BUT BRITISH SPARKLING IS BUBBLING OVER

CHAMPAGNE SHOULDN’T just be concerned about Cava and Prosecco. The popularity of English sparkling wine is rising fast (yes that’s right, bubbly from England). Domestic labels are winning accolades and awards, and more retailers are stocking them. And Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, scion of the French Champagne family and president of the group that bears its name, is taking note. Taittinger recently announced a joint venture to make sparkling wine at a former orchard in Kent. It is the first investment by a French Champagne house in English viticulture. Taittinger said that for years he watched English wine production rise and recognizes the potential for serious competition to Champagne produced in France. The Taittinger-backed Domaine Evremond vineyard in Kent will not produce wine for at least eight years. More than 3O million of the 3OO million bottles of Champagne sold every year are consumed in the UK, almost double the total in the US, the next biggest market. And according to the Office for National Statistics the domestic sparkling wine industry posted sales of £6 million (US $8.8) in 2O14, more than double 2O1O numbers.

Elisabeth Else, who runs Wine Cellar Door, a company that organizes visits to English vineyards, says the domestic sparkling wine is popular because it is of a similar standard to Champagne produced in France. Last year Sam Lindo, from Camel Valley Wines in Cornwall, became the first English vintner to be shortlisted for the international sparkling winemaker of the year award. Sales are expected to rise abroad too. However, supply is the issue. Roughly two-thirds of English wine is sparkling and roughly a third of wine from England and Wales is exported, so their big growth will be in export.