History of English wine making
It is important to understand the difference between English wine and British wine. British wine is made using grapes imported from other countries. Denbies is classed as English wine as all the grapes are produced and wine made within the estate.
Wine was first introduced by the Romans to Villas and farms for private use. Most wine however, came in from other Roman held countries such as the French area now know as Bordeaux. Natives during this time were prohibited from planting a vineyard.
For sacramental purposes, wine was required by churches and monasteries, who often built vineyards on their land. The Norman invasion in 1066 gave a further boost to local wine production, as they also required wine for Mass.
The first setback for English wine production came in 1152, when King Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitania (now the area know as Bordeaux), which set up trade links with that area.
A further set back came in from the Black Death (1348) killing off many wine estate workers.
Between 1536 and 1539, 300 monasteries and nunneries were dissolved, along with the vineyards belonging to them.
Later in 1875 as part of the revival of Cardiff castle, a vineyard was re-established and continued producing up until 1920. Wine production in the UK completely ceased until after the 2nd World War. Today there are some 410 vineyards in Britain situated mainly in the South East. The most common grape grown in most of them is the German Muller Thurgau.
The total wine sold in the UK was 7.7 hectoliters in 1995, equivalent to £4836 million. English wine accounts for 1% of this total. Denbies produce around 400,000 bottles of fine wine a year. Denbies is the largest vineyard in England with 265 acres under vine. The second largest is Battle Vineyard with 70 acres.