English Wine

English Wines from Great Wines Direct

Although England is a primary consumer of wine, it produces only a very tiny amount of English wine for domestic use or export. For many years, England has suffered from the reputation of having a climate that is too cold to produce quality wines; however, over recent years, a series of warm summers have helped to restore the English wine industry’s reputation, and global warming could possibly encourage further growth in the years to come.

The soils of Kent, Sussex, and southern England are rich in limestone and are therefore ideal for growing the grape varieties that are used in the production of sparkling wines, like in the region of Champagne. The south-facing slopes have an especially good climate for vine growing, and this has led to at least 450 different vineyards making wine on English soil.

The biggest English wine producer is Denbies Vineyard, located in Surrey, which has over 250 acres of vines. Another major producer is Chapel Down Wines, which is located in Kent. Although most English wine is produced in the south of the country, there are some commercially producing vineyards further north, with the most northerly currently located in Leeds.

While internationally, English wines are still most strongly associated with sparkling varieties, there are now a number of whites and roses being produced, as well as a small number of reds (around 10% of the total production). However, since the yields on English soil are a lot smaller than the yields of major wine production regions like Italy, Spain, and France, there are far fewer vintages, and many sell out very rapidly. There are a handful of highly regarded pinot noir wines produced in England; however, when buying English wines, it is often recommended to choose a young wine.

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Silent Pool Surrey Hills Gin 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Silent Pool Surrey Hills Gin 70cl NV £52.62

A crisp clean gin with layers of flavour; juniper married with rich notes of lavender, honey and kaffir lime

Warner's Gin Victoria's Rhubarb Gin 70cl NV £47.42

This gin has a wonderful fragrance, with a sweet and crisp rhubarb flavour The texture is creamy, and the gin is soft and smooth enough to be drunk neat

37.5

Pinkster Pinkster Gin 70cl NV £41.72

Raspberry aroma on the nose, with suggestions of freshness and juniper coming through Dry on the palate with hints of raspberry, resulting in an especially smooth finish with slight spice that develops and lingers

Portobello Road No 171 Gin 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Portobello Road No 171 Gin 70cl NV £34.24

This bottle of Portobello Road Gin 171 was created by the award-winning licensed victualers of the Ginstitute Messrs Gerard Feltham, Jake F Burger and Paul Andrew Lane Each individually numbered bottle bearing a triptych of their unique signatures Every drop of Portobello Road Gin is distilled under the watchful eye of eight-generation gin distiller Mr Charles Maxwell The recipe calls for a blend of nine completey natural botanicals and eschews the contemporary trend for ever more esoteric ingredients, instead saluting London's distillers of the past A classic botanical selection, with cassia bark and nutmeg concomitant, contrives a timeless London Dry Gin with a depth of flavour and character to suit all occasions and libations Portobello Road Gin: A capital bracer I do undertake to manufacture and sell distilled London dry gin of only the highest quality, using only natural botanicals and grain neutral spirit of 100% purity This gin is guaranteed to be as fresh, dry, lively and perfect as it was on the day it was made J Burger, G Feltham, P Lane

Hayman's Sloe Gin 70cl NV £32.06

Brockmans Premium Gin 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Brockmans Premium Gin 70cl NV £41.72

Creating Brockmans required the different skills of a group of very experienced and devoted friends What brought them all together was an enduring fascination with this exciting and exotic spirit Their combined knowledge of gin history, and the subtle nuances of different styles of gin and distillation proved invaluable as they set out to create a gin that was completely new and original The one aim was to create a gin like no other; one that was so intensely smooth and delicious you would happily drink it neat over ice Hundreds of different recipes were tried before they arrived at the smooth Brockmans taste experience

41.6

Sipsmith London Dry Gin 70cl NV £42.82

Ten carefully selected botanicals from around the globe are used to make this London Dry Gin Floral, summer meadow notes, followed by mellow rounded juniper and zesty, citrus freshness on the nose Dry juniper leads on the palate, then reveals lemon tart and orange marmalade, before all the flavours harmonise The finish is dry with spicy juniper and a hint of lemon tart

41.2

Plymouth Gin Premium Dry Gin 70cl NV £36.90

Plymouth Gin is uniquely protected under EU law, in the same way as Champagne and Port it's made only in one area The gin has new packaging for 2013, but is made in a 7,000 litre copper pot still which has been used at the distillery for over 150 years The seven botanicals used in order of dominance are: juniper, coriander, lemon peel, orange peel, sweet angelica, orris root and cardamom No bitter botanicals are used

Black Cow Milk Vodka 70cl NV £39.31

Fresh whole milk makes an exceptionally smooth vodka with a unique creamy character and texture

White 12

Lyme Bay Brut Reserve 75cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Lyme Bay Brut Reserve 75cl NV £31.03

Seyval Blanc grapes are used to create a bright, fruit forward and elegant, yet approachable English sparkling wine Secondary fermentation in bottle under the Traditional Method process provides structure to the mid-palate and detail to the body of the wine without overpowering the delicate crisp citrus fruit Pronounced notes of lemon and Granny Smith apple stand out amongst a vibrant and delicate mousse with a clean finish

Martin Miller's Gin 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Martin Miller's Gin 70cl NV £36.48

"Established in 1999 and fore runner to the 'Gin Boom' this is a wonderful drop that is a perfect expression of the clean, fresh finish that many strive for but few achieve Full of fresh citrus notes, with a underlying hint of warm spices but most certainly a clean mouth feel and finish One of the classics that is a great example of attention to detail and a unwavering search for the best possible ingredients A premium gin made from the distillation of 10 botanicals and cut with pure Icelandic water Named after and minority owned by Martin Miller, creator of the Miller's Antiques price guides Formerly labelled as a 'London Dry Gin', regulations forbidding flavouring to be added to a London Dry Gin after distillation necessitated this classification to be omitted from the new taller bottle"

White 13.5

Stone's Ginger Wine 70cl NV £9.61

Bombay Sapphire Gin Bombay Sapphire Gin 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Bombay Sapphire Gin Bombay Sapphire Gin 70cl NV £33.18

A touch of juniper, ripe citrus and hints of spice in the fragrance

Pimm's No 1 Cup 70cl NV | Great Wines Direct

Pimm's No 1 Cup 70cl NV £21.26

Pimm's served by the jug is very much part of the British Summer, intrinsically linked to uniquely British events such as Wimbledon, Henley and Ascot The brand is an icon of the Great British Summer The original No1 Cup is made from gin infused with a secret mixture of herbs and liqueurs