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Wine - Russ (5th Mar 2021 - 09:54:14) Just seen a wine grower in uk has been awarded the best sparkling wine award in the world. Yes we can do it .

Re: Wine - Grape (5th Mar 2021 - 11:01:42) Awarded prizes of Best wine in the World are all too common. They are usually judged by referees of narrow interests and the categories are usually very restricted. I can grow the best wine in the world that can be grown inside my Liphook home, cheers! I'm not saying there is no future for British wine or that existing ones are not good (personally yet to be convinced). All I'd say is that the claim as described at the top is rather meaningless. Nevertheless, thank you for the optimism.

Re: Wine - Russ (5th Mar 2021 - 14:59:33) Grape totally agree but with climate change and our very good chalk soil we may be able to challenge the wine market in a few years. We are world leaders for beer and spirits so why not wine another string to our bow here’s hoping.

Re: Wine - Grape (5th Mar 2021 - 16:01:38) Precisely how much suitable chalk soil have we in the UK and that is not already ogled at by other stakeholders? Look at the South Downs: Tiny chalk area fought over between "developers" and preservation; what chance agriculture has here? England is not known for vast open and suitable spaces needed for viticulture for good reasons. Climate change does not exclude overcast summers which is bad for grapes. Yes, it'll probably be less cold, more droughts and more floods, pest and diseases. That's not conducive for viticulture. Good British beer and spirit? Much of the raw materials (plus equipment and expertise) is imported from abroad. Perhaps British wine has some future in imported preserved grape. Cheers for that!

Re: Wine - Russ (5th Mar 2021 - 17:21:37) Never mind grape I will carry on drinking the good old local real ale Loads of breweries around here very lucky. The odd scotch go’s down well . But I have noticed a lot more vineyards springing up all over the place so you never no .

Re: Wine - Grape (5th Mar 2021 - 17:53:12) No doubt. Not saying English wine is not here or not spreading. But England is unlikely to become a globally major wine producing country.

Re: Wine - Graham (5th Mar 2021 - 18:51:22) I can highly recommend both the white and rose’ sparkling wine at Grayfriars Vineyard on the Hoggs Back www.greyfriarsvineyard.co.uk Cheers....

Re: Wine - helen (5th Mar 2021 - 18:56:05) Russ a lot of the whiskey companies are now owned by the Japanese they win prizes for their own brands too. As regards wine, we can only grow white grapes succesfully here no red wine. Also it is approximately 25.00 to 28 pounds per bottle of wine. We also need to be able to ship enough to the rest of the world for it to become more than a niche local product.

Re: Wine - Russ (6th Mar 2021 - 11:08:43) Had a look at greyfriers very impressive bottles start from 13.50 very impressive range. Yes Helen we no overseas companies buy into our business because they are so good. French bought into our water suppliers and so on .Scotland world renowned whisky best in the world. Two retired navel men have traveled the world finding out about brewing rum & Gin have built up a fine distillery at Portsmouth going from strength to strength. I take my hat off to all of our entrepreneurs and hard working business that are beavering away to make this country work again. I am a back Britain man I buy British if possible I feel we must support people that are working there socks off for this country. Saying that I do love Australian wine top of my list , Californian next then new Zealand. And yes I watch country file every Sunday fantastic people doing a fantastic job in our countryside some of these new farmers with new ideas unbelievable.So there you go that’s my motto back BRITAIN we can do it.

Re: Wine - Helen (7th Mar 2021 - 09:09:27) Hi Russ I had a look on the Greyfriars website and the price you quote is only available if you buy a case of six wines on special offer. I imagine your pension must be far better than mine as individual bottles start around 20 pounds per bottle. Having said that if import duties increase through brexit in the summer as expected British wine may look more affordable.

