West Sussex has quietly gained a reputation as a sparkling wine region to be reckoned with. It has a similar climate and soil to that found in the Champagne region of France and has produced award-winning sparkling white and rosé wines from numerous vineyards.

At Waitrose we pride ourselves on taking English wine seriously and we truly believe in supporting our local producers. Today, there are more than 1,000 hectares of vines under cultivation in the UK, which are mainly located throughout the southern half of England.

For the past few years the quality of English wine has improved significantly and we are now producing everything from fresh Loire-styles to floral, delicate Mosel-style wines. The most commonly planted grapes are German varieties like Müller-Thurgau and hybrid varieties such as Seyval Blanc. The best have a verdant hedgerow, elderflower and hawthorn blossom perfume that is typical of the country. Other grapes like Bacchus and Ortega are well worth looking out for.

Most commonly used for sparkling wines, especially champagne, this is one of the few blends that uses both a red and a white variety grape. The resulting wine is often rosé in colour, but can also produce a white wine by insuring the red Pinot Noir skins do not come into contact with the juice once they are pressed. Usually, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit is pressed and fermented separately, before being blended to create the final wine.