Restaurants
Book Restaurants Online
Cafes & Coffee Shops
Caterers
Chinese & Japanese
Indian & Balti
Italian
Middle Eastern, African and Caribbean
Modern & European
Other Cuisines
Take Away
Thai & South East Asian
Vegetarian
Sponsored Links
+ Website Designers
+ Bed and Breakfasts

Offers & Deals
Book a Hotel

Hot Links
London Recycling:
60% more could be recycled. No time to waste. It's time for action. www.recycleforlondon.com
Competition
Win a Luxury Ski Holiday in France ...
Raise a glass to English wines

Feature

You may know your Rioja from your Rhône and your Bordeaux from your Beaujolais, but how clued up are you on English wines?

Long regarded as a bit of a joke, English wines have become very grown up over the past few years. Grape vines thrive in warm, long and dry summers, such as those you’ll find in Italy, Spain, South Africa and California – not the rainy ones we are used to here, which are too cool, damp and short for successful viticulture.

However, in recent years English wine has become a force to be reckoned with, even beating the traditional competition at international level. And there are now more than 250 commercial vineyards in the UK, with the industry transforming itself. The varieties of grape that can be grown and harvested successfully in England are dictated by the climate and soil conditions. The black grape varieties are the most difficult to grow, needing a warmer climate to ripen correctly, but there are some that can be grown successfully without the need for tunnels.

The chalky soil of southeast England and the local climatic conditions, which can be likened to the Champagne region of France, have resulted in great success for English sparkling wines. This year, Throwley Vineyard near Faversham, Kent, was awarded a silver medal for its Throwley Reserve Brut 2001 in the International Wine Challenge.Proprietor Duncan Wilson says, “It really demonstrates the quality of our wines when the Throwley Reserve Brut 2001 wins the same medal as Dom Perignon 1998.”

Where to buy

Most wine sold in Britain is sold in supermarkets. Unfortunately, you will have to search the shelves to find decent English wines, but you should find at least two or three in any large supermarket. Some now have a policy to stock local produce and this ought to include wine. Expect to pay between £3 and £4.50 a bottle.

There are still quite a few specialist wine merchants around, and they should stock at least half a dozen English wines. Expect to pay £5 to £12 a bottle.

Wine can also be bought online and delivered direct to you at home. There are now a small number of specialist wine merchants which only sell online. Winehub – www.winehub.co.uk – sells fine still, sparkling and dessert-style wines and liqueurs produced by East of England vineyards and English Wine Service. Bestenglishwine.co.uk sells all the recent award winning wines from throughout the UK, including red, white, sparkling white and dessert wine – particularly useful if you are not completely confident in your choice.

Some of the larger English vineyards, such as Three Choirs, Denbies and Camel Valley are now selling their wine direct to the public online.

Picture caption: Denbies of Dorking in Surrey produces top class English wine.
MyVillage 15th August




Whats on in Kensington
Dec 2006
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
     12
3456789
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Archive features Archive features
Book Chinese & Japanese Restaurants
Mr Wing

Book Indian Restaurants
Zaika
Khan's of Kensington
Shezan Restaurant
Little India
Memories of India
Noor Jahan
The Delhi Brasserie
Kare Kare

Book Italian Restaurants
Papa Luigi's Restaurant
The Ark
Sopranos
Caffe Uno
Strada - Kensington
Locanda Ottomemezzo
Timo Restaurant
Fratelli

Book Modern & European Restaurants
Plum Bar & Grill
The Tenth
Kensington Roof Gardens
190 Queens Gate
Gardens Restaurant @ The Holiday Inn
Kensington Place
Peridot
Restaurant At NH Herrington Hall

Book Other Cuisines
Dione
Ten Tables
Piano
Ten Tables
Slice
Lessandro

Book Thai Restaurants
Blue Lagoon
Thai Square: South Kensington
Thai Origin

Featured Businesses
Feng Sushi
Malabar
Xiong Mao

Features
Singapore food festival
Special chef evenings
Wodka
190 Queens Gate
Eating in Knightbridge
Buy His Lunch!

Restaurant Reader Reviews
Orsini Ristorante-Bar-Caffe'
Moti Mahal Restaurant
The Blythe Road Restaurant
Raison D'etre
Mohsen
Lorenzos
Mediterranean Kitchen
Hare and Tortoise
Jacobs
Scoffs Eating House
 Buy Books with Amazon
Cook with Jamie - Jamie Oliver
Humble Pie - Gordon Ramsay
Delia's Vegetarian Collection - Delia Smith
more books

Food News & Features
Chestnuts herald the festive season
BBC Good Food Show
Autumn Eating
Organic Fortnight
A dish best served cold
Al Fresco Dining
The all-round summer superfood
Pour over the balsamic

Healthy Eating
Saving on Organics
Nuts about nuts
How much salt is too much?
Healthy lunch at the office
Five unusual things to do with an avocado
Asparagus: nature's Viagra

Wine & Drinks
Autumn wines for seasonal roasts
Are you a Coffee Addict?
All about espresso machines
Raise a glass to English wines
Salute Italia!

Cuisines
British food
Caribbean Food
Chinese food
French food
Indian food
Italian food
Thai food

Celebrity Chefs
Gordon Ramsay
Jamie Oliver
Nigella Lawson

Competitions
Win a Harrods wine hamper
Win a Luxury Ski Holiday
Win a Xbox 360
Win an iPod Nano
Win a ghd travel bag
Win Lancome products
Win a Sony Vaio laptop