Village Wine Club - English Wine
There are now around 400 English vineyards producing some 2 million bottles per year, with quality wines being subject to rigorous controls.
Most of the wines produced are whites - there is a wide variety, but traditional English whites have floral bouquets & high acidity - very refreshing!
Reds were once thought impossible to grown effectively, but now there is a small but good range of English reds varying from light, through mellow and even full-bodied.
The great success story is the sparkling wines - with similar soils to champagne and an edgier climate, this means truly great English sparkling wines - as evidenced in blind-tasting international competitions where some English sparkling wines now beat the best of Champagnes. The largest English vineyard is Denbies, at Dorking - 250 acres.
Local vineyards are:
- Dunesforde Vineyard - Howe Field Road, Upper Dunsforth, North Yorkshire, YO26 9RU. Tel: 01423 369478. Email: contact@dunesforde.com
- Leventhorpe Vineyard - Bullerthorpe Lane, Woodlesford, Leeds, LS26 8AF. Tel: 0113 288 9088. Email: info@leventhorpevineyard.co.uk
- Ryedale Vineyards - Farfield Farm, Westow, York YO10 7LS. Tel: 01653 658507. Email: stuart@thevinehouse.fsnet.co.uk
- Sutton Grange Vineyard - Sutton Grange, Ripon, HG4 3JZ. Tel: 01765 692664.
- Trapping Hill Vineyard - Lofthouse, Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, HG3 5RZ. Tel: 07595 541607.
- Yorkshire Heart Vineyard - Pool Lane, Nun Monkton, YO26 8EL. Tel: 01423 330716