England now produces light, fruity reds that are much less heady than their Mediterranean counterparts
W
hen did you last buy a bottle of English red wine? Chances are, you never have. Though increasingly available on the high street – Ocado and Waitrose Cellar both stock a couple – reds grown in Blighty have struggled to shift a reputation for being overpriced: the vast majority still cost £15-25 a bottle, which is well outside what most people might consider “everyday drinking”.
According to WineGB, the national trade organisation for British winemakers, red probably accounts for less than 5% of all English wine. The cost issue, however, transcends red wine alone; winemaking in England might be one of our fastest-growing agricultural sectors, but it still operates on a relatively small scale, which naturally bumps up that price tag. Our cooler climate isn’t associated with reds, either, particularly those big, juicy numbers available so affordably from hotter countries. So, yes, you could be forgiven for thinking English reds are expensive novelties.
But the tide is changing – and, of course, rising. Not only does climate change make red wine production look a bit more possible in the UK, but wine tastes are shifting. There is a growing appetite for light, juicy reds – the trend for chilled glou-glou as an alternative to rosé in summer – which often go hand-in-hand with a lower ABV: good news for a wine-drinking culture that’s increasingly committed to moderate boozing.
