The Wine Shop Talk
The Wine Shop Talk
British Fizz: Uncorking the Exciting Era of Sparkling Wines
In this episode, sommelier Erin Rosar uncovers the hidden treasures of British sparkling wines. Discover the rich history, unique soil characteristics, and award-winning wines that are putting Britain on the map as a top contender in the world of sparkling wines. From the origins dating back to Roman times to the modern-day production and international recognition, join Erin on a journey through the vineyards of Britain and learn why British sparkling wines are a must-try for any wine enthusiast.
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If you're a sparkling wine fan like me, then you are going to love today's episode because I'm going to share with you someunder the radar sparkling wine styles that you're probably not even aware. That may be available in your market. And you may have just walked right by them, but these are sparkling wines. That are gaining awards and world accolades And the sparkling wines that I'm going to be talking about today are all coming from Britain. Yes. You heard me right across the channel from the beautiful vineyards of champagne. We're making some incredible sparkling wines. And in today's episode, I'm going to be giving you the insider scoop, if you will, on all about the sparkling wine styles from Britain and what you can expect when you pour yourself a glass. So if you're ready, let's get started and dive right into today's episode. Hi everyone. And welcome to the wine shop talk. I'm your host, smelly Erin Rosar and I am so happy that you're here with me today. If we haven't met before, it's lovely to have you here. And if we have. We'll come back. No, for those of you who are new, you should know that I've been a professional smile for over 20 years now. And it's my passion and my privilege to make learning, but wine, not only fun and easy, but also practical. I want to make sure that you leave every single episode with some real life. Helpful tips. They're going to help you find wines that you're going to love and enjoy and be able to share with family and friends. I want you to think of me as your very own practical, small, a. And this week's episode is filled with practical tips, all about British sparkling wines. And you may be sitting there no matter where you're listening, going British sparkling wines, Erin, really, and trust me, these are under the radar wine styles that you're going to start to hear more and more about because they're starting to creep their way around the world as the production of them grows and they're winning more awards and more and more people are talking about them. So let's start. We're all good stories do. And that's at the beginning and believe it or not, the history of viticulture in Britain dates back to Roman time. So around 43, a D when the Romans conquered Britain, they brought vine growing techniques with them, just like they did all across Europe and they began planting vines throughout the country. Now, although these early endeavors Didn't quite develop into a bustling industry. We can see today that the foundations that they laid down in regards to the knowledge, the winemaking the area and picking vineyard sites we are benefiting from today. So we'll start the story bright back in Roman times. But if we fast forward we're going to find that the British sparkling wine industry truly started to find its footing in the later half of the 20th century. In the 1950s, sir guy Salisbury, Jones, revitalized wine productions in the Hamilton vineyard in Hampshire. And he's considered the founding father of the British sparkling wine industry. Now this site, the Hamilton vineyard site is celebrated as the birthplace of English sparkling wine, and it sets the stage for the industry. As we know it today. Now you may be thinking to yourself, why would they go right to sparkling wine? What makes this area special? That they would look at their vineyards and not decide to make. Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, what made them decide to start producing sparkling wine? And the reason is the soil. So if we go across the channel over to champagne in France, we know we have very special chocolate based soil. In the champagne region, which is some of the magic of the ones that we enjoy. When we open up a bottle of champagne, This Cal serous chocolate based soil his ideal for growing grapes for the production of sparkling wine, particularly Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pino midway, which are the classic grapes that we use in champagne production. And this band of chalk soil runs right underneath the English channel into the Hills of Britain. And this is where we find the home base of the sparkling Vineyards in Britain based on this chalky soil. And you may be wondering what makes chalk so special. We'll talk is excellent at retaining moisture. It's essential for wines typically in the drier months, but it provides good drainage over wetter periods.. And this balance allows the vines develop deep root systems, which is crucial for nutrient uptake and contributes to the complexity of the wine's flavor, the chalk soil also in parts, a distinct minerality to the grapes and. That minerality is prized in sparkling wine. Now I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about how. Global warming has made an impact that has played a role in the success of British sparkling wine. As the global climate shift, traditional wine growing regions are experiencing challenges in traditional areas. But Britain's cooler climate is becoming increasing lead more positive to grape growing in that we have warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons. This wasn't always the case, which didn't make England and Wales an ideal place to have grapes. Right? Then even with sparkling wines where we're looking for higher acidity, we still couldn't get those grapes to have enough sugar, enough sweetness to bring balance the warmer temperatures that we're experiencing now allows for higher ripeness levels, which results in richer fruit flavors and brings. Better balance will still having the higher acidity and minerality coming through from those chalk based soil. So it is creating the perfect environment for sparkling wines. Like I said, this is an exciting, and under the radar wine area, that if you love sparkling wines, you're going to want to know about. You may be wondering how do the sparkling wines of Britain show against the rest of sparkling wines from around the world such as classic champagnes or CaroMont or kava And we're seeing vineyards like net and timber, Gus, born and Ridge for you have not just competed, but have excelled in international wine competitions, for instance. Net and timbers classic Covay was awarded the gold at the prestigious international wine challenge, standing shoulder to shoulder with the best from across the globe. And the accolades don't stop there at the decanter world wine awards, English sparkling wines, consistently snatch top honors with labels like chapel down and Western estates receiving critical claim for the exquisite vintages. These awards are Testament, not just to the quality of English wine, but also to the potential to redefine sparkling wine standards worldwide. Meaning that British sparkling wine would be included when you talk about some of the world's best sparkling wine styles. Now you may be wondering how are you going to try British sparkling wines? Do they even have them in your shop because you've probably walked your sparkling wine aisle and maybe not even noticed if you have British sparkling wines available to you in