United Kingdom


"English and Welsh wine is not a joke, although the average Briton may treat it as such. In fact the British are the only nation to assume automatically, and usually ignorantly, that their own wines are necessarily the worst in the world. The industry today is much more professional and most wine is made by younger, qualified winemakers who usually have experience of cellars in other countries. Because of England's cool climate, only early-ripening vine varieties stand a chance of reliably producing a crop. After the Champagne grapes Chardonnay, Pinots Noir and Meunier, the most planted varieties are therefore the hybrid Seyval Blanc, the German crossing Reichensteiner, Müller-Thurgau and the increasingly successful aromatic Bacchus." Jancis Robinson, MW.