Re: Wine - Ian (7th Mar 2021 - 10:05:08) Russ, certainly agree we should try to buy English where We can but it’s not easy! Mind you I won’t touch anything from Scotland though! Miserable sods don’t want anything to do with England (except our subsidies) so don’t want anything of theirs! Irish whiskey is a very acceptable alternative along with Japanese, Canadian and others. Aussie wines superior to most English wines and a lot more varied and affordable. English produce does need to become more affordable in many areas though as good quality and cheaper foreign alternatives are always going to appeal to the informed and discerning consumer.

Re: Wine - Peter (7th Mar 2021 - 11:13:45) To think English wine is always going to be inferior to European wines is false. Leading French Champagne producers are buying up hundreds of acres of land in southern areas. They are doing it because climate change is causing problems for the French growers in their home vineyards. Also the geology of the ground in the south is the same as in France.

Re: Wine - Russ (7th Mar 2021 - 12:05:46) Yes Helen we need a level playing field with the EU but they seem determined to make it very difficult to trade with them. Unfortunately this may backfire on them because they do a lot of trade with us and it will hurt them as well as us. We want to trade with everyone not just the EU so they need to come to their senses and stop all the silly red tape. But aside from all that yes our wine is a little bit expensive at the moment but things may change with all the new developments who can tell. I know you are very pro Europe but we have left the EU so we must forge ahead and trade with all the countries that want to trade with us. If the EU don’t want to trade sensible and keep on putting silly objects in the way it’s their funeral. I am still a back Britain man I love my country best country in the world sorry if that’s not the way other people se it but that’s their prerogative.

Re: Wine - Knowledge (7th Mar 2021 - 16:53:49) Helen. You're wrong about red grapes and red wine. The wine we're particularly good at producing is champagne style wine and Pinot Noir is one of the main grapes, along with Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is a red grape. They leave the skins in during the winemaking to produce pink champagne style wines and just the juice for normal champagne. They are also growing other red grape varieties in Devon and Cornwall and producing red wines with these. Some of these are very good indeed. If you think about it, some of the regions in Chile and Argentina where we get Merlots and Malbecs from, for example, are very high in altitude and therefore experience similar summer temperatures to Devon and Cornwall.

Re: Wine - Grape (7th Mar 2021 - 16:56:04) We all wish the best for English wine and always prefer to buy local. A bit of realism: Just as it's time we all get used to the fact that we're out of the EU, it is also worthwhile to remember that England is not and will not be a big , diverse and lucrative viticulture country (CC won't reverse this fact). Future English wine industries would be wise to consider importing ingredients when local provision falls short. For that they'll need competitively good international trade relations (as promised) which is not what we're seeing. If British breweries / distilleries / vineyards are switching hands to foreign owners, it's not through hostile military occupation, it's a free choice of the British original owners. Makes you wonder: If English land is as lucrative for viticulture as told, then why is it reported as being flogged away from British hands? Yes, at last the UK managed a trade deal with Japan (we're not told what the UK had to scarify for that). The UK had free trade with Japan as an EU member almost three years ago with the clout of the largest bilateral trade agreement. The Japanese will always treat the smaller UK deal as inferior to that of the EU trade. Same with other world economies. Top expert economists of all sides agree that post-Brexit British 'sovereignty' will cost Britain more than it will for the EU - not sure how better informed you are on this. The fact is that post-Brexit the EU is better placed to sell more elsewhere globally if sales to the UK dwindle a bit. It is possible that the EU is being difficult now, but I struggle to find a suitable counter accusation for the fact that the UK is breaking the withdrawal agreement twice over within the space of a single year. Those violations will be a pain dealing with the EU but also an additional note of caution for potential economies hesitantly discussing trade with post-Brexit UK. Post-Brexit balance of forces is going to be very "interesting" as time goes, and not in a pleasant way. How bad and how fast can it turn sour? History will tell. The pandemic was almost a diversion from that fact, almost. Anyhow, it's fortunate that there seems to be some demand for the pricing, diversity and flavour of English wine.

