The World in a Glass - English Wine Week
WORDS: Ange Seddon
You have probably noticed that English wines, still and sparkling, are creeping onto our supermarket shelves and into our restaurant wine lists more and more. Names are becoming more recognisable and are more celebrated. Last month (20th-28th June) was English Wine Week, but there is more than just one designated week of the year when you can drink the good stuff.
Wines have been made in the UK since the 12th century, with varying degrees of success. Our inclement weather being the biggest issue, along with changing tastes and much cheaper imports, all making producing British wines less viable. Also, with the demand for agricultural land during the First World War, a lot of vineyards were uprooted in order to boost food production. But after the Second World War, interest in growing our own vines resurged. The south of England, especially Kent, was noted to have similar soil conditions as the region of Champagne, so vines were planted throughout Kent, Surrey and Sussex using varieties considered better suited to the English climate. Yet still, getting enough light/sunshine to ripen any crop, proved to be very hit and miss, resulting in overly acidic wines. As my dad would say, "it’s a bit winky that!", yet always undeterred, would pucker up and go for a second sip.
Slowly, the weather has changed, and while we still have a damp, maritime climate which causes many a headache for all farmers, it's getting warmer. Though mild winters followed by late spring frosts can prove to be devastating to crops. It is said that the climate along our southern coast is roughly what it was in the region of Champagne in the 70's. While climate change is a ‘creeping catastrophe,’ in the short term at least it means we can grow a greater number of grape varieties and obtain higher yields. The weather in France is getting hotter too, giving them many challenges of a different nature. This situation benefits us, but less schadenfreude and more making the most of a tough situation. Some growing years have been terrible - 2012, 2016 and 2024 in particular- but 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2025 have proven to be record-breaking years for ideal weather and harvest. We continue to improve year on year, with technological and viticultural advances, as well as the hard work and dedication of our winemakers, both large and small producers. And while we could never compete on quantity with the likes of France, Italy and Spain, we can drive our quality upwards and compete on the world stage (or wine rack!).
2018 proved to be an excellent year for the Balfour Wine estate. Crafted as a single-vintage Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay), just 400 magnums were produced and patiently matured to perfection. That restraint was richly rewarded at the Decanter World Wine Awards, where a 97 point score earned it a coveted ‘Best in Show’ accolade, placing it alongside the finest wines in the world in 2026. And while I haven’t had the opportunity to taste this exemplary wine yet, I was invited to an excellent ‘Winemakers Series’ dinner which was an evening of exploring English wine with Balfour Winery, paired with a beautiful 5 course dinner. It was held in The Reach Hotel on Ducie Street in Manchester (2 minutes from Piccadilly Station) in the excellent Lock 84 restaurant.
Balfour Winery has gone from strength to strength from their first vintage in 2004, winning awards at the IWC, being the first English sparkling wine to be served in first class on British Airways, to being the only English wine sold at the 2012 Olympics.
Our host, Myles Archibald, took us through the fascinating history of the winery and told us about the stories behind each of the wines we tried. Each was named after a member of the Balfour-Lynn family, and when they ran out of people, they used their pets' names! Not as bad as it sounds; there is no Fido wine, just the classily named Liberty.
The food was excellent; Chef Chris Hall and his team created a beautiful 5 course meal with each of the wines in mind and paired the flavours in a creative and downright tasty way. Even balancing a spiced mackerel scotch egg and pickled cucumber with the aforementioned Liberty’s Bacchus.
The food here is utterly delicious, and it annoys me that I have never been here before. I have been missing out.
The wines we tried were:
Balfour Non-Vintage Sparkling – a great aperitif, and enjoyable way to start the evening. Crisp, appley, with notes of citrus and slightly toasty.
Nanette’s Rosé 2025 Vintage – made in the Provence style, a great still rosé tasting fresh, with hints of red berries. An easy-drinking wine, perfect with the heritage tomatoes with whipped Lancashire cheese.
Liberty’s Bacchus – I have tasted a lot of bad Bacchus; it is my least favourite grape, and smelling this, I didn’t hold out much hope for my mind to be changed. But it tasted infinitely better than my first impression. Again, it was crisp, dry, with hints of green apple and citrus. I was very pleasantly surprised.
Skye’s Chardonnay – this beautifully made Chablis-style Chardonnay was one of the standouts of the evening. This was paired with my favourite course, which was hot smoked chicken with broad beans, wild garlic, braised leeks, and sweetcorn purée. The chef served this cold, which was a welcome choice on what was a blisteringly hot evening, and this wine complemented it perfectly. The richness of the sauces and purées balanced beautifully with this rich, rounded wine. Even though it was unoaked, it still tasted luxurious.
Luke’s Pinot Noir – this wine is proof of England's ability to go toe to toe with France. This cool-climate pinot noir had the right mix of red fruit and spice to pair well with the pork belly glazed with cherry and the red cabbage (which was braised in pinot noir too). I loved it.
And finally…
Leslie’s Sparkling Rosé – Leslie has 4 wines in her name; the one we tried was paired with a rosé and Vimto jelly summer pudding with clotted cream. With soft, creamy bubbles and strawberries and cream taste, it went so well. Rich with notes of brioche, yet dry and crisp too. A great end to the evening.
Balfour Wines do partnerships with many supermarkets, such as M&S and Morrisons. If you're curious, just check the back of the label and their name will be there. But their wines are widely available; Majestic do a good range too. But also, you can buy directly from their website. I heartily recommend you grab a bottle of any of their wines and try it. It is a great chance to drink quality English wines; they are only going to get better.
If you'd like to take part in the next Winemakers Series, the team will be at The Halyard in Liverpool on Wednesday 30th September. You can find full details here - voyagersliverpool.com/winemakers-series
Full details of the next wine pairing evening at The Reach (also on Wednesday 30th September) can be found here - www.opentable.co.uk
Cin cin et salute a tutti,
Ange
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