Food and Wine‘s latest blog entry discusses the move by Champagne producer Taittinger to bring sparkling wine production to the United Kingdom.
The blog post says “The Champagne house is planting vineyards of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in Kent, to be used in a line of high-end English sparkling wines marketed under the name Domaine Evremond. According to The Drinks Business, Taittinger reps say that the plots purchased have the ideal “terroir” for sparkling wines with chalky soil and south-facing slopes for optimal sun exposure.” You can read the rest of the post here.
As the warming climate makes northern areas more hospitable for growing grapes, we can expect to see more production of wine shift to cooler areas to the north of current production zones. Because soil type and growing conditions affect the flavors developed by the grapes, the newer wines will probably not taste exactly the same as the traditional vintages, but will develop their own unique characteristics.
