got to be honest and say that the price-quality ratio is often still not quite right. Our challenge is to persuade people to part with a bit more money to taste quality English wine. But the industry as a whole is getting more focused and I think this is just the start."

In the past, according to Cowderoy, drinkers who bought English wine were either "patriots" or people "who suddenly decided to buy something different". Now he is seeing "more converts, wine drinkers who are enjoying English wine in its own right and making a habit of buying the stuff regularly".

One sector of the English wine market that seems to be thriving is sparkling wine. Both wine-makers say that they are excited by the quality of the methode traditionnelle fizz being made in England now. "Think about the climate," says Cowderoy. "We're northern, but our weather has more in common with Champagne than with Germany. And English sparkling wine doesn't have a bad image to overcome - in fact we've got a clean slate so we can build up its reputation."

Add to this the fact that England's wine-makers can blend across vintages for fizz (thus helping along the poorer vintages), and the existence of some potentially great sites for sparkling wine fruit on the chalk downs of southern England, and it's no surprise that the sparkling wines were the most exciting section of the EWP tasting.

Another success story is Bacchus, a sort of double-cross vine created by crossing a Silvaner and Riesling cross with Muller-Thurgau. In England, and in the hands of the right wine-maker (Cowderoy, in particular), Bacchus is capable of making herbaceous, lime-tinged whites both snappy and fresh. The hybrid Seyval Blanc is the subject a lengthy battle with EC regulations, and remains outside the quality wine scheme introduced a few years ago, but, even so, it can be steely and fresh and doesn't taste remotely non-vinifera.

Reds, it must be said, lag far behind, and it is hard to imagine England ever shining in red-wine production. It simply doesn't get hot enough in this country for the grapes to ripen - and, no, global warming won't provide a simple answer to this. "It may get hotter during the day in the summer, but the nights are still cold and we get more spring frosts than ever before," says Worontschak.

Another problem, which applies to reds and whites grown in the UK, is to do with grape yields. It will always be a struggle for producers to regain the cost of planting when yields are naturally so low - English wine-makers are doing well to get two tonnes per acre, say the experts.

All in all, what with high costs, poor weather and consumer prejudice, it's a wonder that English wineries stay afloat. Don't be entirely surprised if your small local vineyard folds suddenly after a particularly harsh vintage.

Even so, let's hope that the current drive for better quality continues. A new generation of younger wine-makers such as Cowderoy and Worontschak (plus Will Davenport of Davenport Vineyards, and Martin Fowke of Three Choirs in Gloucestershire) is breathing fresh life into the industry and bringing skills into English wineries often acquired abroad.

Now, more than ever, it makes sense for the on-trade to get behind English wine. Use it or lose it, as the saying goes. And there seems to be plenty of good stuff to use these days.

Stockists

For more information on English Wine Producers:

Tel: 01536 772264

Fax: 01536 772263

Denbies Wine Estate: 01306 876616

Chapel Down: 01580 763033

Nyetimber Vineyard: 01798 813989

Valley Vineyards: 0118 9340176

Davenport Vineyards: 01892 852380

Three Choirs: 01531 670100