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So you want to buy a bottle of the best English fizz in the UK? Cheers to that! Prosecco and champagne are so last decade! British wine producers now use French and Italian methods to craft world-class sparkling wines in little old England, at vineyards from Kent to Hampshire, Sussex to Dorset and even Cornwall. Pop the cork to support UK wine brands and help any celebration go out with a swing!
But how do you select an affordable, quality sparkling English wine? Worry not! Our article will guide you through all the basics as well as present the top ten best English sparkling wines, such as Chapel Down, Ridgeview and Nyetimber, all available from Waitrose, Tesco and Amazon. We've found the best selection of award-winning English bubbly and rosés perfect for dinner parties or gifts, with home delivery just a click away. Bottoms up!
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According to connoisseurs of good English sparkling wine, the region in the UK that's climate and soil type most closely resemble France's world-renowned Champagne region is the English South Downs.
To enjoy England's answer to champagne, try a sparkling wine using grapes grown in Sussex or Hampshire. Kent has a similarly moderate climate, also making it one of England's most popular wine regions.
Warm weather that moves up from the South, paired with a cool sea breeze and enough rain to keep soil healthy, create optimum grape-growing conditions. The high pH levels in the chalky alkaline soil also produce a particularly acidic grape juice and sap, which pleases the palettes of fizz drinkers everywhere.
Do you know what always goes well with a bottle of fizz? A picnic! Take a look at our favourite picnic baskets if you want to experience the full setup.
While Sussex, Hampshire and Kent tend to dominate England's wine-producing landscape, Devon and Cornwall are also home to several vineyards where ever more popular wines are bottled. Cornish and Devonshire's sparkling wines are, however, a much newer concept, perhaps because the moisture and the rain in these areas make it harder to protect grapevines from disease.
That being said, the warm sunshine and lush soil lend themselves excellently to a gorgeous bubbly, often being compared to a nice bottle of Bordeaux, albeit with a more fruity taste that is distinctive of this area. If you want to support growing local businesses and branch out from the more popular Kentish wines, pick up some fizz from Cornwall or Devon – you won't be disappointed.
Just like champagne, cava and prosecco, English sparkling wines can be referred to in terms of sweetness. To pick a bottle of bubbly that suits your tastes and pairs nicely with any food you may be serving, get accustomed to the different terminology, so you know what to look for.
An English sparkling wine labelled as brut will be dry and acidic, usually containing less than 12 grams of sugar. Wines described as demi-sec are much sweeter – don't let the translation from French fool you! Though it translates as 'semi-dry', this is actually a sweet sparkling wine with a high sugar content, between 30 and 50 g of sugar per litre.
It can seem challenging to pair food and fizz if you don't know much about the subject, so we have put together a few tips. Firstly, identify the key taste components of your chosen wine (bitter, sweet or acidic). Brut wines will be more acidic, so they tend to pair well with savoury and fried foods, while sweeter demi-secs suit puddings.
Next, think about the key tasting notes and choose a dish with either a contrasting (opposite) or congruent (matching) flavour. For example, wines that evoke citrus fruits are sharp, bitter and acidic, meaning they can contrast wonderfully with fatty foods such as meats, cheeses, fried potatoes or macaroni.
Sweet sparkling English wines with notes of peach, honey, apple, tangerine or vanilla can form a beautiful pairing with sweet desserts or afternoon tea. But they can also contrast effectively with lightly spiced rice dishes or savoury Asian dishes if there is sugar, honey or tamarind as the flavour base.
For an alcohol-free alternative for your afternoon tea, you can't get better than a good old cup of English tea!
Just like classic champagnes, English sparkling wine is believed to improve with age. However, as vineyards and the production of this homegrown fizz are a relatively recent development in British agriculture, it's rare to find vintages more than ten or even five years old. Consider buying a newer bottle and keeping it in your cellar to experience how it improves over the years.
