But what about the glass of vino you wash down your delicious locally-sourced meal with? A bottle of Australian sauvignon blanc seems a little incongruous now, doesn't it?
Well, without suggesting the UK abandon all New World wines, how about replacing the odd bottle in your shopping basket with one produced a little closer to home? Europe has been making fine wines for many a year before the trend for Antipodean plonk really took off. Or how about wine made from grapes grown on this very isle? The horror stories of English table wine are a distant memory, I'm pleased to tell you. Vineyards in England and Wales are producing some top wines that are really worth you tasting.
According to English-wine.com, there are 400 commercial vineyards in England and Wales. Only a few miles from me is Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey, the largest vineyard in England. Among the wines they produce is a delicious fruity white – Surrey Gold – as well as three sparkling wines and three red. The Estate offers a tour of the vineyards, tasting sessions and
Although the local supermarkets, farm shops and off licences sell Denbies wine, I don't know if their distribution reaches the far corners of the country. But with so many producers in the country there is bound to be a bottle or two on your local shop's booze shelves. Try it for a change, you might be pleasantly surprised!
For more info on Denbies Wine Estate go to www.denbiesvineyard.co.uk. For a list of English and Welsh wineyards go to www.english-wine.com








