Hattingley Valley English Sparkling Wines
This was a nice assignment to visit Hattingley Valley in Hampshire for a story about their English Sparkling Wines for the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
English Sparkling Wine
English Sparkling Wine is becoming increasingly popular and English vineyards such as Hattingley Valley are winning international prestigious awards where during blind testing the wines are beating major French Champagne houses in competitions.
In many area’s of South East England the chalky soil is identical to the chalky soil in Champagne and rising temperatures in northern Europe mean the area now enjoys the same climate as the northern France region had three decades ago. That the soil and climate is excellent for wine growing was acknowledged across the English Channel when in 2015 French champagne house Taittinger planted its first vines in English soil in Kent, they aim to initially produce 300,000 bottles of English Sparkling Wine per year.
At Hattingley Valley we met with Sales & Export Manager Gareth Maxwell & Chairman Simon Robinson who is also the Chairman of English Wine Producers – on the official English Wine Producers website they state that there are around 500 vineyards in England and Wales covering some 4,500 acres and producing sparkling and still wines. Read about the Three Choirs Vineyard.
