Dimensions
156 x 234 x 20mm
Great Britain is a premium wine-producing region, with
around 650 vineyards in England and Wales covering some 2,750 hectares and
producing sparkling and still wines. English and Welsh wines have won many
prestigious awards recently and Stephen Skelton is the leading authority on the wines of the UK.
The wines of Great Britain is a
comprehensive survey of the history of UK wines, as well as of the current
state of the wine industry and its future prospects. After a short introduction
showing where UK wine is in 2019 and where it might go in the future Skelton
considers the history of winemaking in the UK from King Alfred in the fifth century, through the medieval period to recent developments in the twentieth and
twenty-first centuries. The wines of Great Britain then takes us on a tour of contemporary
viticulture and winemaking, examining trends in plantings and vineyard layout, varieties,
rootstocks and clones, vineyard sizes, modern wineries and styles of wine.
Skelton considers regional identities as well as the branding of UK sparkling
wines and their market position.
A substantial part of this
important book is the 21 detailed biographies of the most important, exciting and innovative producers and the wines they create. Wine businesses profiled in detail include Breaky Bottom, Chapel Down, Nyetimber, Oxney Organic Estate, Sixteen Ridges Vineyard and Yorkshire Heart Vineyard. Shorter entries on other significant or up and coming producers also feature.
