Wine region | |
![]() Vineyard close to South Downs in Sussex | |
Type | Protected Designation of Origin |
---|---|
Year established | 2022 [1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Soil conditions | Chalk, greensand and clay |
Size of planted vineyards | 888 hectares (2,190 acres)8 [2] |
No. of vineyards | 138 [2] |
Grapes produced | Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Bacchus, Pinot Blanc and Regent |
No. of wineries | 23 |
Sussex wine is wine produced in the historic county of Sussex in southern England, a region divided for administrative purposes into East Sussex and West Sussex (as well as the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove). In 2022, Sussex wine gained Protected Designation of Origin status in the European Union's Geographic Indication scheme. [1] This followed the granting of protected regional status by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2016. [3]
In 2023 wine made in Sussex accounted for 28% of the total wine produced in the United Kingdom; [2] with 138 vineyards, Sussex produces more wine than any other county in the UK. [4]
Sussex's sparkling wine in particular has drawn comparisons with Champagne and is sometimes rated as some of the best in the world. [5] [6] [7]
It is likely that wine has been produced in Sussex for around 2,000 years. [8] It is likely that wine was produced either by the late Iron Age tribes such as the Belgae and Regni or by the Romans who governed what was to become Sussex. [8] [9]
It is like vineyards in England produced significant amounts of wine in the 12th and early 13th centuries. However this came to an end in the 13th and 14th centuries as the Medieval Warm Period began to end, the Black Death reduced the workforce and wine was increasingly imported from Gascony. By 1275 the vineyard at Battle Abbey had ceased grape production. [10]
The Bolney wine estate was established at Bolney near Haywards Heath in 1972 by Janet and Rodney Pratt, [11] and was one of the first commercial vineyards in England.
There are numerous other vineyards throughout the county on various soils ranging from chalky soils such as Rathfinny in Alfriston, to clay and silt over sandstone in the Rother Valley such as Oastbrook Estate in Bodiam.
Peter Hall planted his vineyard at Breaky Bottom on the South Downs near Lewes in 1974 at a time when there were only a dozen or so growers in the whole country. [12]
Plumpton College is the UK's specialist centre for wine research and training. [13] Its purpose-built wine centre opened in 2014. [14] It is the only establishment in Europe to offer undergraduate degrees in Wine Business and Production taught in the English language. [4]
The region has a warm climate and soil types similar to the Champagne district, which lies on the 49th parallel north, while the Sussex Weald lies on the 51st parallel north.One vineyard, Oastbrook sits exactly on the parallel, Sussex has many south-facing slopes, which are suitable for growing the grape varieties found in sparkling wine, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. [8]
Climate change has also impacted the climate of Sussex. According to the Meteorological Office, 14 out of the 15 warmest summers on record have been in the 21st century. This means that what winemakers can grow in Sussex has changed. [15] In addition, the cooler evenings and cool evening sea breezes [4] in Sussex allow the grapes to develop high levels of natural acidity when fully ripe – crucial for sparkling wine and allowing harvesting to take place in October. [15] [16]
Oastbrook Estate near Bodiam grows Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes on its south-facing slopes. [15] In the 20th century the cooler climate had restricted the varieties of grape that could grow in Sussex to a range of Germanic varieties. [15]
The application for PDO status was the second in the UK after the Camel Valley in Cornwall [17] was submitted in 2012. [18] Sussex was the first major wine area in the UK to apply.
Since protected status was given to Sussex wines in 2016, wine producers must meet stringent quality guidelines in order to display the name of the county on their wines.[ citation needed ] The first wine to be produced under the Sussex PDO scheme was approved in 2016 for Rathfinny estate. [19] PDO status means that all wines using the name 'Sussex wine' have to be produced in Sussex from grapes grown in Sussex. [8]
The idea came from Jamie Everett, chief operating officer of the Rathfinny estate, one of England's newest vineyards. The consortium, which includes the larger and older vineyards Ridgeview and Bolney estates, has the backing of the UK government. At least half the vineyards supported the bid to give protected status to wine made from grapes grown in Sussex.
Sussex boasts the largest and most densely planted cluster of vineyards (23 in total) in the UK. In 2016 wine made in East and West Sussex accounted for about a quarter of the total produced in England. [3]
Wine tourism is a fast growing sector in Sussex. With excellent train links from London and Gatwick Airport being at the centre of the wine region, Sussex is easily accessible to domestic and international visitors. Great British Wine Tours operate wine tours and bus services across Sussex and the South East United Kingdom including Brighton.
Champagne is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, specific grape-pressing methods and secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to cause carbonation.
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
Pinot noir or Pinot nero is a red-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pinecone–shaped bunches of fruit.
Pinot gris, Pinot grigio or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but the colors can vary from blue-gray to pinkish-brown. The word pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink, and it is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.
Bodiam is a small village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. It lies in the valley of the River Rother, near to the villages of Sandhurst and Ewhurst Green.