For a bargain price, choose a multi-vintage (or non-vintage) sparkling wine that uses grapes from a range of years. Multi-vintage wines create consistency from a particular brand, so you know what you're getting if you re-buy. You can expect to pay between £20 and £35 for a bottle of English fizz, with multi-vintage wines often sitting at the cheaper end.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Price | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nyetimber Classic Cuvee | £27.69 Mid | A Multi-Vintage English Brut With Notes of Almond and Honey | ||
2 | Chapel Down NV Vintage Reserve English Sparkling Wine | £27.00 Mid | Popular Brut From Kent, Loved by Critics and Customers Alike | ||
3 | Ridgeview Bloomsbury English White Wine | £22.49 Low Mid | Crisp, Refreshing, and Bubbly, Perfect for Pairing With Fresh Seafood | ||
4 | Nyetimber Cuvée Chérie Demi Sec Non Vintage Sparkling Wine | £40.97 High | Sweet Multi-Vintage, Dem-Sec With Lemon Curd and Honey Notes | ||
5 | Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut Rose | £33.99 High Mid | A Light and Crisp, Acidic Rosé From Revered Kentish Growers | ||
6 | Digby Fine English Leander Pink | £30.00 Mid | Award-Winning Pink Dorset Fizz With Sweet Notes Made From Juicy Pinots Grapes | ||
7 | Lyme Bay Classic Cuvée | £27.64 Mid | A Crisp and Elegant Devonshire Wine Bursting With Fresh Citrus Flavours | ||
8 | Asquith Gardens Traditional English Sparkling Wine | £16.00 Low | Locally-Grown, Affordable Bottle of Fizz With a Biscuity Finish, Perfect for a Picnic | ||
9 | Carr Taylor Demi Sec Sparkling Wine | £24.99 Mid | The Ideal Demi-Sec for Your Afternoon Tea Made From White Chardonnay Grapes | ||
10 | Tesco Finest English Sparkling Brut Wine | £21.00 Low Mid | Affordable, Crisp and Refreshing Brut Using Three Traditional Champagne Grapes |
Another incredibly highly-rated English brut, Nyetimber's Classic Cuvee, ferments Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the historic French tradition to create one of the world's most sought-after sparklers. It has notes of almond and honey, which could pair sensationally with scallops, salmon, oysters or even sushi.
Blended using grapes grown on the South Downs and parts of Kent, this wine has Champagne and Sparkling Wine awards coming out of its ears. The multi-vintage means the taste is reliable, and we particularly like this smart gift box which takes the presentation up a notch to make a stylish present. A toast to Nyetimber's prize plonk!
This is one of England's most popular and vociferously reviewed sparkling wines, topping or at least appearing on numerous 'Best of the Year' countdowns and winning glowing praise from newspapers, magazines and shoppers. Chapel Down is a sun-kissed, rain-scattered vineyard in Tenterden, Kent, home to a range of palate-pleasing, award-winning drinks.
This particular brut uses the three traditional grapes with the classic French method to emulate champagne successfully. It tastes authentic, ripe and fruity, providing a good bite in the mouth and weighing confidently with notes of bread on the palate. Wine experts recommend it as an aperitif or a classy contrast to lip-smacking fish and chips!
Coming in at a great price is this highly-rated bottle of brut from Ridgeview. The Sussex-based winemakers have won multiple awards for their craft, including Winemaker of the Year 2018. This light, refreshing wine has a crisp finish you won't easily forget and would be cracking served with crab, smoked salmon or canapés.
Not only do Waitrose customers rave about its quality, calling it 'complex, with a sherbert zing', 'extremely bubbly' and 'better than champagne!' but it was also the official wine served for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. If it's good enough for Liz, it's good enough for us!
This deliciously sweet wine is a demi-sec, so it pairs wonderfully with rich desserts but can drink nicely with savoury meals and lightly spiced, fragrant cooking too. According to Nyetimber, this is a multi-vintage wine, meaning every time you buy a bottle, you'll know what to expect from this sweet fruity blend.
It is crafted from 100% Chardonnay grapes grown on the South Downs in Sussex and sunny Hampshire. You'll notice bright, heady notes of sugary lemon curd, floral acacia honey and zingy tangerine, which precede its long, sweet finish. The light mousse of tiny bubbles makes for a delicate, refined tickle to the palette that sets Nyetimber apart from other vineyards.
