Les Champenoise en England?
Ξ March 16th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Wine News |
Over the last few years the media has reported on Champagne producers looking to buy land in the South of England. As the resident Brit on Reign of Terroir it made sense for me to look into these reports of an expected French invasion– are Les Champenoise really buying into the English dream, and why would they even want to?
As far back as 2004 there was talk of French growers becoming interested in land in the South of England (primarily Kent, Sussex & Hampshire). 
Since then some of the more substantial stories worth repeating are;
• May 2005, Champagne House Duval-Leroy is apparently looking in Kent.
• November 2005, The Telegraph reports on the first confirmed purchase of English land by a Champagne producer, albeit a small one – Didier Pierson of Avize and his English wife Imogen Whitaker.
• January 2007, Decanter told of the proposed venture between Duval-Leroy and their own Stephen Spurrier (a story that was then picked up by The Independent).
• October 2007, Decanter reports that Louis Roederer (makers of Cristal) is looking in Kent or Sussex. Again this was also run by the The Independent.
• November 2007, The Times lauds the future of English winemaking.
• January 2008, the local media get in on the act with the Kent News picking up on the Louis Roederer visit and hoping for increases in tourism and local wine production.
• March 2008, The International Herald Tribune and the Boston Globe put a broader spin on the same stories.
So, the interest is definitely there, but why? It’s not difficult to understand why Gallic eyes would be looking across La Manche for new terroir when you realise the south coast of England is, to all intensive purposes, geologically identical to the Champagne region 
, both share the chalk formations created during the Late Cretaceous period (100-65mya, million years ago). Chalk is the calcite remains of the single cell creatures which, over those millions of years, deposited on the bed of a vast sea covering much of what is now mainland Europe, stretching from the U.K. to the Crimean peninsula and beyond. The specific geological time period for the main chalk formation is called the Campanian (85-70mya) which was originally named for the village of Champagne and it is chalk that is a key factor of the region’s Terroir. The south English coast’s similarity used to be just a geological curiosity, one of the coincidences of nature after England ceased to be important in viticulture in the Middle Ages - a combination of factors over hundreds of years including Henry VIII closing the Monastic wineries and the onset of the Little Ice Age in the 1500s. However more recently 3 factors have come together which now makes English land a logical target for the French.
1. Champagne saturation – The region is at maximum output and supply is barely keeping up with demand. With Asian market growth increasing dramatically and traditional markets showing no sign of a let-up, even the new expansion of Champagne by 40 new communes this week (something cynically received in some areas of the wine world) may not be enough in the coming years to keep up with the World’s seemingly insatiable demand for the sparkling stuff.
2. Recent victories by English producers. With the likes of Nyetimber winning blind tastings against top Champagnes and the Queen preferring an English sparkler for her 80th Birthday it is clear that there is potential for English vineyards to match some of the best Champagne has to offer (although this scenario is not without its cynics, such as the outspoken critic Malcolm Gluck). With the general acceptance that sparkling wine as we know it was invented by a 17th Century Englishman, Christopher Merret, it could be a case of the best fizz returning to its natural home.
3. However, it is the overriding factor of Global Warming that is likely to be the main issue here. Although controversial the effects of Global warming seem to be an uncomfortable truth, although whether it’s due to the reckless abandon of mankind or a simple cycle of nature remains hotly debated. Projections are for a 1.1 to 6.4 °C rise across Northern Europe by 2100. For France, already experiencing earlier harvests than ever before it could mean changes to what we expect out of Champagne, while for the English it will likely mean better conditions to improve the quality and quantity of their wine.
OK, so much for the geology, history, socio-economic and environmental lessons, lets get back to the point of the story! Now that we know why the French would be interested let’s revisit some of the articles and check out whether the vineyards of the South of England really are about to take on a Gallic flare.
I couldn’t find out any recent information on the original Duval-Leroy and Roederer interest, so I contacted Stephen Skelton of EnglishWine.com who has been mentioned as a consultant in several of the stories. He confirmed that, up until now, only the Pierson-Whitaker’s have actually planted in England and he told me that the Duval-Leroy collaboration with Stephen Spurrier was not progressing, which was helpful as Decanter themselves did not reply to my request for an update of that story. I also got a reply back from winemaker Samantha Linter at Bookers Vineyard in East Sussex. 
Sam said that “Although I have heard of French producers looking around, no one has approached us directly or looking in our near vicinity”.
It would seem that, for the moment, no-one with the exception of M. Pierson has actually spent their Euros for a piece of good old Blighty. However even though, for now, most of the press coverage is speculation on what might be there is no doubt that the interest is clearly there, even though no big deals have come to fruition. Given that the price of a hectare of English land is £4000 - £10,000 ($8000 - $20,000). While estimates for an equivalent French hectare in Champagne anything from £100,000 - £650,000 then money isn’t the obstacle either. Even with 40 new communes adding to the existing 319 villages in the Champagne area it is more than likely that demand will continue to increase. The fact that the UK is still Champagne’s biggest export market testifies to the English love affair with a good bottle of fizz; and with global temperatures and the quality and potential of English produced sparkling wine climbing it makes perfect sense that the Southern reaches of England are where the future lies. Already local English wineries are looking to buy up more land to increase their own production, as Kent producer Chapel Down did last year; and with current land prices in the area a fraction of what good Champagne soil costs then if they don’t it is certain that someone else will, French or not.
Another bottle of Methode Merret anyone?
Greybeard.
