England

England had almost no serious vineyards thirty years ago. A warming climate and the chalk downs of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire have made it a sparkling-wine region taken seriously enough for Taittinger and Pommery to plant their own vines. Land suited to vines sells for two to three times ordinary farmland and planted vineyards for more again, and nearly half a billion pounds has gone into English vineyards in five years.

Economics in brief

Vines under cultivation in the UK have roughly tripled since 2010 to around 4,000 hectares. Bare land suited to vines fetches £15,000–25,000 an acre against £8,000–10,000 for ordinary arable land, and established vineyards £30,000–40,000 an acre. Very little comes to the open market; buyers approach landowners directly. The business case rests on sparkling wine selling at Champagne prices, long lead times (five years from planting to the first bottles, ten to maturity) and the risk of a cold, wet summer, which 2024 showed.