Rare are the articles ranking the best English sparkling wines that don't contain an entry or two from Balfour Winery, whose grapes are also grown on the Hush Heath Estate. For lovers of light pink fizz, this refreshing bottle has to be a contender. It could pair fantastically with sausages, cured meats or strong cheese.
Using the three classic champagne varieties, this wine is fermented in the traditional method on Kent's verdant hillsides and has a fresh, clean acidity that balances tangerine notes with citrusy scents and sweet summer berries. Reviewers describe it as 'distinctively Balfour', so you know it's a winning glassful.
On to one of Dorset's best-rated offerings: Digby's Pinot Noir Rose, which has bags of positive reviews. Being the official sparkling wine producer for the Leander Club (the most elite rowing club in the world), a sip of this pale pink liquid will undoubtedly transport you to summer days beside the river, no matter where you are.
Made using the traditional method and juicy pinot noir grapes, this wine has a nose of strawberry with a citrusy, acidic finish. Online shoppers say they've returned to it again and again as an affordable alternative to the iconic French bubbles and love its mellow, fresh and fruity taste.
Now we come to a bottle from one of England's more renowned vineyards: Lyme Bay in Axminster, South Devon. Well-loved and effusively reviewed by locals and visitors to this West Country winery, a popular favourite is this Classic Cuvée which contains a blend of red Pinot Noir grapes and white Chardonnay.
This golden wine has a flirtatious pink blush and boasts sumptuous citrus flavours alongside stone fruits that melt into cooked apples, breadcrumbs, nuts and honey on the tongue. If the Classic Cuvée isn't to your tastes, we recommend exploring the range, including a gorgeous Blanc de Blancs and a Rosé.
If you're searching for something a bit more affordable, consider this bottle from the English winemakers Asquith Gardens. Made with the traditional method using a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes, the finished product is an elegant blend of complex flavours.
It has a light and citrusy palate with a sweet undertone reminiscent of silky honey with a biscuity finish that carries - the perfect accompaniment to a scrumptious roast dinner or plate of roasted fish. Unfortunately, there aren't many reviews on this one, so it's best to buy just one bottle and see for yourself before you commit to more!
Looking for a sweet sparkling wine to serve up with a slice of cake, scones, or afternoon tea? We recommend this demi-sec from Carr Taylor, which exclusively uses white Chardonnay grapes. A mouthful of this wine, bottled in the sunny fields of East Sussex, feels rich and velvety on the tongue.
This lemon-gold fizz has subtle, fruity tasting notes of apple and peach with an exotic hint of fragrant vanilla. It leaves a sweet taste on your palate, making it also a great choice to contrast with your cheese course. It's as versatile as some, but it's a wonderful choice for sweet tooths.
At number ten is this crisp and refreshing fizz from Tesco's Finest range. It is the cheapest option in our top ten, and it pops up on several 'Best Of' lists for good reason. It is bottled at the award-winning Hush Heath Estate in Kent and uses the three traditional Champagne grapes; Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.
Pale gold in colour with notes of fresh apple, citrus fruits and brioche bread, this lovely wine is delicate and elegant with a light mousse of bubbles. This brut will taste fabulous with shellfish, lean fish and vegetables, or an aperitif. It's not as widely lauded as our other selections, but still quaffable!
English sparkling wine may not have quite the same ring to it as champagne, but both beverages are made using the same fermenting methods and grape varieties (usually a blend of Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). The key difference is that only wines bottled in the Champagne region of North-East France can officially be called champagne.
Most English sparkling wines also use the same traditional method (or the méthode traditionnelle, in French) used in crafting champagne. It's a complex process involving double fermentation. Yeast and sugar are added to the fermented grapes during the bottling process, which is where both champagne and English sparkling wine get their delicate fizz.
Written and researched by Annie Hopkins
No. 1: Nyetimber|Classic Cuvee
No. 2: Chapel Down|NV Vintage Reserve English Sparkling Wine
No. 3: Ridgeview Bloomsbury|English White Wine
No. 4: Nyetimber|Cuvée Chérie Demi Sec Non Vintage Sparkling Wine
No. 5: Hush Heath Estate|Balfour Brut Rose
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