To Boldly Go Where No English Winemaker has Gone Before
 |
At least since the Middle Ages. Due to warmer temperatures, a few British wineries have revived a red winemaking tradition which died around 600 years ago. Wine critcs’ opinions about the wine have been mixed, but some seem convinced that the finest red wines may in the future come from north of the English channel if this warming trend continues.
With soils similar to Champagne and an edgier climate, England is already producing world-class sparkling wines like Nyetimber (which recently won the International Wine & Spirit Competition Denbies Trophy for the Best Worldwide Sparkling Wine for the 3rd time), Ridgeview and Camel Valley. But, red wine is a different story.
UK vineyards still struggle to ripen popular red grape varieties like Pinot Noir. They are rarely able to produce enough for a single grape variety wine. As a result, for the past decade or so UK growers have been making reds that blended Pinot Noir with other grapes such as Dornfelder, a Germanic variety which ripens in colder climates but isn’t as tasty.
So far, English winemakers have not managed to master the varieties behind the famous full-bodied wines of Bordeaux, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, although some have tried to grow these under plastic sheeting. This has yielded reds that are generally lighter in color and taste, and less alcoholic than wines from warmer regions.
No wonder the English are looking up for help. A number of English vineyards have signed up for a satellite imaging service to optimize grape harvests, and hopefully wine quality. The Oenoview system, first launched in France last year, analyzes the images to determine vine leaf density, soil water content and grape bunch sizes.
The imaging system gives growers an idea of grape quality based on the quantity of foliage which is an indirect measure of the amounts of sugars and tannins contained in the grapes. It also tells winemakers which parts of the vineyard are ripening earlier than others so they can be harvested accordingly.
Unlike the French, the English are not afraid of technology and see it as a large part of their industry’s future. According to Julia Trustram Eve from English Wine Producers, “Innovation is at the heart of the English wine industry and vineyard owners are keen to use technology that complements their winemaking skills.”
