Thanks to rising temperatures, micro-climates in England now boast the perfect conditions for making sparkling wine.Daniel Dytrych
English sparkling wine beats French Champagne in blind taste test. This is clickbait at its best. It was one thing when, in 1976, a plucky California chardonnay bested its French counterpart at the Judgment of Paris. But England? And Champagne?
Since a lot of people aren't familiar with English fizz, this might come as a surprise – especially considering the Brits didn't even come up with their own word for "terroir." Looking at a map, though, it's easy to see why bubbles are a natural transplant. The Strait of Dover is really all that separates the south of England from the part of France celebrated for that chalky soil responsible for Champagne's minerality. Our first clue should probably have been those famous big white cliffs.
So, a better question might be: "Why hasn't anyone thought to do it sooner?" According to Nicholas Coates, one of the founders of the United Kingdom's award-winning winemakers Coates & Seely, the main answer is climate change.
"Over the past 10 to 15 years, average temperatures have increased around one degree centigrade, which has moved the cultivation of Champagne varietals from the wrong side of marginal to the right side of marginal," says Coates, referring to the micro– climate at his Hampshire vineyard in the south of England. "I think that shift has been very critical."
What a difference a degree makes. At least to chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, all of which benefit from straddling the marginal-climate line – areas with short growing seasons that live under the eternal looming threat of an early winter, which could impede the grape's ability to fully ripen. Marginal-climate wine lovers claim, however, that the grape improves through this adversity, generally leading to a more complex result.
This is, in fact, one of the chief selling points of English sparkling wine. It's not a knock-off. It's a distinct-tasting wine that expresses a unique terroir. Coates & Seely's gold-medal-winning Brut Reserve, for example, the first English fizz to hit Canada, has a very fine, subtle bubble that helps bring out the toast and lemon flavours of this distinctly rich and creamy wine.
But can it sell? At Vessel Liquor, a wine and liquor store in Victoria favoured by people who work in the bar-and-restaurant industry, manager Brent Muller says it's done well so far: "It's definitely a conversation starter," he says. "But it's most popular with trade who are excited to try the first one to hit the market."
We might also expect Brexit to boost sales at home. Regardless of where the British pound lands, the vote expressed nationalist sentiments and support for a local economy, which the nascent industry may benefit from since the United Kingdom is the largest importer of French Champagne. Despite having only a fifth the population, Brits drink almost twice as much imported bubbly as the United States – France's second-largest market.
But old habits die hard. And it's difficult to get people to look beyond tried-and-true French Champagne houses – especially the one with the orange label – for special occasions, such as holidays, anniversaries or popping the question, since they want to be absolutely certain they haven't bought a dud for their big day. As consumption patterns shift, however, and fizz moves out of the special-occasion category and into everyday-drinking territory, consumers are expected to become more adventurous in their choices, which is an opening for brands like Gusbourne, Coates & Seely and Nyetimber – not exactly household names.
"What we have going for us is quality," says Coates. "And, as people start to treat sparkling as a wine like any other, quality will prevail over the power of the big brands."
Especially now that it has a few gold medals and blind taste tests under its belt. After all, just look at what that did for California chardonnay.
Coates & Seely Brut Reserve and Sparkling Rosé are available at Newfoundland Liquor stores ($61.52; $66.05), select private wine and liquor stores in British Columbia and, in Ontario, by private order through Lifford Wines and Spirits.