SAVOUR & SIP
VINEYARDS
FROM AGE-OLD VINEYARDS TO COMMUNITY CROP SHARES, EAST ANGLIA IS FULLY IN THE GRIP OF THE GRAPE. MIRIAM BALANESCU SOAKS UP THE SCENE
f you’re partial to a glass of vino, you’re probably familiar with wine from the sunny inclines of Italy, cava from the alcoves of Spain or bubbly from the bucolic fields of France. But the dark horse of the trade, English wine, has been flourishing since the first commercial vineyard was planted in 1951. Due to certain geological quirks, some parts of East Anglia happen to sit on the same ribbons of chalk that run through the famous Champagne region. Vines growing on chalk tend to stretch their roots deep into the soil, lending a complexity and minerality to the grape’s final flavour. BOTTLING IT UP With rumoured Roman vineyards in the county (a vast 70 AD irrigation system was uncovered in north Cambridge in 2014) and confirmed medieval tipple- makers, Cambridge is home to one of the oldest official commercial vineyards in East Anglia. Chilford Hall was planted by the entrepreneur Sam Alper in 1972 using Germanic grapes, the first to be
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