When the late Queen Elizabeth II wished to commemorate, she chose English bubbles. Such a choice might seem patriotic however hardly enjoyable. In the past, “British” has been to “red wine” as it has been to “teeth.” However over the last few years, with Excellent Britain’s temperatures soaring ever higher, the pink-faced denizens of that sweating sceptered isle are enjoying a refreshing side advantage to the roasting temperature levels: a thriving white wine market.
English white wines won a record variety of medals at the Decanter World White Wine Awards in June. In part, this is the result of international warming. Rising temperature levels, integrated with chalky soil, have actually turned the nation’s south coast into a dead ringer for the Champagne area. The French have taken notification. Taittinger has turned farmland in Kent into vineyards, and Pommery, which owns nearly 100 acres in Hampshire, is now constructing a wine-making center, or cuverie, amidst its vines.