Re: Wine - helen (7th Mar 2021 - 20:44:07) Russ I am not being unpatriotic for finding British Wine unaffordable for me. You cannot link the two. I am sure that there are people who voted brexit still out there too, buying non British goods. If it becomes on a price par with other wines then I would buy it, but at the moment it is not in my price range. To be a winner in any trade negotiation we need to have a bargaining chip and our pricing of goods is not one of them. It was not my choice to leave a perfectly good trading partnership. Perhaps if I was as wealthy as you Russ I could buy the luxury priced products we offer. Unfortunately I do not like beer.

Re: Wine - Russ (8th Mar 2021 - 10:32:24) Well my original post has thrown up some interesting facts had no idea it would do so. As I have said all I wanted to do was praise our hard working business be it wine or otherwise. Time will tell how things turn out. As regards to the EU and trade if we are going to get along with Europe and trade sensibly both sides need to stop acting like school kids in the playground. Now Helen I have not said I buy English wine I can’t afford it I am not a wine buff I buy as I said Australian when I can afford it. French wine is to expensive and I think overrated. Your dig at me being a wealthy pensioner able to afford English goods is well off the mark. Yes I am a pensioner but wealthy no I survive on a basic state pension and a small private pension which I payed for myself in my working life no huge pensions as a lot of today’s public sector workers have. I expected you will have another pop at me for that but that’s your prerogative I will say if you go through life with those huge chips on your shoulders it will way you down.

Re: Wine - helen (8th Mar 2021 - 12:24:23) Russ if I did have chips on my shoulders then I can use the vinegar in your posting to season them!

Re: Wine - Russ (8th Mar 2021 - 12:55:15) touché Helen have a nice life enjoy every minute. Finished with this thread now.

Re: Wine - rolli (8th Mar 2021 - 14:42:41) ha ha - fabulous retort Helen

Re: Wine - XJ (8th Mar 2021 - 19:11:00) There is of course blancs de blanc champagne.

Re: Wine - Sam (8th Mar 2021 - 19:38:14) World leading beer and spirits? Yeah the uk does ok but is Russ some sort of Brexit Bot finding and filling chat rooms with fake news?

Re: Wine - Al (8th Mar 2021 - 20:57:22) I think the point of this thread could run and run. My viewpoint for what it's worth is firstly I am sure there are some good quality English wines out there but (and that's a BIG but!) they are far too expensive. I have noticed on the odd occasion on Saturday kitchen Olly Smith showcasing a good English wine but the price compared to French or other countries is well over the top. Secondly, sorry to rebuff you Russ but French wine is not over rated, there are some reasonably priced good reds for around £6-£7, you just have to look out for them. Lidl also do some very good wines with high ratings for around £5-£7 as well. Wine collates a lot of different opinions, I myself have some brilliant tasting reds stored away some of which are under a fiver. You have to be careful if you like wine and read up about what you like not just buy any old plonk. Sainsburys and other supermarkets always describe their wine a lot on the shelf and if you go onto the website you can read reviews. All in all wine should be appreciated and not derided in my opinion and that includes English if you can find a reasonably priced good one.

Re: Wine - D (9th Mar 2021 - 01:07:09) Helen, what a pity you have denigrated what began as an interesting, informative topic by introducing left wing politics of envy concerning who gets what in their pension. Russ, I am a retired public sector employee, where can I get one of these huge pensions you talk of? Your comments are reminiscent of the tabloids twenty years ago bleating about "gold plated civil servant's pensions." Got news for you, Sunshine, THEY DON'T EXIST.

Re: Wine - helen (9th Mar 2021 - 17:54:01) D I think you are being extremely rude. All I said was I could not afford English wine. After promoting how wonderful it was Russ admitted he could not afford it either and did not drink it. I have never been anything but a conservative voter. Not all conservative voters are wealthy, and I think saying I am in no position to afford it is not the politics of envy. It may become cheaper if demand from the rest of the world grows but then the UK companies have to pay a lot of export tax now so that probably will not happen soon.

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