Why are English Wines so Expensive
This is usually one of the questions we get asked when one of us from the industry is having dinner with friends and we tell them about the fantastic future we believe there is for the English sparkling wines.
One thing for sure : we can’t answer for everyone or every sparkling wine producer out here in the U.K. Plus, price sensitivity will always be very personal and we couldn’t respond for every person on what is a cheap or an expensive price.
But when it comes to Hambledon Vineyard wines’ value, we know.
We know that the value of our wines reflect the work, the grit and the passion that our teams put into it, all year long, season after season, year after year.
Making wine is a labour of love and the vineyard team works hard all year round, in all weathers. Vines must be pruned by hand and the grapes are handpicked in September and October. The presses and fully gravity-fed winery (the only one in the UK) are located on site, which minimizes the time between picking and pressing - a crucial factor to ensure the quality of the wine.
And it’s not just about the many people working to make one bottle of wine. It’s also about the time it takes to craft high-quality wines. Did you know, for instance, that we age our Première Cuvée more than 5 years on the lees? And our Classic Cuvée almost 3 years. Also, did you know that when a vineyard plants new vines, they cannot harvest their first (high-quality) grapes before at least a full three years? There is no shortcut possible or allowed for the quality we are committed to produce. We know that we may be a small family-run vineyard, but we are on a very big mission and we are dead serious about it: we want “to create the finest, world-class English Fizz” and win over the British public with a superior wine grown, made and aged in our own front garden. We’re not interested about the short, easy way to sell bottles. Our purpose is to change people’s perception about their own local wines, and to achieve that, there is only one way : excellence.
As a result, since 2002 (when we re-planted the vineyard with Pinot noir, Chardonnay & Meunier in order to craft world-class sparkling wines) our wines have gone from strength to strength, receiving consistently impressive reviews from wine critics, as well as the most incredible collection of awards.
Finally, when one comes to the vineyard, our main objective is that the experience they get with us is nothing but perfect. When one orders from our website, we want to surprise and delight. Service and care is everything. Check out our Google and Trip Advisor reviews!
However, if you’re reading this (and if you are, thank you for making it until the end!) it may mean that you were looking for an English wine offering the right quality/price balance in the first place. And as we love nothing more than to get people to discover our wines, we have created a code for free delivery when you sign up to our newsletter so that you can better enjoy our Finest English Fizz!
