Fiona Shiner admits that eyebrows were raised when she planted Sauvignon Blanc vines, usually associated with places like the Loire Valley, New Zealand and Chile, on a steep, exposed hillside in the Cotswolds.
But her Woodchester Valley vineyard near Stroud is the toast of the wine world after its 2021 vintage was judged one of the best Sauvignon Blancs in the world at a prestigious blind-tasting.
“It was a surprise but a delight,” said Shiner this week over cups of tea on a frosty sunlit lawn above the neat rows of vines that tumble to the Gloucestershire valley floor. “We thought it was a good wine so we entered it into the competition. But we are over the moon at the reception. It’s a phenomenal result for our small vineyard.”
Since the judges announced the result and published their tasting notes (“It starts with an intense gooseberry nose, building to reveal undertones of ripe lemon … there is bright, taut acidity and a juicy mouthfeel … just a hint of sweetness on the finish, which is long and textured.”) the phones have been ringing off their hooks, the website crashed because so many people wanted to find out more, and almost all 3,000-4,000 bottles of the 2021 vintage have sold at £21.95 each. “Yes, it has been a little busy,” said Shiner. “But that’s a very good thing.”
These adventures in viticulture began when Shiner, 61, a lawyer, and her accountant husband, Niall, 63, who have three children, returned to England after spending 18 years in Hong Kong to take on his parents’ property in the village of Amberley, just south of Stroud.
The area may be better known for alcohol produced using apples – the Slad Valley home of the Cider with Rosie author, Laurie Lee, is not far away – but Shiner decided to plant some vines in 2007 after someone mentioned that the Romans used to grow grapes there.
It turned out that they grew well in the Cotswold brash – poor-grade arable soil over a limestone base. Shiner threw herself into the study of wine, learned how to drive a tractor and expanded, buying land at South Woodchester on the other side of the valley close to the site of the stunning Roman mosaic the Orpheus pavement, to create a second vineyard.
“When we started off we focused on varieties that traditionally do well in England, such as Bacchus, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier.” The vineyard began to produce tasty whites and rosés, still and sparkling.
But Shiner herself had always relished a cold-climate Sauvignon Blanc and decided to try to grow her own on a third plot she had acquired. “It was a bit of an indulgence,” she said.
The spot she chose for her experiment was one of the steepest fields at Doverow, which faces south towards the Bristol Channel. “It’s a wonderful hillside that basks in the sunshine,” she said. Shiner was also glad to discover that the Domesday Book recorded that 2 acres of vines were planted near Doverow.
About 2,000 Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted there in 2015, the steepness meaning the machine had to reverse up the hill.
Shiner accepts it was a risk – only a handful of English vineyards had planted Sauvignon Blanc at the time and the grape is a late ripener, meaning it has to hang on the vines late into October or even November.
“It is nerve-wracking leaving it so long but wines made on the edge can be quite unique and expressive,” Shiner said.
In 2016 the vineyard brought in winemaker Jeremy Mount, 47, from the Matua Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand, to help their operation. He was surprised when they showed him the Sauvignon Blanc. “I was very sceptical about the quality that could be produced,” he said. “It’s very marginal here.”
The first crop (2017) weighed less than a tonne but it was promising; the aromas were classic Sauvignon Blanc - gooseberry, cut grass, bell pepper.
It was bottled in February 2018 during the cold snap that was named the Beast from the East and Shiner remembers having a glass with her daughter Chloe in the snow. The wine, and subsequent vintages, were well received.
The 2021 Sauvignon Blanc crop had its challenges, including late frosts and a dull August, with the grapes not harvested until 28 October. But from the first taste of the pressed juice they were excited. “We knew we had something very good,” said Shiner.
They certainly did. At the Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters awards in London judges tasted 146 wines with more than half of them coming from New Zealand (52) and Chile (32) combined.
Two were awarded master medals. One was from Marlborough, New Zealand; the other was Woodchester’s. Siobhan Turner said she and her fellow judges were astonished an English wine had won such an award but described it as “engaging and utterly enjoyable”.
There are challenges ahead. The climate emergency will make life tricky for vineyards like Woodchester. “The extremes of weather are very difficult,” said Shiner. “We’ve had some of the hottest, coldest, wettest weather in the last few years.”
But what will the 2022 vintage be like? “It’s looking good,” said Mount. “The aroma is different, the flavour profiles different but that keeps it interesting.”
Steven Morris
Fiona Beckett’s verdict
If you still think English wine is as likely to be made from parsnips as grapes — or even that it only produces off-dry whites from obscure Germanic grape varieties – you haven’t been paying attention. With 200-odd wineries and around 900 vineyards, British wine is very much on a roll, led by sparkling wines, which now account for more two thirds of the UK’s wine production.
It’s not that we don’t still have dodgy weather by the standards of vineyards on the Med, but overall temperatures are warmer, especially in — you may be amazed to hear — Essex, which produces some of the most luscious reds in the country. The less good news is that most of it doesn’t come cheap, although few hit the heights of Gusbourne’s Fifty One Degrees North, which, at £195, fetches much the same price as Krug.
Sauvignon admittedly isn’t that common – most wineries grow the very similar Bacchus – but these days you can also find rosés, orange wine and even natural wines.
Here are five wines that might convert you to drinking English:
The Society’s English White 2021, on offer at £7.95 at the Wine Society. In the more traditional floral style but a bargain at the price. Will make you think of summer.
Ellercombe English Sparkling Brut, £22 at Sainsbury’s. Well-priced own-label English fizz made by the wine-making team behind Nyetimber.
The Trouble with Dreams 2017. Arguably the UK’s star winemaker, Irish-born Dermot Sugrue has made wines for bigger wineries, such as Nyetimber and Wiston, but has now branched out on his own, making serious champagne-quality wines at Sugrue South Downs.
Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir, £36, The Old Bridge Wine Shop, £36.95 at NY Wines. A sumptuously fruity Burgundian pinot noir from Essex.
Dunleavy rosé, £15.75 from the vineyard itself. Pretty, light, dry rosé from Somerset that should appeal if you’re a Provence rosé fan.
Fiona Beckett is the Guardian’s wine critic
