England

England has been producing wine for longer than you may imagine (the first proper modern vineyard was set up in the 1950s) but our domestic wine industry is still dwarfed by European neighbours. Many wines, above all the sparkling wines made with the Champagne method (invented by an Englishman as it's alleged), are of such high quality that English wine is attracting a lot of interest at home and abroad, and even more investment.

 

The best vineyards tend to be planted on chalk along the South Downs, and it's all about the Champagne triptych of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Fizz still grabs the limelight, but several producers are making delicious white wines and in the right years red wines too.