Wine Styles

Sparkling wines

'Sparkling wine is usually white or rose but there are many examples of red sparkling wines such as Italian Brachetto and Australian sparrkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry "brut" styles to sweeter "doux" varieties.'

            Affectionately called Bubbly, England and Wales produce a range of excellent sparkling wines at different prices. The highest quality ones are made in the traditional Champagne method which is referred to in England & Wales as Methode Traditionelle. 

 Rose'

'In France, rose' has now exceeded white wines in sales. In the United States a recoud 2005 California crop has resulted in an increased production and proliferation of varietals used for rose's, as winemakers chose to make rose' rather than leave their reds unsold.'

Brandy

'Brandy has more pleasant aromas and flavours at a lower temperature, e.g., 16 celcius. In most homes, this would imply that brandy should be cooled rather than heated for maximum enjoyment'.

       

The word brandy comes from the Dutch word brandwijn meaning burnt wine. It was originally a way of preserving wine for long sea journeys. Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by fermenting grapes. Brandy generally contains 35%-60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. While some brandies are aged in wooden casks, most are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such ageing.

Understanding The Label

All but UK Table Wine have to go through a testing and tasting procedure before they can be labelled. There are four different categories of still English Wine. You can identify which one of the categories a wine belongs to by reading the label on the bottle.

English Vineyards Quality Wine - made from one of the approved varieties and has passed the Quality Wine Scheme. Roughly a third of wine is classified as Quality Wine.

English Counties Regional Wine - essentially a table wine (like the French Vin de Pays), but has passed the Regional Wine Scheme and does bot have to bear the 'Table Wine' label.

English Table Wine - made from one of the approved varieties but is not a Regional Wine or a Quality Wine.

UK Table Wine - made from UK grown grapes where the grape variety used is bot an approved one.

Environment Issues

The most widely definition of Organic wine is wine made from grapes grown in accordance wine principles of organic farming, which typically excludes the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Organic wine is generally consumed for its perceived health benefits and reduced environmental impact. The consumption of organic wine grew at a rate of almost 4 percent over the year ending September 2009, out-pacing growth in the consumption of non-organic wine which grew 2% during a similar period. An estimated 1500-2000 organic wine producers globally, including negociant labels, with more than 885 of these organic domains in France alone. The legal definition of Organic Wine is a complex issue and varies from country to country. The primary difference in the way that organic wine is defined relates to the use (or non use) of preservatives during the wine-making process.