As
an oenologist and a contract winemaker I get to see a huge range of
wines from across the UK. A growing industry in England and Wales,
there are relatively few rules and restrictions on what we can do
when making wine, especially by comparison with our continental
cousins. The EU does impose a few basic regulations to ensure the
consumer is drinking the product of fermented grapes, i.e. wine, but
we can pretty much choose what varieties we like and our winemaking
methods are open to those we feel best suit our own situation.
There
are two sides to this freedom of choice – the good and the bad.
Most winemakers I know use the freedom wisely, taking the best bits
from regions they've worked in or visited whilst disregarding the
unecessarily prescriptive. For example, whole bunch picking for
quality sparkling wine. But rather than using the ridiculously
over-sized 50kg bins they are obliged to use in Champagne, we use
20kg picking crates which are easily handled by one man or woman.
There is not a reason I can see that a 50kg crate will give you
better quality wine compared to a 20kg crate. In fact, it might be
argued that the smaller the crate the less likely it is that the
grapes will be crushed under their own weight.
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| Equal opportunities - 20kg is a comfortable weight for most to lift |
The
United Kingdom Vineyard Association (UKVA) has come up with some
regulations in conjunction with the EU, taking the example of English
Sparkling Wine PDO: For the label to say exactly that, 'English
Sparkling Wine' or 'Quality English Sparkling Wine' the wine inside
the bottle must adhere to the following restrictions:
- be made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir Precoce grown in England
- be bottle-fermented in the traditional method
- riddled and disgorged to remove the yeast
- aged on lees for at least nine months
All
well and good, however it is not just with quality in mind that these
restrictions were chosen. One might argue that whole bunch pressing
is also a key element to quality sparkling wines, as is proscribed in
Champagne. This element was not included in the UK regulations much
to the surprise of many. Why not? Well, there are certain influential
members of the UKVA who crush and de-stem their grapes before
pressing (to get more in to each press load? Simply for convenience?
Because they feel it produces better quality?). This leads the
cynical amongst us to jump to the conclusion that some voices shout
louder than others and subsequently get their way.
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| Whole bunch pressing - an integral element of quality? |
Within
the English system, the producer of quality sparkling wine who does
not want to jump through the PDO hoops can simply label their wine
Quality Sparkling Wine, Product of England. Could any consumer
distinguish between this and the PDO option above? The only difference on the
label is the exact usage of the word 'English'. It makes a mockery of
a very weak regulatory body.
All
this having been said, you cannot complain about a system of
regulation established and run by your industry if you do not take
part in the often boring and tedious process of setting it up.
Therefore, simply being a member of your regional association and, by
default, a member of the UKVA, is not enough. Go to the meetings,
join the committee, shout a little louder and make your voice heard.
Sour grapes are never attractive.
Great first post. I'm just a consumer of wine who's interested in the home grown stuff. Articles such as this are useful and informative.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. I intend to report on further developments in the burgeoning domestic industry as they happen - it is one of the last frontiers in winemaking.
DeleteInteresting first post, thanks. I'd not yet heard about the new English sparkling wine PDO. Unfortunately this new category will exclude a few high quality producers such as Breaky Bottom (who I think use seyval blanc), though I guess that would be hard to avoid.
ReplyDeleteI can see why regulation can be a good thing, particularly in older, established regions. It's good to keep the traditional methods of wine production alive (including the local grape varieties) where they might be in danger of being lost simply in the name of short term commercialism. Which makes it even sadder when these AOCs start excluding their own traditional grape varieties (e.g. Touraine). But these regulations aren't so important in newer regions such as England where producers are still figuring out what does well where. And it's good to have an alternative for producers who do want to try something new.
Out of interest, have you seen producers start to plant any new and unusual varieties (beyond the champagne varieties, Bacchus, Rondo, etc)? I did read that Ancre Hill Estate in Wales is planting Albariño. It'd be interesting to see how this turns out.
I know Breaky Bottom very well and I don't think Peter Hall has anything to fear from the new PDO - you can simply choose not to use it, and very few consumers are aware of it anyway. There is PGI that covers Seyval Blanc.
DeleteI am, in principle, in favour of regulation but being in the industry whilst it is being thrashed out has made me a little cynical as to whose interests the regulations are supposed to be protecting. It is all still evolving and can still change.
Regarding new varieties, it is a brave producer in England who experiments. 3-5 years between planting and producing a single grape, in a marginal climate it can be a very expensive experiment. Hattingley valley in Hampshire has some Pinot Gris that is doing well but also has 1000 Chenin Blanc vines that, 5 years on, are on their last chance - if they don't produce this year they will be ripped out.
Thanks for commenting.
Yes, I don't think Breaky Bottom has anything to fear from the new PDO -- but an appellation that is meant to be about quality but excludes some of the more quality-focused producers might have problems. I can understand the desire to limit the PDO to the three main Champagne varieties, though.
DeleteI see why you're a bit equivocal about regulation -- appellation regulations are a good idea where they work, but when they don't they can be worse than nothing. Unfortunately they can often be distorted to protect the interest of big industrial producers at the expense of smaller producers. Which isn't how it should work, but sometimes is how it ends up. Touraine is probably an example of how not to do things at the moment.
Thanks for the comments on new varieties. Trying new varies is always a gamble! I think all the Pinots -- noir, gris and blanc -- should do well in England. Chenin probably needs more heat than you might initially have thought! Ditto Riesling. Gamay might work on warm sites with granitic soil?
Great post and I look forward to more. I was surprised by the limited list of approved varieties. Your points above on the risks of experimentation are well taken, but UK vit is inherently experimental , it seems to me. Such restrictions seem unnecessary at best, and risk excluding potentially great varieties for bubbles at worst.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt & Marcy. The restrictions only apply to PDO wines. You can use the PGI or Varietal classification instead and avoid the restriction altogether. We are one big experiment in the UK.
Delete