Administrative area · England
Surrey
A small but established growing area on the North Downs chalk, close to London.
About Surrey
Surrey’s vineyards sit largely on the chalk of the North Downs and are focused on traditional-method sparkling wine.
Proximity to London has made the county significant for wine tourism relative to its planted area.
No authority delimits this name or attaches rules to it. A political unit — an Italian region, an English county, a US county — used as a wine area because that is how the industry and its readers talk about it, not because a wine authority delimited it. That does not make it less real or less useful — it means nothing legal follows from it, and you will not generally find it on a label as a controlled designation.
Grapes
Wines from here
Climate
Sheltered and comparatively warm, on the dip slope of the North Downs. Rainfall is moderate and the growing season long enough for reliable sparkling-base ripeness.
These are influences on how a wine turns out, not determinants of it. Picking date, yield, vine age and every winemaking decision sit between the climate and the glass.
Soil and geology
Chalk of the North Downs, the same formation that runs under the Champagne region — the geological argument that drew investment to southern England in the first place.
WineHQ describes soil in terms of what it demonstrably does — drainage, heat retention, water supply, rooting depth — and not in terms of flavours it is said to transmit. Vines take up ions, not aromas, and no mechanism has been demonstrated by which a mineral in the ground is tasted in the glass. See soil and drainage.
What to eat, and how to serve it
Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.
English sparkling wine
Serve at 8–11°C (fridge cold).
Try with fish and chips, fish pie or macaroni cheese.
This region’s industry statistics are classed as volatile and are reviewed each year. Any figure shown carries the date it was consulted.
Sources
Sources consulted
- WineGB industry data — Wines of Great Britain (WineGB)