d’Alsace but had to drop the geographical reference due to EU rules, seemed to fit the bill perfectly. With small berries and red juice they made a deep red wine, but their intense flavour of blackcurrants and hedgerow fruits was not to everyone’s taste – you either loved it or hated it.

They were difficult to look after, growing like triffids and requiring a massive amount of attention to keep them in trim. If the weather was damp or cool during the flowering and setting periods they developed ‘hens and chickens,’ where some grapes develop but most stay as tiny green bullets, thus reducing the crop. The small bunches meant they were difficult to pick at harvest time. The final straw for us this year was that their crop was a third of our other vines, despite perfect flowering and ripening conditions.

Modern clonal selection has meant there are other red vines more suited to our climate, which are capable of producing superior quality wine. We will be replacing them with more Pinot Noir in the spring. This well-known grape grows well here, producing a good crop of black grapes with white juice. The advantage of this variety is its versatility – you can make still white, rosé, or red wine from it, or sparkling white or rosé, depending on the harvest and requirements from customers.

Also English viticulture has come of age now, with many vineyards making excellent wines, which are respected, all over the world. We can concentrate on what we do best – still dry white and rosés and sparkling wines, and no longer feel obliged to make a deep red wine just because we can.
 

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