England's Wine Country

England’s wine country occupies the length of the south below 51 degrees latitude. A Private Tour of England can include English Sparkling Wine Tasting, high-end lunches and castle and garden tours. There are 500 vineyards and 130 wineries across England; the sparkling variety accounts for 69% of production in England.

Over the last 30 years, England has built a formidable reputation in wine production. Unique is the palatableness of the sparkling wines rather than having a distinct champagne taste which means that non-champagne drinkers will love this. The cool climate is ideal for sustaining the needed acidity for sparkling wines, and its limestone slopes and chalky soils make for an exemplary wine-growing country.

It is thought the Romans first cultivated grapevines, but there may have been viticulture before the Roman invasion. In 1066 William the Conqueror began his Conquest and brought religious orders with him who establishing monasteries and vineyards. The Domesday Book records vineyards in 42 locations, such as Leeds Castle, where it remains to this day.

Henry VIII starts dissolving monasteries in 1536. Wine production decline as a result. In 1603 King James I generated a fashion of planting vines amongst the nobility. By 1873 the Marquis of Bute sent his gardener Andrew Pettigrew to France to learn about winemaking. A ground-breaking year in the history of English wine is 1951, with Sir Guy Salisbury Jones planting the first commercial vineyard. People showed great interest when the first wine was produced, and the rest is history.

We offer Sparkling Wine Tasting experiences on your Private Tour of England. Stay at the South Lodge Hotel and Spa to explore South Downs National Park and all its possibilities. If you’re in the area, book the Gardens of Kent Tour to discover Sissinghurst Castle and Great Dixter.