A Guide to the Wines of England & Wales by Philip Williamson & David Moore
84 out of 100

Published Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Overview

At last he cries, a decent book looking at English wineries! A Guide to the Wines of England and Wales is almost a pocket guide to all things produced by vitis in England and Wales. It is predominantly about the wineries, with 183 pages of the 223 devoted to English and Welsh wine producers. Each of the 100 English and 11 Welsh producers covered are ordered by their county with limited maps and plenty of pictures.

As well as a detailed background to each of the wineries, all vineyards have neatly organised sections giving key information. Not all sections are included in each write up, but the common sections include key facts, biographies for key people (normally the owner or winemaker), the wines produced, how to find them and - one of my favourites - visiting information. After all many UK vineyards have facilities to deal with visitors, and to know which you have to call first and what times to visit is very helpful.

Other sections of the book including a brief history of viticulture, and an excellent section on the effects of climate change on the UK wine scene. This is written by Professor Richard Selley and looks at the last 50 million years and the possible changes over the next 100 years.

In summary this is an excellent book for those interested in English wine. The book is small and can easily fit into your bag for trips into the English countryside. It’s not as weighty as Steven Skelton's UK Vineyard Guide but is practical for those who want to visit the UK's best producers.

I rated this book 84 out of 100.