Will we soon be toasting our health with British champagne? The question is not as crazy as it may sound. When people think of winemaking countries, Britain is unlikely to be the first place that comes to mind, but the region actually has a surprisingly long history of viticulture. Now, as temperatures are on the rise, so, too, is Britain's wine industry.
Wine was introduced to the British Isles by the Romans in the first century AD, but although the practice of winemaking in Britain continued for centuries, it eventually stopped. In the second half of the 20th century, however, British wine re-emerged and, more recently, wine production in England and Wales has taken off. The reason for this is climate change.
Things are heating up
According to UK government climate change data, "The decade from 2011 to 2020 was 1.1 °C warmer on average than the 1961-to-1990 average." This rise in temperature has made southern England and Wales more suitable for the production of certain varieties of sparkling-wine grape, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, which are traditionally grown in the Champagne region of France.
Researchers in the UK predict that an even larger area of England and Wales will become suitable for the reliable production of wine grape varieties over the next 20 years. In the future, if average temperatures rise further, British wine producers will also be able to grow Pinot Noir for still-wine production. Varieties such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are also predicted to become popular.
A growing business
In 2021, 9.3 million bottles of English and Welsh wine were sold, which represents a 31 per cent increase in sales according to WineGB. While 96 per cent of those sales were made in the British domestic market, Scandinavia has become a key export market.
Notably, Norway accounts for around half of all English wine exports. According to the chairman of WineGB, Sam Linter, the growth in the Norwegian export market comes from the country's affinity with English culture as well as an open-mindedness towards trying different styles of wine. The sustainable growth in the sector in Scandinavia over the past five to seven years gives industry professionals reason to believe that this upward trend is likely to continue.
More vineyards
"We've seen viticulture in the UK expand nearly 400 per cent — from 761 to 3,800 hectares between 2004 and 2021," says Professor Steve Dorling, a researcher at the University of East Anglia. There are now more than 800 vineyards in the UK. The recent expansion has also increased consumer awareness, opening up markets further away, such as Hong Kong and mainland China.
As Britain's wine industry gradually becomes more established, the growing number of award-winning wines emerging from the region is helping to build consumer trust in the product. Ruth Simpson, co-founder of the Simpsons Wine Estate, in Canterbury, told the South China Morning Post: "Great British traditional-method sparkling wines have done for England what Sauvignon Blanc did for New Zealand in the early years of production."
However, no matter how established English and Welsh wines become in the future, the industry remains on uncertain ground. Climate change is difficult to predict. Although it has created more favourable growing conditions today, it also raises the risks of severe drought, erratic weather and potentially even wildfires of the sort southern Europe has experienced in recent years. Such dangers threaten the foundation of wine production all over the world. For now, at least, Britain's wine industry is enjoying its moment in the sun.