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Agence France-Presse

Far from its native Champagne, prestigious French wine house Taittinger last week inaugurated its new vineyard in southeast England, where climate change is making it increasingly easy to grow grapes.
The grand opening of the 60-hectare Domaine Evremond vineyard, on a quiet hillside in Kent, received the royal seal of approval, with Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh in attendance.
“It’s a story of 10 years of friendship between two families and two companies,” explained Vitalie Taittinger, president of the wine house.
Her father Pierre-Emmanuel co-founded the English estate with Patrick McGrath, the boss of Taittinger’s importer in the United Kingdom, Hatch Mansfield.

McGrath recalls how “10 years ago, we were talking about the rise of English sparkling wine […] and Pierre-Emmanuel said: ‘You know, why don’t we do a project together?’”
They chose the green and pleasant region often nicknamed the “Garden of England”, near the charming village of Chilham.
The land was bought in 2015, and the apple trees that grew on the hillsides gave way to vines.
The first 100,000 bottles of Domaine Evremond, English sparkling wine, will be sold in the United Kingdom in March 2025 for around £50 (US$67) each.
There is no right side of climate change but you could argue that here we are on the sort of more positive side
Patrick McGrath, Domaine Evremond co-founder
It will be “very elegant, but with no comparison with champagne”, said Vitalie Taittinger.
It cannot be called a champagne because of strict European Union rules, which limit the name to sparkling wines produced within the Champagne appellation, east of Paris.
Vitalie Taittinger says Taittinger is “the first champagne brand” to take on such a project “from scratch” in the UK, even if the wine house is not the only one to have made moves into the British terroir.

The Pinglestone estate, which extends over 40 hectares (100 acres) to the northeast of Winchester in Hampshire, in southern England, belongs to the champagne house Vranken-Pommery.
This is where the company produces its Louis Pommery England, a sparkling white wine that is only available in the UK, and whose sales increased by 9 per cent in 2023.
The soil in Kent is chalky, which promotes water drainage and prevents excessive humidity, making it ideal for growing pinot noir, meunier and chardonnay grapes.
It is similar to the soil in Champagne, which makes it easier for French houses to adapt, even if Kent’s maritime and windy climate brings more acidity to the wine.
With the rise in temperatures, vines have been able to flourish in the region, the sunniest in England.
“There is no right side of climate change but you could argue that here we are on the sort of more positive side,” said McGrath.
The harvest should begin in two weeks, with the grape juice then set to ferment in a dozen gleaming stainless steel vats in the basement of the vineyard’s modern building.

On the other side of the English Channel, where the harvest is almost complete, French wine production is expected to be down by 18 per cent in 2024 because of unfavourable weather, the French Ministry of Agriculture recently said.
Production at Champagne vineyards is expected to fall by 16 per cent.
“Increasingly intense extreme weather events, such as heatwaves or torrential rains, are causing significant damage” and are sparing no French region, France’s Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) said in a work published in March 2024.
The popularity of these sparkling wines among the British and also Scandinavians is whetting appetites of budding vintners.

Thanks to the work of pioneers 30 years ago, viticulture has taken root in southern England and Wales, which are now home to more than 1,000 vineyards and a wine-growing area that has more than doubled in 10 years, now standing at 4,200 hectares.
Sales of English sparkling wines have jumped 187 per cent since 2018, the industry organisation WineGB reported in July.
“We’re feeling very on trend, and it’s fantastic to mix the older tradition of champagne with the newer, which is English sparkling,” its president, Nicola Bates, said.


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Food and Drinks

Wine is handed out at Domaine Evremond, French champagne house Taittinger’s new vineyard in Kent, in the UK. Photo: AFP

Vines on the Domaine Evremond estate in Kent, southern England, newly opened by French champagne house Taittinger. The British wine industry is growing rapidly as climate change makes growing grapes there easier. Photo: AFP


Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and Domaine Evremond co-founder Patrick McGrath sample grapes ahead of the winery’s official opening. Photo: AFP

Wine is handed out at Domaine Evremond. Viticulture has taken root in England and Wales, where there are now more than 1,000 vineyards. Photo: AFP

Stainless steel fermentation vats at Domaine Evremond. Photo: AFP

President of British wine association WineGB Nicola Bates says winemakers in the country are feeling “very on trend”. Photo: AFP

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People taste wines at a winery in Ningxia, northwest China. Photo: Getty Images

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Chinese wine educator and social media personality Terry Xu Wei, better known as Xiao Pi. Photo: Terry Xu

People taste wines at a winery in Ningxia, China. Photo: Getty Images

Leigh-Ann Luckette, co-founder of Hong Kong wine bar Crushed Wine, wants to build a space that removes all the “hoops and jargon” from wine drinking. Photo: Crushed Wines

Wine critic, publisher and restaurateur James Suckling says the change in wine language is a result of young drinkers’ thirst for purposeful experiences and instant gratification. Photo: M Masterclass

Suckling says that these days, wine is all about “drinkability”. Photo: James Suckling

Hong Kong noodle history and the different noodle styles explained

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien from Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle in Hong Kong. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles from Yung Kee in Hong Kong. Learn about the different kinds of noodles served in the city, how they are traditionally made, and the foods they are typically paired with. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Wheat noodles originate in Northern China, while rice noodles have Southern Chinese origins, says Dr Siu Yan-ho, a lecturer in Chinese language and literature at Baptist University. 

Marco Li Ka-chi of Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle balancing on a bamboo pole to make noodles. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Shrimp roe thick noodle lo mien at Kwan Kee Bamboo Noodle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

 Cheung Wing Kee started making noodles in the 1950s, producing small quantities using labour-intensive methods.

Roast goose with lai fun rice noodles. The thicker, neutral-tasting noodles are perfect for absorbing the flavours from the roast goose and broth. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Taittinger opening winery in southeast England shows impact of climate change – bad for French winemaking but good for British grape growing


Taittinger opening winery in southeast England shows impact of climate change – bad for French winemaking but good for British grape growing.


Food and agriculture

Wine and Spirits

Britain

Climate change