English sparkling wine has emerged as the dark horse front runner in the wine world.
It was exported to a record 27 countries in 2016, with 30 new vineyards opening in the past two years alone as vignerons struggle to keep up with growing demand. Output is expected to double by 2020 from five million to 10 million bottles annually.
There are now 130 wineries and around 500 vineyards in Britain, with sparkling wines accounting for almost 70% of production.
Last month, the drinks business declared: “No longer a little-known enterprise skeptically dismissed by critics as an eccentricity, English sparkling wine has emerged from its chrysalis into one of the most exciting and promising developments in the wine world today.”
And the woman creating some of the most talked about styles is Emma Rice, chief winemaker at Hattingley Valley.
At the 2016 English and Welsh Wine of the Year Competition, her Rosé picked up a gold medal as well as the trophy for Most Outstanding Sparkling Rosé Wine. Rice was also crowned Winemaker of the Year for the second time and the first woman to achieve the honour.
Rice started out making sparkling wine in Tasmania. “I travelled to Tasmania for the 2008 vintage at Tamar Ridge to gain some experience working in a cooler climate making white and sparkling wine,” she told Hampshire Life.
She returned to the UK the following year to set up a wine analysis laboratory and consultancy business, and was soon approached to help Hattingley Valley owner Simon Robinson establish his winery.
This week, Rice told AFR columnist Max Allen that it’s a challenging industry to work in: “Viticulture in the UK is extreme. We can get frost, wind, rain, mildew, botrytis – everything that can go wrong often does. In 2012, when we just didn’t have a summer, we picked only five per cent of the grapes we normally harvest.”
But Rice is convinced the hard work is worth it. After all, she’s dreamed of making sparkling wine since her first chance tasting of 1979 Krug champagne at age 18.
“I can still taste that wine now: I took one sip and thought, ‘Right, this is it’.”
In the UK, Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvee sells at the same price as Moët & Chandon, $49.
It arrived on Aussie shores late last year, at $80 a bottle, with Allen describing it as “quite delicious – crisp wafer, crunchy white nectarine, finesse and restraint.”
Allen also admits that if he was faced with it and Moet on the shelf “I know which I’d choose.”
Although flattered, Rice noted: “But we have to be careful: if everyone switched from Moët to English sparkling wine overnight we just wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand.”
Allen isn’t alone in his appreciation for British sparkling, even the French have fallen under its spell.
A team from Britain’s Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) travelled to Paris and invited some of the biggest names in the French restaurant and bar trade to a blind tasting last year.
Many were convinced that some of the UK sparkling wines were from their own country, and in most cases preferred it to champagne.
“We have successfully slayed the myth that English wine cannot compete with the best in the world,” WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said when the results came out.
Australia is the sixth largest export market in the world for Champagne, with sales growing by more than 24% in 2015, so it’s hardly surprising British winemakers are seeking a piece of the action.
Hattingley is imported into Australia by cellarhand.com.au.
