Sour grapes!
Border clash as Sussex wins official recognition for its wines... leaving Kentish rivals spitting
IT’S the sort of dispute that you might have associated with the precious world of French winemaking.
But the bitter spat over the award of a quality mark has erupted not in Bordeaux or Burgundy, but much closer to home.
Wines from Sussex were yesterday given their own official designation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The registration of ‘Sussex’ as a Protected Designation of Origin for wine – a guarantee of quality and geographical provenance similar to the French Appellation d’Origine Controlee – has been dismissed by winemakers just over the border in Kent as a ‘joke’.
‘This is just a marketing exercise based on the political boundaries of a county,’ said Graham Barbour, the owner of Woodchurch Wine Estate in Ashford on the Kent- Sussex border. ‘It tells you nothing about the geographical features of a particular vineyard or the quality of the wine.
‘Some Kent vineyards share the same geographical features as parts of Sussex, so it’s meaningless to lump everything together under one arbitrary county designation,’ he told the
Telegraph. ‘The whole idea of a Sussex PDO is a joke, but perhaps I would say that.’
however, Sussex’s wine producers have raised a glass to the decision, saying the move puts wines from the county on a par with those from regions such as Burgundy, Rioja and Tuscany.
Art Tukker, who runs the Tinwood Estate, in Chichester, West Sussex, with his wife Jody, said: ‘The Sussex PDO will cement the bond between the unique soils and climate of the Sussex countryside with our truly remarkable sparkling wines, giving them a sense of place and purpose on the world stage among Champagne and our other great rivals.’
The PDO limits the grape varieties that can be used to make ‘Sussex’ wines to ensure that only the best are used. It also requires longer bottle ageing for Sussex sparkling wine.
Miles Beale of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said: ‘Not only does the PDO recognise the particular growing conditions found in Sussex, but it also shows the commitment of wine makers in this region to produce high- quality still and sparkling wines under strict production criteria.
‘ The PDO will enhance English wine’s established reputation… and boost its vast export potential.’
Sussex wine is only the second product to be granted protection under the new UK Geographical Indication scheme, after Gower Peninsula saltmarsh lamb.
‘Sense of place and purpose’