New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation from north to south. Like many other New World wines, New Zealand wine is usually produced and labelled as single varietal wines, or if blended, winemakers list the varietal components on the label. New Zealand is best known for its Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and more recently its dense, concentrated Pinot Noir from Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago.
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and governor Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town and almost exclusively located within the Western Cape province, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.
The glossary of wine terms lists the definitions of many general terms used within the wine industry. For terms specific to viticulture, winemaking, grape varieties, and wine tasting, see the topic specific list in the "See also" section below.
Crémant d'Alsace is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for sparkling wines made in the Alsace wine region of France. Produced since 1900, the Crémant d'Alsace AOC was recognized in 1976 by the INAO and the designation Crémant regulated by the European Parliament in 1996.
The United Kingdom is a major consumer of wine, although a minor grower and producer. Wine production in the UK has historically been perceived as less than ideal due to the cold climate, but warmer summers and grapes adapted to these conditions have played a role in increasing investment and sale of wines. Most is English sparkling wine, from vineyards across Southern England and sparkling wine from Wales where the climate is warmer than that of northern areas. Vineyards are becoming more commonplace in counties such as Essex, Sussex and Kent, where more varieties of wine can be produced due to the drier and warmer climate.
Auxerrois blanc or Auxerrois Blanc de Laquenexy is a white wine grape that is important in Alsace, and is also grown in Germany and Luxembourg. It is a full sibling of Chardonnay that is often blended with the similar Pinot blanc.
The Mendocino County wine is an appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown mostly in Mendocino County, California. The region is part of the larger North Coast AVA and one of California's largest and most climatically diverse wine growing regions. Mendocino County is one of the northernmost commercial wine grape regions in the state with two distinct climate zones separated by the Mendocino Range. Ten American Viticultural Areas have been designated within Mendocino County. Mendocino is one of the leading wine growing regions for organically produced wine grapes. Nearly 25% of the acreage in Mendocino County is grown organically. In 2004, the residents of the county voted to become the first GMO-free county in the United States in an initiative that was supported by many of the county's largest wineries. The county's widespread focus on organic viticulture has inspired journalists to describe it as "California's organic wine Mecca".
Lombardy wine is the Italian wine produced in the Lombardy region of north central Italy. The region is known particularly for its sparkling wines made in the Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese areas. Lombardy also produces still red, white and rosé wines made from a variety of local and international grapes, including Nebbiolo wines in the Valtellina region and Trebbiano di Lugana white wines produced with the Chiaretto style rosé along the shores of Lake Garda. The wine region currently has 22 denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), 5 denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) and at least 13 indicazione geografica tipica (IGT) designations. The main cities of the region are Milan, Bergamo and Brescia. The region annually produces around 1.3 million hectolitres of wine, more than the regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Umbria.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
The history of Champagne began when the Romans planted vineyards in this region of northeast France in the 5th century, or possibly earlier. Over centuries, Champagne evolved from being a pale, pinkish still wine to a sparkling wine. When Hugh Capet was crowned King of France in 987 at the cathedral of Reims, he started a tradition that brought successive monarchs to the region—with the local wine being on prominent display at the coronation banquets. The early wine of the Champagne region was a pale, pinkish wine made from Pinot noir.
Cava is a sparkling wine of denominación de origen (DO) status from Spain. It may be white (blanco) or rosé (rosado). The Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo are the most popular and traditional grape varieties for producing cava. Chardonnay and Malvasia are also permitted. Authorized red grapes are Garnacha tinta, Monastrell, Trepat, and Pinot Noir. Only wines produced in the traditional method may be labelled "cava"; those produced by other processes may only be called "sparkling wines". About 95% of all cava is produced in the Penedès area in Catalonia, Spain, with the village of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia being home to many of the largest Catalan production houses. The two major producers are Codorníu and Freixenet. Cava is also produced in other villages in the provinces of Girona, Lleida, Tarragona, and Barcelona in Catalonia, Zaragoza in Aragon, Badajoz in Extremadura, La Rioja, Araba/Álava in the Basque Country, Navarra and València in the Valencian Community.
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is a winery in Sonoma County, California that specializes in sparkling wines, as well as Pinot noir and Chardonnay wine. It was the first sparkling wine producer in Carneros. It was also the first to plant Champagne grape clones in the region.
South Tyrol is an autonomous province located in northeast Italy producing wine. This Austro-Italian wine region is noted for the distinct Austrian influences on the wine industry, due to the region's long history under the rule of Austria-Hungary and Holy Roman Empires.
Squerryes Estate is a vineyard, estate, and location of Squerryes Court, a grade I listed building in Kent, England. It is a producer of English sparkling wine.
English sparkling wine is sparkling wine from England, typically produced to the traditional method and mostly using the same varieties of grapes as used in Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier. English sparkling wine producers often employ Champagne terminology to describe the styles of their wine, such as "Classic Cuvée", "Blanc de Blancs" or "Demi-Sec".