The art of Wine

Winemaking

"Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with selection 

of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine".

In England and Wales, the viticultural year starts in April, flowering usually takes place in June and in July the young grapes begin to swell and grow and the grape bunches begin to develop. August is generally the warmest month and this is when the early grape varieties begin to ripen. the bulk of the harvest takes place in October. The quality of the grapes is absolutely key, as they are the deciding factor on the final product. The process of making wine comprises a series of simple operations. The first is crushing, where the essential sugars react with yeast. There are other steps in the process, but the order in which they occur depends on the type of wine being made.

The UK Wine Story

Traditionally seen as struggling with an unhelpfully cold climate, the English and Welsh wine industry has been helped by the warmer British summers over recent years and it is speculated that climate change may encourage major growth in the future. The UK is a major consumer, but only a very minor producer of wine, with English and Welsh wine sales combined accounting for just 1% of the domestic market. 

In recent years, English sparkling wine has started to emerge as the UK wine style receiving the most attention. Theale Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay 2003 beat off stiff competition from fine Champagnes and top sparkling wines to make it into the world's Top Ten Sparkling Wine at the world's only dedicated sparkling wine competition, French-based Effervescents du Monde (sparkling wines of the world) 2007.

Then, this research will be focus on 3 main wineries in the United Kingdom. There are Three Choirs at Newent, Cahpel Down at Kent, Denbies Wine Estate at Surrey.