British wine….BEWARE!

Readers of this blog will remember I recently waxed lyrical about the virtues of English wine in particular with regard to sparkling.  Before you head to the shops eager to hunt out a bottle of English wine (which if I’m being wholly accurate should be English or Welsh wine) I wanted to flag something… British wine has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with English or Welsh wine and is a totally different ‘beast’ entirely (and in this instance that definition is accurate!).

What you really need to know is that British wine (which may also be labelled as ‘Wines from the UK’ or ‘UK wines’) whilst technically ‘made’ here, are produced from grape concentrates or imported grapes and don’t meet the EU definition of wine.  What usually gives them away are the very low prices – there is one currently in LIDL called Baywood which retails for a lowly £2.59. As this label shows it is made from imported grapes but consumers seeking out English wines could easily be confused by the term British wine and buy this.

So if you are feeling patriotic in these times of Brexit uncertainty and want to drink something home grown remember don’t buy British, buy English or Welsh!

Top Tip! If you really want to be sure of the providence of the next bottle of English or Welsh wine you buy – look for the term “Quality Wine” or “Regional Wine” which signifies protected geographical status (aka PDO or PGI).

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Natanya

    Good article – thanks, Sam!

    Sitting with a Biddenden Bachus in my fridge so very glad I didn’t fall into the British wine trap 🙂

  2. sams01

    Thanks Natanya, good choice! Bacchus could be our answer to Kiwi Sav Blanc if more people gave it a go and there are lots of great English producers to pick from. Hope you enjoy it!

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