It was summer 1951 when Major General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones solved the problem of what to do with the field below his home in Hambledon, Hampshire: he planted vines. The idea came from his stepson John, and as Guy had spent time in France as a diplomat in Paris, it seemed a good one. He enlisted the help of champagne house Pol Roger and in 1952 – when Elizabeth II acceded the throne – he planted England’s first commercial vineyard of the modern era.
Much has changed since: the UK now has a thriving wine industry, though it’s still small. England and Wales together have around 180 wineries, 800 vineyards and 3800 hectares under vine, which is roughly equivalent to twice the vineyard area of Tasmania. But, the quality is high, and over the last decade, the demand for the wines has skyrocketed.
‘It used to be enough to sell just one English sparkling wine,’ one wine merchant told me, ‘But now we need a portfolio. Not least because pubs and restaurants are very keen to support local, so we need Kentish wine to sell in Kent and so on. Many of our clients want to offer their customers a choice.’