Hopes have been raised that the United Kingdom could soon produce a bold red to rival Bordeaux or Burgundy thanks to a relatively new Swiss grape variety called Divico.
British wines have developed quite a name for themselves of late, with plantings increasing by 74 per cent over the past five years, according to Wine GB.
There are now 943 vineyards spread across Great Britain, producing some 12.2 million bottles in 2022 (up from 5.3 million bottles in 2017).
The meteoric increase makes viticulture the fastest-growing agricultural sector in the UK, according to official government figures, employing 2,300 people on a full-time basis, while a further 8,300 people are employed in part-time or seasonal work.
Sparkling wine has taken a front seat in the drive to put Britain on the world’s wine map (it currently accounts for 68 per cent of production) owing to the chalky soil that influences Champagne-style production.
The climate, too, has hampered growers from being able to look beyond red varieties such as Pinot Noir and Gamay.
But a relatively new Swiss grape variety called Divico could change all that, creating a “Kent claret” that could “take on the French”, The Times recently reported.
Divico – a crossbreed of the Gamaret and Bronner varieties – produces a heavy, full-bodied wine which has a good tolerance for frost and a strong resistance to fungus, making it perfect for England’s cold springs and wet autumns.
It requires a very short season to fully ripen and the grapevine’s loose bunches and spacious leaves allows air to circulate and dry the plant after rainfall, which as any grower will tell you, is an absolute godsend in wetter climates like ours.
The only challenge now is supplying British producers with enough clips to start planting en masse and refining the process to compete with the likes of Bordeaux and Burgundy across the Channel.
Pattingham Vineyard’s ‘Rudge Heath’ is already producing a medium-bodied red from Wolverhampton, while Yotes Court is making good strides in Kent.
Hopefully, there’s a lot more to come.
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