The future is rosy for English red wines

England now produces light, fruity reds that are much less heady than their Mediterranean counterparts

When did you last buy a bottle of English red wine? Chances are, you never have. Though increasingly available on the high street – Ocado and Waitrose Cellar both stock a couple – reds grown in Blighty have struggled to shift a reputation for being overpriced: the vast majority still cost £15-25 a bottle, which is well outside what most people might consider “everyday drinking”.

According to WineGB, the national trade organisation for British winemakers, red probably accounts for less than 5% of all English wine. The cost issue, however, transcends red wine alone; winemaking in England might be one of our fastest-growing agricultural sectors, but it still operates on a relatively small scale, which naturally bumps up that price tag. Our cooler climate isn’t associated with reds, either, particularly those big, juicy numbers available so affordably from hotter countries. So, yes, you could be forgiven for thinking English reds are expensive novelties.

But the tide is changing – and, of course, rising. Not only does climate change make red wine production look a bit more possible in the UK, but wine tastes are shifting. There is a growing appetite for light, juicy reds – the trend for chilled glou-glou as an alternative to rosé in summer – which often go hand-in-hand with a lower ABV: good news for a wine-drinking culture that’s increasingly committed to moderate boozing.

If you’re ready to dip in your toes, pinot noir and, to a lesser extent, pinot meunier (the red grapes that accompany chardonnay in classic champagne blends) dominate the English red scene, but for something a bit darker, I recently enjoyed Winbirri’s dornfelder from Norfolk alongside a pizza. Fans of fuller reds might also explore the likes of Bolney’s divisive Lychgate Red, which is made with a blend of rondo and regent, or Oast Wood’s divico, all hybrid grapes bred to withstand frost and disease (we can expect to see more as we move into a future with an ever more uncertain climate).

“Making reds in England is always going to be a challenge,” says Adrian Pike, winemaker at Westwell in Kent. “We’re in a marginal climate and can only make them in kinder years. In our arsenal, however, are long, slow periods of ripening, which add plenty of ripe flavours to the fruit: we can make pretty, light reds that reflect where they’ve been grown.”

Westwell’s Pinot Noir 2023 turned my head to English pinot – it may not have the mushroomy, forest floor notes of a French equivalent, say, but it has its own thing going on, with wild red fruit and herbal notes. Ben Adams’ sold-out Enmill Field 2022, a crunchy, redcurranty pinot blend from Wiltshire, also has its own, very original identity, and I will be keeping an eye out for his next release. Both cost more than £25, though, so make sense only for those who espouse “the buy less, buy better” philosophy. Trouble is, once you’ve bought better, you’ll want more.

A taste of English reds

Winbirri Signature £18 Waitrose Cellar, 12% A full English with a difference: a plummy dornfelder from Norfolk.

Billy Sandridge Barton 2023 £21.95 Thorne Wines, 9%. A zippy, tart pinot blend from Devon that cries out to be chilled.

M&S Balfour Pinot Noir £22 Ocado, 12.5%. An elegant and widely available pinot from the garden of England.

Westwell Pinot Noir 2023 £27.50 Shrine to the Vine, 11%. A lipsmacker that puts Kent on the red wine map.

Bolney Estate Dark Harvest £16 Waitrose Cellar, 11%. A dark, food-friendly hybrid blend from Sussex.

Oast Wood Divico 2023 £31 The Tudor Peacock, 12%. A deeply spiced, purple, fruity wine from 100% estate-grown divico hybrid grapes.

Sophie Evans Pinot 2023 £34 Pullo, 10%. Kentish pinot blend that’s so light, it’s almost rosé – and devastatingly delicious.