There are some things that just don’t make sense to me. Parents letting their kids terrorise the general public on those scooter things for one. People who beep their horn for no reason at traffic lights. I’d add Brexiters to the list if I didn’t think it’d spark some weird debate in the comments section, so I won’t. But the whole “British Wine” confusion is right up there as complete nonsense as far as I’m concerned.
If a wine is on the shelves as English Wine, or Welsh Wine, or Scottish Wine (it’s coming!) then you know the grapes have been grown, pressed, fermented, finished, and bottled in the country of origin. Places like Sussex, Hampshire, Cornwall, and Pembrokeshire are all gaining international stardom at the minute with some terrific wines. They’re also going for protected status in the EU. But something out there has the potential to damage the brand…
British wine is where the grapes are grown elsewhere in the world. Plan is, you find the cheapest grape growing area you can find, grow it in bulk, and then ship the grapes to the UK to be fermented on a budget, and slapped on the shelves for £3 a bottle. Joe Public is meant to just know the difference, but come on! Really?
This is one of those times where a proper bit of red tape would actually help. Make these buggers write the full explanation on the labels and see how quickly they change their tune. “British fermented muck from grapes grown in the arse end of nowhere” doesn’t have the same ring to it does it?
Cheers
