One of the pioneers of this evolution has been the Sharpham winery, situated in the Dart Valley, Devon. Nearing its twenty-fifth year of wine production, they are famed of producing terrific wines to compliment the cheese they also produce. they have quite a selection of styles available at the cellar door, but I think this is the best of the bunch, partly because of its unique style. I quite often see new English wines that are trying to emulate existing styles such as Chablis or Champagne, and whilst I think there is nothing wrong with this per se, I really enjoy English wine that has a distinctive style. Thanks to the use of the grape varieties Bacchus and Madeleine Angevine, Dart valley reserve is a serious aromatic white worthy of attention. Rather than try and explain its flavour as being similar to another more established style, I'm just going to describe this as 'English', knowing full well that this has yet to be fully established. This is exactly what this new, yet burgeoning wine industry needs - it's own identity. 

Back to top