Until the recent past, Britain has been regarded as too far north to be other than at the margin of commercial winemaking. The climate is simply too cool and wet to grow healthy and ripe grapes. Nevertheless, these difficulties have partly been overcome by the use of hybrid French and German varieties which are both early-ripening and hardy enough to withstand our weather.

The style produced is distinctly Northern European and, for the most part, they are white. Due to the lack of sunshine, the wines retain high acidity, with the emphasis on crisp, dry, light and fruity styles.

Three Choirs Estate is the second-largest producer in Britain, and is located just outside Newent in Gloucestershire (tel: 01531.890223) . At present, there are 75 acres under vine, and it now produces circa 250,000 bottles per annum. The estate also acts as a consultant winemaker to a number of client vinegrowers within the Hereford, Worcester and Gloucestershire area.

The wines are numbered in the order tasted, and the findings were as follows:

1. Three Choirs Classic Cuvee Sparkling Brut £6.99
A light, sparkling wine which was fairly crisp, having fruit flavours of nettles with strong vegetal undertones, and finishing off-dry. The bubbles faded quickly and so did the wine on the palate. Not well received.

Previously known as Hagley Court, now rebranded as “Four Foxes”, the owner, by his own admission, is still learning the ropes.
2. Four Foxes Madeleine Angevine 2001 (£6.25)
The Madeleine Angevine grape is a French hybrid, originating from Angers in the Loire Valley. This example was poor and unpleasant, with tart unripe fruit, with vegetal overtones, tasting of nettles and green apples. (tel: 01432.850065)

Apart from Three Choirs, Frome Valley, near Bishops Frome, is perhaps the most interesting vineyard to visit from an educational point of view. The owner, David Longman, has laid out a model showing a complete range of vine-growing methods (tel: 01885.490735).
3. Frome Valley Madeleine Angevine 2002 (£6.75)
This is very crisp, with green apple/vegetal fruit and notes of elderflower and spice. Clean and refreshing, the finish was rather abrupt.

The fiercely independent Ann Savage, produces her own wine from Bacchus, Ortega and Pinot Gris in her perfectly-formed micro-winery (01531.640668)
4. Coddington Bacchus 2001 (£5.50)
Smelling of sweaty socks, I suspect that this sample was marginally cork-tainted. There was tart, green gooseberry and green apple fruit, marred still further by a dirty note.

5. Three Choirs Bacchus 2003 (£7.75)
Bacchus is a Sauvignon Blanc look-alike, which has adapted particularly well to British climatic conditions. The 2003 vintage was a classic hot summer, and compared to the other wines on show, this was quite spicy, rich and full. It was crisp, with nettle and elderflower fruit, and a surprisingly good length of finish. (Joint 2nd, with 7 votes)

Alexandra James will guarantee you a warm welcome if you visit her Broadfield Court Estate in Bodenham (tel: 01568.797483). Her manor house is truly historic, and set in beautiful grounds, including a magnificent rose garden.
6. Bodenham Reichensteiner 2001 (£7.50)
A German hybrid, this produced tart flavours of nettles, green apples and elderflower. It did not impress the majority, but did collect 1 vote.

The Tiltridge Vineyard is located just west of Upton, and the owner, Peter Barker, has won a clutch of awards (01684.592906).
7. Tiltridge Vineyard Seyval Oaked 2002 (£7.50)
The light oak treatment had softened down the worst vegetal excesses of the Seyval grape, producing a richer, more mouthfilling style. There were some smoky white grapefruit flavours, with at least some length of finish. This picked up 3 votes.

8. Three Choirs Huxelrebe 2002 (£6.15)
The sweetness in the wines is often achieved by the addition of “suss reserve”, unfermented grape juice, and I suspect thee was some suss used in this blend. Huxelrebe is a rather charmless hybrid, and this example gave tart, herbaceous, vegetally fruit only offset by the medium-dry finish.

The Astley Vineyard is located near Stourport and now under the stewardship of Jonty Daniels. He is a man who really understands his vines and terroir, and again has won a number of awards (01299.822907).
9. Astley Vineyards Old Vine Kerner 2002 (£5.75)
His best performing variety is Kerner, and this had good, crisp, green-apple fruit, with some concentration and balance. This achieved joint second with 7 votes.

10. Three Choirs Siegerrebe 2002 (£7.75)
A Gewurztraminer cross, this had some character and balance between fruit and acidity. There was some well-stated spicy, lychee fruit, with a good length of finish that was off-dry. Easily the most popular wine of the night, with 10 votes.

11. Three Choirs Premium Red 2002 (£6.00)
A simple, light, easy-drinking red, with flavours of plums and cherries. Generally-well received.

12. Astley Vineyards Late Harvest Siegerrebe 2002 (£7.99 per half)
A light, medium-sweet honeyed style, with lychee and ginger spice flavours. A little one-dimensional and did not justify the price.

Summary
The feeling amongst the group was that we all wanted to be patriotic and support our English wine industry, but not on this showing. In the main, the wines gave little or no pleasure, and were nearly all over-priced. These are wines that should be drunk young and fresh to appreciate the fruit, particularly as the varieties used have little ageing potential. Yet several vineyards are still selling their 2001 vintage wines, which are nearly 3 years old. By contrast, the 2002 and 2003 vintages showed better.

Personally, I feel there is a problem with the vinestock. Whilst the hybrids used can withstand the rigours of our damp climate, the character and flavours produced as nowhere near attractive enough to produce good or, better still, classic wine. More research and development is required on the viticultural side to produce a wine that is not simply well-made and correct, but actually tastes pleasant, and has the capacity to improve with age.

Overall, the group was very disappointed by the quality and it is not an area we will be revisiting in the near future.

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Next Tasting:

Wednesday, 29th September 2004
Bordeaux
Oddbins, 242a Hagley Road,
Edgbaston, Birmingham
Cost: £10 per person