Vineyard acreage on the island has doubled in the last eight years / from exotic to an export hit: Sparkling wines are very much in demand
Hand on heart: Who would think of vines – and not rain – when it comes to England? The island is the home of beer and cider, fish & chips, and all kinds of gastronomic specialities that you have to learn to love first… Yet just as the Brits have made up a lot of ground in terms of cooking & cuisine recently, they are now also preparing to compete with their French neighbours on the other side of the channel, above all with crisp sparkling wines. This is down to climate change: In the last eight years alone, the vineyard acreage in England and Wales has doubled to 1,450 hectares – that is more than, for example, Luxembourg can show, the small but much better known country for wine production.