The time has long passed when the words “English sparkling” left wine enthusiasts pulling a face and saying, “Really?! English wine? From grapes?” These days, English sparkling wine is recognised as a high-quality product with nothing but potential for future expansion. And quite possibly, some of you might have come across a forward-looking host this holiday season who had swapped their usual New Year’s Champagne for a Nyetimber or Chapel Down. So here is some basic information about this relatively new phenomenon.

Winemaking on English soil became a small industry in the mid-to-late 19th century, but the earliest written proof of winemaking dates from 731, when growing grapes was mentioned among other types of agriculture practised in England. As with the rest of Northern Europe, the winemaking traditions probably came with the Romans.

Modern winemaking, however, took off with the founding of the Oxted Viticultural Research Station in 1945, which proceeded to grow and test different kinds of grapes in the English climate. Needless to say, some of the experiments were very successful, and the tradition of winemaking was rekindled.

Today, winemaking is widespread throughout England, but the most common regions for vineyards are in the South and South East. With the increasingly warm summers since the turn of the century, winemaking is becoming more interesting for growers and drinkers alike.

The soils in Southern England resemble the soils in Champagne, and many English producers also stick to the traditional Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. With climate change and increasingly better equipment, winemakers are able to produce good-quality wine almost every year.

The high potential for making English sparkling wine was cemented in 2015, when Taittinger became the first Champagne house to buy land in Kent and plant it with 30 hectares of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier — the results of which were ardently anticipated by wine enthusiasts all over the world.

We had the pleasure of tasting some wonderful English sparkling wines, and below you’ll find our scores.