Climate change is good news for English wine

Vines at the vineyard. [Photo/Agencies]

Climate change and chalky soils have largely benefitted English sparkling wines, which accounted for more than two thirds of the more than six million bottles produced last year.

"The quality of sparkling wine is really, really good," says Nesbitt, reflected by the numerous awards gleaned worldwide by the industry in recent years.

Glasses of Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2009, a sparkling wine from the South Downs in Sussex, got an official stamp of quality when it was served at Buckingham Palace at a state dinner in October in honour of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"As temperatures continue to increase there will be greater opportunities for better quality still wines, including red varieties," according to Collette O'Leary, marketing director of the 10-year-old Bluebell vineyard in Sussex.

In some years, some vineyards have been able to produce good pinot noirs, according to Foss, but the quality cannot yet be relied upon due to changable weather that remains a dampener on potential.

"We also see that yields and temperatures are very variable from year to year," Nesbitt says. "So the average warming pattern is not a straight line because it's up and down."

For example 2012 was particularly difficult for growers due to a cold and rainy month of June that caused a very late grape harvest, that was still ongoing in early November.