When the late Queen Elizabeth II wanted to celebrate, she opted for English bubbles. Such a choice may seem patriotic but hardly pleasant. In the past, “British” has been to “wine” as it has been to “teeth.” But in recent years, with Great Britain’s temperatures soaring ever higher, the pink-faced denizens of that sweating sceptered isle are enjoying a refreshing side benefit to the roasting temperatures: a booming wine industry.
English wines won a record number of medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards in June. In part, this is the result of global warming. Rising temperatures, combined with chalky soil, have turned the country’s south coast into a dead ringer for the Champagne region. The French have taken notice. Taittinger has turned farmland in Kent into vineyards, and Pommery, which owns almost 100 acres in Hampshire, is now building a wine-making facility, or cuverie, amid its vines.
