Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

“How can we encourage people to give English wine a chance?”

 – Matt Skinner, Head of Wine Operations for Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurants

Starting Saturday 26th of May, it’s English Wine Week. While many Answers users may be familiar with wines from other parts of the globe, English wines remain, on the whole, under-celebrated. To go a small way to address this we have a question on Answers from Matt Skinner, Head of Wine Operations for Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurants and author of several best selling wine books, wondering how we can encourage people to give English wine a chance.

“When I was first approached to try English wine I too was sceptical but, after my first glass, I was amazed,” says Matt. “People know so little about English wine so it’s great that a vehicle like Yahoo! Answers can provide a platform where people can learn more about the subject through asking questions.”

But don’t just take Matt’s word for it. Pontac, UK Answers’ very first Featured User, is something of a wine expert, and he agrees.

“The British tend to view foreign products as superior to our own when, in fact, the English produce some of the best sparkling wine,’ says Pontac who’s wine qualifications include WSET Certificate and a WSET Higher Certificate with Honours. In fact a Greenfields Sparkling Cuvee 2003, from the Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, won a gold award the International Wine Challenge earlier this week.

The Beer, Wine and Spirits category on Answers is a wealth of information about wine, something Pontac has gone no small way to helping with. User Eat Fish asked an interesting question about a grape used during prohibition in America that was so strong it could be diluted with water five fold and still hold its deep red colour. Amazingly Pontac not only knows the grape, he’s tried diluting it himself.

England has over 350 vineyards with wines like Reichensteiner becoming increasingly popular. English Wine Week will feature a wide selection of events, from wine tasting to vineyard visits. For more info, visit the English Wine Week site. And if you’re still curious about wine why not feed your curiosity by asking a question on Answers.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team