| British vineyards had their most successful harvest in a decade last year, producing around three million bottles of wine, reports London Telegraph. "Almost perfect" weather conditions in 2006, including a mild spring and a hot July, led to an early, bumper crop of grapes in England and Wales.
The successful harvest couldn't have come at a better time for domestic wines, which are experiencing a renaissance. Once ridiculed as poor imitations of sweet German wines, modern English whites have recently won a string of international awards.
Changes in farming subsidies, and the warmer British summers of the last few years, are persuading more and more farmers to diversify into wine production. British vineyards now cover over 2500 acres, a third more land than they did in 2004.
Last year, Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 1998, produced in Sussex , was named the best sparking wine in the world outside the Champagne region in the International Wine and Spirit Competition.
The last time English producers broke the three million bottle barrier was after the hot summer of 1996, says Julia Trustram Eve, of English Wine Producers. Concerns over "food miles", the distance that produce travels to reach the consumer, is expected to increase domestic demand for English and Welsh wine over the next few years, she adds.
Details at http://www.telegraph.co.uk |
