British winemakers in France attempt English sparkling

A British winemaking couple based in the Languedoc-Roussillon are embarking on an English sparkling wine project.

Charles and Ruth Simpson at Domaine de Sainte Rose

Charles and Ruth Simpson of Domaine de Sainte Rose in southern France have bought 35 hectares of land near the East Kent coast to produce traditional method sparkling using Champagne grapes.

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are due to be planted on south-facing loamy-chalk soil at a site south of Canterbury, and the couple have enlisted the help of UK viticultural consultant Stephen Skelton MW.

To gain practical experience of the sparkling winemaking process ahead of the new project, the Simpsons are creating Domaine Sainte Rose’s first ever fizz – a Blanc de Blancs from Chardonnay grapes grown at the estate, which will be ready to launch in July 2013.

“We can definitely see potential synergies between the two businesses as the UK is our main export market,” commented the couple.

“We are also well positioned to target export customers as we have an established international client base – something that many English wineries currently lack,” they added.

They also stressed, “As planting increases in England and supply begins to exceed demand, English wine producers need to look at developing an export market.”

However, as news surfaces of a disastrous vintage in the UK this year, supply shortages may in fact become the more immediate concern.

So low are yields, one English winemaker even joked, “show me a grape and I’ll give you £5”, while famous longstanding English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber has announced it is to abandon attempts to make any wine from the 2012 harvest.

Meanwhile, an English sparkling wine seminar in the UK last month identified a potential bottleneck in the industry as new producers emerge, and choose to follow the same format.

The most popular approach is based on a small estate of around 5-10 hectares producing sparkling wine from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with a planned selling price of £25.

At the event, organised by the Institute of Masters of Wine, English winemaker and Wine Skills training mentor David Cowderoy warned, “They will find it increasingly difficult to find a point of difference.”

Finally, a recent blind tasting of sparkling wine from around the world confirmed Champagne’s supremacy, but saw English sparkling better fizz from the New World.