your sparkling wine section. And this is definitely one of the drawbacks. If you will, of British sparkling wine, is that. Potentially, there's just not enough of it yet to go around the globe to be able to offer wines outside of the UK and outside of Europe. So if you're listening in to north America, for example, you may have a very small amount of British sparkling wines available to you but I will tell you that it's worth the hunt or a call to your favorite wine store to see if they have some available. For example, the chapel down vineyard, is one of the UKs largest wine producers. And that may be one that you'll be able to find available to you and their wines are shown at prestigious events around the UK, including the Royal opera house and number 10 Downing street. Now at this time, there is roughly just over 200 wineries in Britain with sparkling wine production making about 70% of the total wine production. Of the wines of Britain. So you can see that this is nine deal location for sparkling wines. British sparkling wines are mostly white, just under 80% of the production where rosés make up about 20% About 93% are made in the traditional or champagne method. So within the bottle itself. And then tag or Charmani method, bottlings making up the rest. So like any time you're buying a bottle of sparkling wines from around the world, you're going to see the traditional method written on the label or the champagne was method on the label. That's going to let you know that it has been made in the traditional way of champagne. And the fermentation has happened in the actual bottles of those tiny bubbles have been created in the actual bottle that you're seeing and holding on your table. And drawback is to hide from the amount of production. And obviously the Brits love to drink their own sparkling wine so much like wines from Switzerland, they are consuming much of what they're making. So it doesn't get to be shared around the globe, but because of the smaller production, then some of the fees, can be higher. Therefore the average cost of a bottle is going to be a bit on the higher side, which may be a drawback for some people. And unique term that you may see on British sparkling wine labels is called the great British classic method. This basically means that it has been made in the traditional method such as. Or the method champion was the fermentation has happened in the actual bottle that you're holding on the table. But that is unique to British sparkling wines. You may see it on the label. It's also important to know that while Bridgers sparkling wine producers, Are using the French. Champagne aging requirements as a baseline. So 15 months for nonvintage and 36 months for vintage, they haven't locked in the rules hard. They feel that they don't want to. hinder creativity and the development of this relatively new industry for all intents purposes. And so while they use those as guidelines, some wineries are aging longer and playing around with the timing that is best as the climate and everything continues to evolve. Just like with any sparkling wine, it's important to read the note about that wine or the back label. And if you're seeing words like toastiness and brioche, and those words that are going to let you know that if the wine has spent more time down, resting on its LEAs to give all of those wonderful toasty notes that we love from champagne, then that's a one style. That you're going to, people want to be trying as well as if you're looking for more of a crisp, fresh style, something that hasn't been aged as long, then you're going to be looking for that sort of crisp green apple notes and high acidity, mouthwatering acidity, look for notes that way, but you're going to be able to find both, but again, there may be limited amounts of sparkling wine available to your market, but they are definitely. A hidden gem. And if you have the opportunity to try, I would highly recommend, I also want to say that, should you happen to be visiting the UK then a wine tour maybe was not on your list of things to do. And just think what happens when you put together a beautiful winery, along with the beautiful English countrysides, small villages, wonderful classic restaurant, and beautiful end, you get the best of all worlds. So I would highly recommend that if you're considering having a trip to the UK, Okay. Did you put sparkling wine wineries on your list.. I hope that you have found today's episode interesting, and if you're a sparkling wine fan, you now have some bubbles to search for at your favorite stores, but let's just do a quick recap about what we've covered. We've covered that sparkling wine production is alive well and thriving. in Britain and that the industry continues to grow with over 200 wineries was 70% of the production going to sparkling wine. We're seeing classic grapes of peanut as Chardonnay as the base of the grapes, just like champagne. We have that incredible chalk soil similar to that in the champagne region literally is like, think of it like a Stripe. That runs underneath the English channel, which is a creating an incredible variety with a soil base that. Exudes minerality through the grapes and into the glass. visiting wineries is something that you might not have been thinking of if you're planning a trip to the UK but it is definitely something you should have on your must do list. And we're seeing the wines starting to move around the globe, But one of the biggest hindrances to you trying one of the British beautiful sparkling wines. Is there availability And therefore we have limited bottles that actually get exported onto the world stage. So tracking down a bottle to try, can be a little bit tricky, but it is worth the hunt. And if you do find one, then I challenge you to put it beside your favorite bottle of champagne. And see if you can tell which side of the channel, your beautiful. Bubbles came from. It's a really fun tasting challenge. So on that note, if you want to learn more or you want to list of some of the vineyards that you can visit. Then I'm going to put a link to a blog. They wrote about British sparkling wines in the show notes. That actually has a list of 10 of the key wineries. You'll probably be able to find around the globe as well as just a little bit of a one liner, if you will, of why I've added that winery to the list. So if you want to learn more. More than you can definitely check out that blog post, but I hope if you love sparkling wines, I've given you some insider information of wine styles that you definitely want to check out, or should you be visiting Europe this summer? Don't be surprised if you see sparkling wines from Britain on the restaurant menus. Now as always, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you. You can find me at hello. Wine girl academy on Instagram or Tik TOK, or feel free to send me an email@hellowinegirlacademy.com. I love to get your questions and if you're new here and you haven't had a chance yet to discover your pellet personality, You'll find a link in the show notes below, just take my short, fun signature quiz. That's going to take you through some easy questions. And at the end of it, you're going to find out what your palate personality is and get an entire booklet about wine styles that you're going to enjoy. And some helpful pairing tips, as well as some words to look for on wine labels to help you find wines that you're going to like. So if you're interested, you're going to find the link in the show notes if you're new considered joining us every week, do episodes come out every Tuesday? On that note, I want to wish you all a wonderful week. Tears to you by now.